True Crime with Kendall Rae - Police Officer Turned Killer: The Murder of 16-Year-Old Susana Morales

Episode Date: May 2, 2024

Susana Morales was 16 years old, living in Norcross, Georgia when one night she suddenly disappeared. July 26th, 2022 was a seemingly normal evening, and Susana spent a few hours that night a block away from her house with a friend, at her friend’s apartment. This was something she did often as it was less than a 10-minute walk from her house. But when she never came home that night, her family began to worry. She was reported missing the following morning, but it wasn’t until early February of 2023 that they got answers. On February 6th, Susana’s skeletal remains were found 20 miles from her home, and evidence left at this location led police officers to her killer, fellow police officer Miles Bryant. Bryant has since been arrested and charged with Susana’s murder, along with a string of other crimes he had committed. Sign the Petition: https://www.change.org/p/justice-for-... Learn more about the Dock Ellis Foundation: https://www.dockellisfoundation.com/ Donate to NCMEC through my campaign! https://give.missingkids.org/campaign...  Shop my Merch! https://kendallrae.shop This episode is sponsored by: Nutrafol - promo code: KENDALLRAE Rocket Money Smalls - For 50% off your first order, head to Smalls.com/KENDALLRAE and use code KENDALLRAE.  Huggies Check out Kendall's other podcasts: The Sesh & Mile Higher Follow Kendall! YouTube Twitter Instagram Facebook Mile Higher Zoo REQUESTS: General case suggestion form: https://bit.ly/32kwPly Form for people directly related/ close to the victim: https://bit.ly/3KqMZLj Discord: https://discord.com/invite/an4stY9BCN CONTACT: For Business Inquiries - [e-mail]

We are actuaries. In a world filled with unpredictability, we use our math skills to navigate uncertainty. Actuaries make a difference in people's lives across industries and the world. Actuaries have the freedom to work anywhere and according to US News and World Report, we're the 25th top paying career. Make an impact as a fact seeker and a truth-teller. Use your math skills for good as an actuary. The world needs you. Hello everyone and welcome back to True Crime with Kendall Rae. Thank you for joining me today. And if you are new then welcome so happy to have you so

Today we have a case that is so extremely frustrating very upsetting and I think when you hear the details of this one I was gonna say you'll be shocked but maybe you really won't be especially if you've been watching my content for a long time Some of the things that we're gonna go over today. yeah, probably really won't be that shocking to you, but disappointing nonetheless. Today we're gonna be talking about the murder of 16-year-old Susana Morales. Now I first heard Susana's story a few months ago,

and I decided to wait to cover it until we had a bit more information, and as we were getting closer to the trial of her killer, which was originally scheduled for June 3rd, however, it has been postponed, which I will explain later on. But I wanted to give you guys all of the facts as up to date as I have them

so that you can have all the information possible before the trial actually does begin if you want to follow it. And I hope you do because this family really needs support. And I hope that by sharing this story, more people can be aware of what happened to her and see what a bright young woman she was and that more people can root for justice and root for her killer to be convicted. Before we jump in though I wanted to make a quick announcement that there are still some NECMEC items available in my merch shop which is KendallRae.shop. We have really limited quantities you guys have

been selling these out like crazy and we are working to produce even more products for the future. You can find everything that we have available at kendallray.shop and as always, 100% of the profits are donated. And really quickly, a highlight I wanted to mention that just came out in NECMEC's 2023 impact report

was how National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Assisted Law Enforcement, Families and Child Welfare with 28,866 missing children cases was how National Center for Missing and Exploited Children assisted law enforcement, families, and child welfare with 28,866 missing children cases and had an overall 88% recovery rate. The work that they do is so impactful and if you're able to pick up one of our items or make a donation to our campaign, we would really appreciate it. And as always, big thank you to everyone who has supported the campaign so far. But let's go ahead and jump right in. So Susana Morales was born on June 24th, 2006 in Atlanta, Georgia, and she was the youngest of three daughters. Besides her mom, Maria, and one of her sisters, Jasmine, the rest of their family hasn't been as outspoken in the media. So

it's just really their two names that I'm going to be sharing with you guys today. Susana's loved ones say that she had an incredibly kind spirit and that's really what they want her to be remembered for at the end of the day. She was also described as funny, sweet, sarcastic, and not to mention bubbly and super passionate about music. Not only was she a talented singer and piano player, but before her disappearance, she had been teaching herself how to play the guitar and the ukulele. On top of that, Susanna was very active. She was a cheerleader at Meadow Creek High School,

