By Marlene Lenthang -
NBC News
A former Georgia police officer has been charged with the kidnapping and murder of a 16-year-old Latina teenager, Susana Morales, after authorities in Gwinnett County (north of Atlanta) revealed this Wednesday that the weapon the officer reported missing was found near the remains of the young woman.
Miles Bryant, 22, had already been accused of concealing the death and lying in a criminal report in connection with the disappearance of the young woman, whose bones were discovered on February 6, according to the Gwinnett Police Department.
The officer, who served in the Atlanta suburb of Doraville, was fired after the first criminal charges were filed against him.
Susana Morales.via WXIA
Gwinnett Police Chief JD McClure announced Wednesday that the charges against Bryant had been upgraded to murder and kidnapping.
Police focused on Bryant after finding “critical evidence” — a gun — “very close” to where Susana's body was found during a search of a wooded area.
Bryant reported his personal weapon missing on the morning of July 27, making him a person of interest in the case.
The young woman was last seen on July 26 and her family reported her missing the following morning.
The night she disappeared, Morales had left his Norcross home at 6 p.m. and walked the short distance to the Sterling Glen Apartments, where he met a friend for four hours.
He went back to her house at 10 p.m. but never came.
While some mourn their dead, a Latina fights for her life after the Michigan shooting
Feb 15, 202301:45
“We know that between 10 and 10:30, Susana had an interaction with an individual,” McClure said, pointing to Bryant, and “she was not seen or heard from again afterward.”
Police believe that she died in the time between her interaction with that individual and 2 a.m. the following day.
McClure said it is not known if the young woman and Bryant knew each other, but he lived at the Sterling Glen apartment complex that she had visited that day and was serving as a courtesy officer there.
She added that it is not "definitely" known how she died, but "there is no indication" that she was shot;
it is possible that she was raped, she added.
"We do not know definitively" how he died, explained the police chief, "what we do know is that he died at the hands of Miles Bryant."
McClure sees it as "entirely possible" that Bryant was watching the teen for a period of time before her death, noting that there were previous reports against the former officer.
In 2018, he was accused of trying to enter a neighbor's house illegally through a window.
Bryant disputed the accusation, and the homeowner dropped charges against him.
In December 2022, Bryant visited an acquaintance's home and "possibly tried to break into" the residence, McClure said.
The case is being investigated and "there are warrants on the way," he said.
Those two cases did not occur at the Sterling Glen apartment complex, McClure added.
In the opinion of the police chief, the death of the young woman is "a tragedy impossible to describe."
“This type of crime at the hands of an officer provokes anger, even within the ranks of this agency,” he said, “police officers should always be pillars of trust.”