where she went to school as a freshman. Now I just mentioned a second ago that she was born in Atlanta, but her and her sisters were actually raised in a suburb just outside of Atlanta called Norcross. And it was there that she grew up, went to school, and lived a pretty normal life. I mean, nothing about her life leading up to her murder would have made you think that anything like this would have happened. From what I could tell, she was a super mellow teen. She was well behaved. She wasn't doing anything to get herself in trouble, wasn't sneaking around or, you know, doing any of the typical things that most teenagers, 16 year olds would do. Susanna was very responsible and if she ever went somewhere, she would always text her mom, let her know what she was doing. Her mom and her were very close

and she really kept her in the loop. And that's exactly what she did on the night. She went missing. She did Everything right she was in full contact with her mom about where she was going what she was doing And that's why it was so bizarre to everyone when she just stopped responding If her plans had changed she would have texted called let somebody know and that's why it was so strange that Suddenly there was radio silence from her now. I am getting a little bit ahead of myself called let somebody know and that's why it was so strange that suddenly there was radio silence from her. Now I am getting a little bit ahead of myself so let me explain what exactly happened that night. So let's go back to July 26th 2022 and that day was a completely normal day for Susanna. It was summer

break so she wasn't in school but she spent part of that Thursday helping her mom at work to make a little extra money. Then after that, she came home around 4 p.m. and by 6 p.m. she told her mom she was going to walk over to a friend's apartment, which were in the Sterling Glenn apartments. And just to give you a little context here, this apartment complex was less than a mile from her house,

so it wasn't weird or out of the ordinary for her to be walking there in any way. In fact, she had gone there several times before and like all of those other times, her mom was totally cool with it. And honestly, I can't stress enough how close this was and how she had done this several times before. I mean, it was pretty much just behind her house. She had to just walk a block to get there. But this time was different than all the other times because after leaving her house that evening, she never returned.

Even after she had texted her mom at 9.40 p.m. letting her know she would be back soon, she never showed up. Of course, her mom called her, texted her repeatedly, could not get a response. So the next morning at 9 a.m., her family went to the police station and reported her missing.

The Gwinnett County Police Department was notified of Susana's disappearance in the morning of July 27th. However, I'm sure it'll shock none of you to hear that they did not take this report seriously. And they did the same thing we have seen so many times, which truly I think nothing pisses me off more in true crime than this, but they told her family that they needed to wait 48 hours to report her missing and that she had probably run away, which is the typical response we see with many teens, especially minority teens. This is so frustrating and I always drive this home for people in case, God forbid, you are in this situation one day, you do not have to wait any specific amount of time

before reporting someone missing. That is a myth. It's still, I can't believe even to this day, the police still try to pull this in some counties. But you need to know that you 100% can report someone missing immediately. You do not have to wait any amount of time. And for them to just assume she had run away and suggest that to her family is so wildly offensive because yes, of course, sometimes teenagers do run away. Sometimes they do not. And there is something more sinister that's going on that needs to be dealt with immediately.

And how offensive to her family to say that when they know that there's no way she had just run away. And of course, they tried telling this to the police that she wouldn't have run away. She was supposed to be coming back very shortly, just stopped replying. It's totally out of character for her, but they would not listen. Instead, they just kept insinuating that she had run away and that there was nothing they could do because there wasn't enough evidence that anything else had happened. And it just pisses me off so much to hear things like this. And I'm sure you all feel the same way too. Like what more do they need? A giant sign that says foul play here for

them to care, for them to listen? There isn't always going to be blatant evidence that a crime has occurred. Oftentimes there is not. And whose responsibility is it to find that evidence? Oh, right. The police. So as I have made very clear, I absolutely love our next sponsor, Nutri-ful. Nutri-ful has completely transformed my hair. After I had my daughter, my hair had really thinned out. It was totally stressing me out. I was looking at procedures even to fix it. And then I decided to try Nutri-ful and this was back before they started sponsoring me.

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by going to rocketmoney.com slash Kendall Rae. That's rocketmoney.com slash Kendall Rae. Rocketmoney.com slash Kendall Rae. families like Susana's are so often put in a position where they have to do their own investigating to prove to the police that they need to care and it's So twisted it's so wrong. It truly infuriates me And like I said, I'm sure most of you feel the same way and like I said

It's something that really everyone should be angry about when hearing things like this You never know when you yourself could be in this situation and could have to deal with a response like that personally, I feel that the same kind of concept should be applied to all police investigations of innocent until proven guilty, but in the sense of assume the worst until you can prove the worst hasn't happened. And I know that's sort of a dream wishful thinking on my part. I wish it worked that way, but I know that's sort of a dream, wishful thinking on my part. I wish it worked that way, but I know in reality, our criminal justice system is beyond broken and so far from being fixed.

And I know that we would run into logistical issues with that approach as well, but I think you guys know what I'm trying to say. I believe that if a family is telling law enforcement that they know their loved one didn't run away, that they know something bad happened, that they should believe them and that they should take action immediately.

And that just didn't happen here. And guys, they wouldn't even release a statement to the community letting them know of the possibility that Susana had disappeared. Even if they have phrased it like she was a runaway, despite the fact that that wasn't true, there would have at least been some sort of notice to the public to be on the lookout because there still is danger and community help needed even if Susana was a runaway. She is 16 years old but they didn't do anything and refused to do anything. So they left the Morales family

with one option and that was to investigate as much as they could and raise awareness in their community themselves, which is tragically something that so many families have to do when it is in fact the job of our law enforcement. Two weeks have passed since 16-year-old Susana Morales from Norcross was last seen. The family says they saw her the morning of July 26 and that afternoon she went to a friend's home but never returned back to her house. As you can see here, she was last seen wearing a yellow tank top and light colored jeans. When county police say they have labeled the case as a

runaway, but her family disagrees. They're not asking the public to be on the lookout in any way they can. They seen her. The best we can do is take pictures, send it to call the police. Because if anything, we're able to recognize her no matter if it's from the side, from the back, from the front. Like the most important thing we need right now is people to take pictures and people to see her. So anyway, in the days and weeks that followed, the Morales family began passing out flyers

and asking neighbors and local businesses if they had seen Susana or noticed anything suspicious, noting that she was wearing a yellow tank top and light blue jeans. And luckily they did have some help from the community because local businesses did pull security footage, which actually ended up being a big help. In this footage, Susana can be seen walking near Singleton Road and Indian Trail-Lilburn Road just before 10 p.m., which, to put it plainly, she was walking from the direction of Sterling Glen Apartments, where her friend lived, towards the direction of her house, headed home. But if she was clearly walking home, can be seen walking

home, what happened? Especially because she was just a few minutes away from actually being home. And this is obviously the question that her family wants to know. And so they bring this footage to the police, supply them with their own evidence. And even then they're hesitant to say that anything bad could have happened to her. Now, Susan's phone records were checked and the police said that they were the ones to do this, although her family has said it was them. But in the end, the point ends up being the same. And the point is that between 10.07 p.m. and 10.21 p.m. Susana was walking in the direction of her house. But by 10.26 p.m. her phone had pinged near the street Oak Lock Trace, which was about a mile east of her home

in the complete opposite direction. So between 10.21 and 10.26, something clearly happened for her to suddenly be in this new location. And sadly, after this, her phone just stopped pinging entirely, so this is all they had to go off at this point. So for the next several weeks, Susana's family continued to be her advocate, rally the community, raise awareness,

do whatever they could to try and find Susana, to at least try and find answers if something had happened. And the one thing that they really desperately needed beyond the help of the police, which would have been nice, but they also really needed help from the local media, which sadly was very limited. Local Spanish news station Telemundo, Atlanta, were among the first and only news stations to pick up Susana's story from the get-go, and they provided tons of assistance to the Morales family

in those early days and weeks. They were constantly reaching out to the police department asking for any updates on Susana's case and also pressuring them to care more. Maria even said herself in an interview that she felt discriminated against by the Gwinnett County Police Department and that because there was a language barrier they were not taking her daughter's disappearance seriously. And personally I completely agree with her. But luckily, with the help of Telemundo Atlanta, they actually got the police to finally take action. Just over a month after Susana disappeared on August 29th, Gwinnett County Police Department

put out a press release, which was the first time that they had publicly recognized that she was missing. They said that they had exhausted all leads and were now asking the public to come forward with any information. And the fact that it took them a month to finally make a statement is so wildly offensive, not to mention the fact that they had doubled down and said that they didn't believe Susana was in any danger. Here's the exact sentence. While any missing juvenile is considered endangered at this time, there is no

indication that Morales is in any specific danger and it is not believed that she is being held against her will. And knowing what they know now, which I will get into here in a sec, I hope they feel terrible for that, which chances are they probably don't. And Ron, just hours ago, Gwinnett County police tell me they believe they've run out of leads into Susana's case for o they're asking for the pu Susana's sister has asked one. It's frustration of

not knowing anything, you I ask them to, I just want she's at so I can get her month. Jasmine Morales ha younger sister's safe ret video captures the last m where she's at so I can g one month, Jasmine Morales for her younger sisters s surveillance video captur year old Susana Morales w She was walking home near

Indian Trail Lilburn Road a friend. Something happen that we got the camera fo neighborhood and that's li So something happened in just, we just figure out what happened. initially considered mora

tell the love and alive. and now needs the publics no indication the teen is her will, but her sister we know that she's not ou to be, she will never do over a month, it would ha would have called it that my her boyfriend, my mom, me, or at least. During that

month where investigators claimed to have exhausted all leads, the Morales family was doing the same. They themselves personally followed up on every single tip that came in and they even drove out of state several times to do so. And at one point, Maria basically got threatened by her boss that she needed to return to work because she was spending too much time looking for her daughter. I don't think anyone would blame her for that, especially parents out there. I'm sure you can agree you would stop at nothing to find your child if they were missing no matter what the consequences were. Jasmine, her sister says that they were even checking on her social media daily thinking that maybe if she were alive, there would be some type of, you know, activity on her Instagram or her TikTok, but there was nothing.

One month turned into two months, which turned into six months and only then did their family finally hear from investigators. In January of 2023, someone from the police department reached out wanting to know more details about Susana's disappearance. A little too late there. I think we can all agree it should have been a priority to do that the day that they were alerted she was missing, not six months later, but I digress. They also reached out because they wanted to collect a DNA sample from Maria and obtain Susana's dental records, which obviously when they were asked for that, it really made their heart sink because what does that normally mean? But at this point, Susana had not been

found. Asking for a DNA sample and her dental records was basically precautionary, but sadly would end up being necessary. Less than a few weeks later, on February 6th, 2023, skeletal remains were found. That day, there was someone driving along Highway 316 between Drowning Creek and Barrow County, and they decided to pull over on the side of the road to take a phone call. And this person ends up walking into the woods. I don't know, maybe they're just speaking on the phone,

getting a little fresh air, and that's where they stumbled upon what appeared to be human remains. Now someone brought this up on a recent episode of mine about how traumatic it must be for someone to just come across human remains like that. I truly can't imagine what that would be like. And it's not something I often think to bring up. And that's why I'm glad someone mentioned this, because obviously we're focused on the victim and their families

here. But I also want to just note how, yeah, truly traumatic and scary finding something like that would be. I just cannot imagine coming across skeletal remains like that. So obviously authorities were called to the scene and once they arrived, it was confirmed that the remains were human and the area was taped off and the body was sent to the medical examiner's office and through dental records and the DNA sample that was already provided by Maria the medical examiner confirmed that the remains belonged to 16 year old Susana Morales and sadly because of the state of decomposition I mean this was months later,

they were not able to determine a cause of death for Susana. And that is information that we still don't know to this day. But the good news is we do know who did it. And let's talk about who that scumbag is and how the police found him. On February 7th, investigators with the Gwinnett County Police Department executed a grid search of the forest where Susana's body was found, and they ended up finding a crucial piece of evidence. Not far from where her body was first found, they ended up finding a handgun. And not just any handgun, this handgun belonged to a police officer. 22-year-old Doraville police officer Miles Bryant came up as the owner of this gun when

investigators ran the serial number, but according to their records, it had been reported stolen. And just take a guess at what day this gun was reported stolen. It was on July 27, 2022, the same morning that Susanna was reported as missing. According to the report that Miles made, he had left his truck unlocked the night before and his wallet, his military ID, and his gun was stolen. Coincidence? I think we can all agree not.

And I also don't think it's a coincidence that Miles lived at where else but the Sterling Glenn apartment complex, the same apartments that Susanna was visiting the night she disappeared. So with this information, investigators began following him, trying to see if he was up to anything shady. And in less than a week, a warrant was issued for his arrest. On February 13th, 2023, Miles Bryant, a literal police officer, was arrested and charged with

concealing the death of another, as well as filing a false police report related to the story about his handgun being stolen, because clearly it was not. And at this point, he was obviously fired, but he had been an officer for quite some time. Miles first began working as a deputy in Forsyth County from March 2020 to May of 2021, and in September of 21 got a job working for the Dorival Police Department. And that was the job he had up until the day he was arrested. We begin with breaking news we are following right now tonight at 11. We have been getting

more details all night long about a now former officer charged in the death of a Gwinnett County teen. Within the last couple of hours, we learned Miles Bryant has been fired from the Doorville Police Department and he is expected in court tomorrow morning. And that former officer is now charged with concealing the death of Susanna Morales. Jasmyl Morales says that today was particularly hard

for the family already because it was Susanna's funeral, but to hear that a police officer is now charged in connection with their death makes her even more sadder and angrier. I have no words, honestly, just I didn't expect it. We didn't expect it. We don't know what to expect, but the officer was probably like the least on my mind. Now, her family was beyond shocked to hear that her killer was a police officer. And I mean, we know that these things do happen, but this was the furthest from their family's

mind. And to make it even worse, the day that they found out who was responsible for killing Susana was the day of her funeral. Finally getting to lay her to rest, they get this news that a police officer was the one who took her life. And that is just insult to injury, if you ask me. However, at the same time, you know, this is somewhat good news because they know that they are now one step closer to justice. So as most of you know, I have 10 pets. I'm a huge animal lover, but I have to say, even though I have cats and dogs, I really identify as a cat person. My cats mean the world to

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and use promo code Kendall Ray at checkout for 50% off your first order plus free shipping. That's the best offer you can find, but you have to use my code Kendall Ray for 50% off your first order. free shipping. That's the best offer you can find, but you have to use my code KendallRey for 50% off your first order. One last time, that's promo code KendallRey for 50% off your first order plus free shipping. And on February 14th, more information came to light regarding her murder. According to the Warren application, they suspected Miles would face additional charges for suspected rape. Although at this point, there was no confirmation that Susanna had been sexually

assaulted. And then two days later, even more information came to light. And to say that it is shocking would be an understatement because on February 16th, Miles faced all new accusations. And these had nothing to do with Susanna. It turns out that Miles actually had a history of stalking and harassing women and this was a history that his employers knew about and they still hired Miles as a police officer anyway. 21 year old Alaysia Bates came forward with her story and I want to share it with you guys.

Before Susanna ever went missing, Alaysisha claims that Miles Brandt was stalking her and had attempted to break into her house on multiple occasions. It turns out that she had known him since fifth grade, but when he tried to rekindle things as adults, she wasn't interested and he did not take that well. Her neighbor actually showed her ring doorbell footage of a man lurking around the door and trying to get inside and she knew right away that it was Miles and in one instance he even looked right at the camera so she could confirm that it was him and when she first saw that footage she was immediately scared for her life and even bought a gun to protect herself because she felt so uneasy and she also did what anyone would do and that is

call the police. Not only did she call the Gwinnett County Police Department, but she also called his employers, which was the Dorville Police Department, and told them about the stalking and attempts to break into her house. She showed them all the footage, including of a time when he did manage

to get inside her home, and you can literally see that the door is completely busted. Now, luckily she wasn't home at the time, but oh my God, how terrifying to think about what could have happened if she was. And guess what? The police didn't do anything about this.

Gwinnett County PD literally didn't do a single thing to escalate this report. And as for Dorville Police Department, they said they quote, spoke with him. And after that, they said they quote spoke with him and after that they said this behavior stopped. So basically they did nothing either. We all know that this type of reprimanding without consequences is completely ineffective and it means Miles barely got a slap on the wrist. Oh and there were other things too, other things that he also wasn't punished for.

Once in 2018 he was accused of trying to break into a neighbor's house through their window. And another time in 2022, he received a report about a missing child and he didn't file the report for three days. Three days, that's right. And of course, Alacia worries that if he was able to break into her house when she was home,

that maybe he would have raped and killed her. And if anyone had taken her concerns seriously, she and many others, including myself, wonder if maybe what happened to Susana could have been prevented. I've known since fifth grade we grew up together. Elisha Bates now believes her childhood friend, former Dorville police officer Miles Bryant stalked her at her Snellville apartment last year. She believes this ring video her neighbor gave her is Bryant as he lurked around her door,

trying her knob, wearing a hood on his head. She says he even broke in one time when she was not home. All my neighbors told me that she saw Miles come into our community and listening to my door when I wasn't home and just trying to see if I was home, messing with my doorknob and stuff. She told me, and once she showed me the video of him, that it was all alarming.

I was shocked. I felt like it could have been me because he was the person at my door coming and unscrewing my knob and kicking it down, stuff like that. In July, she says it was a screen grab that led her to identify the man in the fatigues as Bryant, a man she knew who tried to reconnect with her,

but she was not interested. She says Bryant became so aggressive, she feared for her life and reported the then police officer to his employer, Doraville Police, and even Gwinnett Police. Now, the very, very small silver lining here, and I mean very small, is that the stalking incidents were assigned to the detective working Susana's murder case. So eventually, Miles did face consequences for that.

But obviously, that doesn't take away from the trauma that Alacia endured. And I definitely want to recognize that. Now before getting into the details that we do know about I definitely want to recognize that. Now before getting into the details that we do know about Susana's murder and where things stand when it comes to her killer's upcoming trial, I want to talk about the role that discrimination played in this case. I mentioned earlier how Maria felt discriminated against by the police because of the language barrier and because her family and her daughter are Hispanic. The Morales family, along with dozens of other families in their community,

feel that the cases of missing and murdered Hispanic teens aren't being treated as priorities in their county. And I could not agree more because the sad reality is, Susana's case is not the only one. Several Hispanic teens have gone missing and then have turned up as murdered and their cases were not treated with any urgency, any fairness, any care by the police. The term runaway came up a lot and we know from Susana's case that that's how they tried to pass off her disappearance until they couldn't ignore the truth any longer. And well, on February 17th, a rally was held where dozens of people came together to speak out against this discrimination.

They said they will no longer tolerate inhumane treatment by the authorities and that actions are going to speak louder than words. And Gwinnett County fired back, saying they have a history of serving their community in an unbiased manner. But if there are dozens of people who disagree, I mean, we've talked about these cases before. I don't think that history is as unbiased as they say it is. What do we want? Stop it! When do we want it? Now!

The Hispanic United Alliance chanted and held up posters complaining that the Gwinnett County Police Department mistreats and discriminates against people in the Hispanic community. We can't have confidence in the police. We have to do our own search parties. We feel like us as a Hispanic community that they're not paying just as important as any other case. Just recently, I talked about the case of Lauren Astley and we talked about how police jumped right into action,

and that's awesome, but that's what we want to see for everyone Regardless of their ethnicity. They jumped in so quickly when it came to Lauren Astley that her body was recovered the next day Her family didn't have to wait months waiting for answers and I mean granted even if police do get involved right away you don't always find human remains or get those answers right away, but I involved right away. You don't always find human remains or get those answers right away. But I feel like if they had taken immediate action in Susana's case, they may have been able to recover her much quicker. I mean, I'm pretty confident that they would have if they had done a thorough search. Susana's family and so many other families don't get the privilege of having that support and getting those answers as soon as possible. And I don't

think it's a coincidence that most of the time those people are minorities. And I'm definitely not trying to say that Lauren didn't deserve that quick action. She absolutely did. But that should be how it is across the board for everyone. And that's why this week I wanted to make a donation to the Doc Ellis Foundation. Now the Doc Ellis Foundation recognizes that missing and murdered minorities do not always receive the same support and resources as non-minority victims and they are working hard to close that gap. They believe that by working together, advocating for policy reform, and raising awareness we can help to make sure that everyone's case, regardless of their race, gets the time and attention they deserve. They help support families with missing loved ones by providing a few different types of

resources. This can be anything from counseling support, legal guidance, starting awareness campaigns, and more. There is honestly so much good that this foundation does and I encourage anyone who's interested to check out their website and consider making a donation yourself because I know it will be put to good use. So of course I will have that linked below if you would like to check it out and show them some support. This episode of True Crime of Kendall Rae is brought to you by Huggy's Little Movers. Huggy's knows that babies come in all shapes and sizes and of course their tushies do too.

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I do wanna talk about what happened on February 22nd, because that was the day that two additional charges were filed against Miles Bryant. In addition to facing the charges of concealing the death of another and falsely reporting a crime, Miles was now facing felony murder and kidnapping charges. The chief of the Gwinnett County Police Department

held a press conference where the news of this was all announced and it was incredibly informative. He spoke not only about the charges, but also gave a run through of what they believed happened to Susana on the night she disappeared. Now this is a little bit confusing and there's obviously still a lot we don't know here and sadly may never know. Like I had explained earlier they were not able to determine a cause of death for Susanna because of the state of decomposition and we may never have those answers. However,

in the press conference they did say that they do not believe that she was shot, which is confusing because obviously a gun was found, but it's possible that that gun was just left behind on accident. I mean, I'm certainly not an expert. I know that they are saying they don't believe there was a gunshot wound. However, if she was so decomposed that they weren't able to determine a cause of death, maybe that is still a possibility for what happened. I'm not totally sure. Here's what Chief McClure had to say.

On July 26th at approximately 6 p.m., we know that Susana Morales left her home on Santa Ana Drive in Norcross and walked a short distance to the Sterling Glenn apartment complex on Indian Trail Road. There she met with her friend for about four hours and at about 10 o'clock she began her trek back to her house. We know that between 10 and 1030 p.m. Susanna had an interaction with an individual and ultimately was not seen or heard from again. This case was immediately assigned to our Criminal Investigation Division who worked diligently on this case and followed up on a number of leads and tips.

However, those leads and tips did not come to fruition. We know that on February the 6th, a citizen who was walking in the area of Drowning Creek Road and Highway 316 happened upon skeletal remains. The Gwinnett County Police Department sealed that crime scene, the crime scene or correction, the Gwinnett County Medical Examiner took custody of those remains and they were positively identified as having belonged to Susanna Morales. The following morning, February 7th, we brought out a large contingency of police personnel and conducted a methodical and meticulous search known as a grid search. And during that search, we located a firearm that had been reported stolen on July 27th. This is the same day that Susanna was reported missing. That firearm, we traced back to a 22-year-old

former Dorville police officer named Miles Bryant. Bryant then became a person of interest in our case. We continue investigating and on February 13th we secured warrants for concealing the death of another. Since that time, our criminal investigators have been working this case continuously and we have reached a threshold to where these charges have now been upgraded to felony murder and kidnapping charges. I would like to thank the Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office for their assistance along with the Dorville Police Department. And I think what was pretty shocking to hear, and this came out during the Q&A portion,

was that they don't believe there was any prior connection between Susana and her killer. Miles not only lived at the Sterling Glenn apartment complex, but he also worked security there and investigators think it's possible He had seen her around a few times, but they don't believe they had any sort of connection outside of that It's definitely possible, of course that he had seen her around and planned on killing her But at this stage, we don't know if there was any plan in place or if they had any prior connection at all And based on what we know from the timeline, it seems as if she was likely walking home, Miles approached her in his car and somehow got her into his vehicle.

And I'm wondering if maybe it's possible he had shown her his badge, came up with some reason for her to get into the car. And I hope that's not the case because that's just really really sad to think about. It's also possible he just attacked her, grabbed her, and forced her into the vehicle, but these are all things we just don't know. Anyway though, since his initial arrest investigators and prosecutors have been working to keep him behind bars and gather any additional information in case they need to add any further charges. In February of 2023, Miles was denied bond for the first time and he was denied it again

in May because of the clear and present threat that he presented to his community, specifically the danger he presented to women. He is a danger to women in this community. He is a has has not upheld the oath that he took to protect and serve both the citizens of Dorival and the state of Georgia. And during that time, a burglary charge was also added to his list of charges. And this was related to a case filed against him by Alaysia Bates. Also, during this time, the Morales family spoke out in a press conference where they continued to call for justice in this case.

Their family feels that Gwinnett County ignored their fears when Susana disappeared and they did not take the steps to properly investigate. And again, I think we can all agree. Calling her a runaway was not only offensive to their family, but also diminished the severity of the situation. And rightfully so, they want accountability for that. They want the Dorville Police Department to be held accountable for hiring a man with a history of stalking and violence knowing about it and for not taking accountability when that man committed an act of violence against their loved one. There has been no apology to their family that they hired a man

knowing all this, having the evidence that he was a dangerous person and then allowing him to be a police officer. And of course, their family knows that none of that will bring Susana back, but they hope that getting accountability will help to prevent this from happening to somebody else. No money, no justice, but we will bring her back to us. But we can do it, try and make sure this doesn't happen to anybody else again. And that's what we will b do is try and make sure t to anybody else again. And today. Susanna's family g

share their concerns abou justice and push for chang person investigations. An I'm so impressed with the through all the trauma th through in their personal the time to take a stand, to demand accountability from the people that failed them. Going up against the criminal justice system

is not an easy thing to do, and I'm really proud of them for taking the time to do that. And even if the police are handling things better now that they pretty much have no other choice, I mean, the pressure's on and all the information is here, it doesn't take away from all of the months where they didn't take this seriously at all. But anyway, on the one year anniversary of Susana's disappearance and her murder, her

family gathered by her grave to lay flowers and remember the incredible daughter and sister and friend that she was. Like I said in the beginning of this episode, her family wants Susana to be remembered for her kindness and all the good She brought to their lives and so many others now as for miles They say he doesn't know what's coming for him And I have no doubt that they will continue to seek justice no matter how long that takes and they will not give up on Trying to hold those who failed her accountable as well in a change.org petition

Which I'm of course gonna link for you guys, and I hope you will take a moment to sign, the Morales family listed out a set of demands. In addition to taking accountability, which I mentioned a second ago, they are also demanding a review of the hiring practices at Doraville Police Department. How they let this dangerous man work for them,

knowing what they did is just beyond me and should really scare everyone, right? And so I'm really glad that they are pushing as hard as they can on that. I think it is beyond fair for the hiring process to be reevaluated. They are also demanding that the process for missing minors be evaluated as well, which is absolutely necessary. They want them to take these cases more seriously and to provide families with more transparency during the investigation. Plus, they want there to be acknowledgement that Title 35 of the Georgia State Code was violated when officers told their family they had to wait 48 hours before reporting Susanna missing. And I know I talked a lot about that earlier in the episode, but that is just one thing that makes me so mad and all of true crime and I see this all the time and it's you know it's something we saw a lot in 60s 70s 80s and back then there were different

policies but things have changed and to see this still happening so recently just oh my god it infuriates me and that's why I always try to make it such a point to everyone who consumes my content that this is not true And if you are told this you are being lied to you do not need to wait any amount of time before Reporting your loved one missing period that's it But of course beyond all of that at the very least this family wants a conviction of course, I have to say miles Bryant is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, but their whole family, everyone involved in the case, and I'm sure all of you watching this can agree that he is most likely the one who took Susana's life. And it's just devastating. I mean, she was so young and for what time moves slowly when

grieving the loss of a child, but somehow was an unique was. Well, I think it brings some kind of peace to me knowing that she's here. I know that I'm not wondering where she's at or if she's somewhere else. Susana Morales is mother Maria Manasara Salgado finds tranquility here. She waited more than six months for closure when Susana went missing.

Now at her grave one year later, she says she's upset about the system wide failures that contributed to her daughter's death. The police, the police department here is at fault due to the fact that they did not do enough investigation before hiring this person. There were multiple indications that that this individual presented a danger. Um, there was a previous allegation of stalking North over says the city of Doraville should take accountability. He says he's talked with officials

during an ongoing criminal and civil investigation. Take responsibility for their role in this tragic incident and take measures to make sure that this doesn't happen again. To do that, Northover says it's time for change when it comes to the

process of bringing in new officers. Increased hiring, screening procedures. Well, for me Northover says it's time for change when it comes to the process of bringing in new officers. Increased hiring screening procedures. Well, for me, I think that the police department here is at fault, due to the fact that they did not do enough investigation before hiring this person. The family attorney says arresting Bryant is not enough. They want to see systemic changes at the Doorville Police Department. There was a previous allegation of stalking, prior acts of acting inappropriate towards other young women by Miles Bryant. City of Doorville was put on notice of these issues

and did an internal investigation, but took no corrective actions. And we're not quite done yet because it turns out in January of 2024, it was announced that Miles Bryant was being charged with attempted rape. And I know I touched on this very briefly earlier and that, you know, we don't actually know it hasn't been revealed what happened to Susanna. Some of the information is just not known to anyone, sadly. But hearing that he is now being charged with rape gives us a clearer picture of what happened here. And it just breaks my heart thinking about what the end of Susanna's life was probably

like. It's possible that we may find out more information soon about exactly what happened. Obviously, this charge really does give us an idea. But as the trial plays out, you know, investigators might be able to share more. Just not sure at this point. But anyway, my heart truly goes out to this family. This is just such a devastating case. Like I said, Susana was just so young and such an amazing person. And it's just incredibly angering.

And I hope that they're able to maintain the strength that they've shown which is so impressive. Just a little while longer until you know trial and until Miles finally is sentenced and gets to pay for what he did. And in early January like I said earlier it was announced that the murder trial was set to begin on June 3rd but with the new new indictment, the trial date has been pushed back and a new date has not yet been announced. Miles is facing five charges, including malice murder, felony murder, kidnapping, false report

of a crime, and attempted rape. And he is also facing a burglary charge, but that is in a different county. And I genuinely wish that I could end this episode by telling you that Susana's killer has been brought to justice and has been sentenced. And it's all, you know, done as far as that goes. But unfortunately, we are just not there yet. However, I have confidence that we will be there soon. And also, I just wanted to note their family also very recently decided to sue the apartment complex where Susana was last seen saying that the complex was negligent

and they should have known that Miles was a threat and voiced that to those living there. They also argue that they were negligent in their hiring, supervising, and retention processes, pointing out the fact that there isn't a system in place to make sure that those living in the building weren't a threat to others. The lawsuit also points to the security issues they haven't fixed and their failure to act upon knowledge of other crimes that have happened around this building before. And it's currently unknown how much money they are suing for, but big picture,

I believe the point they are trying to make is that this could have been prevented yet several systems in place failed to protect Susanna. Which is just so wildly unresponsible and so unfair to her and her family, and I hope that we will see justice in that lawsuit as well. That is unfortunately all I have to report on this case at this time. If there are any major updates, I will be sure to pin a comment and let you guys know. Also, if you would like to take the time to sign their family's petition and show them that support, I'm sure they would greatly, greatly appreciate it. Like I said, it's the easiest thing you can do as an active true crime consumer to sign a petition.

It only takes normally seconds. And if you wouldn't mind, you know, sharing this episode or sharing anything related to Susanna along with that petition, that would be wonderful as well. I would really appreciate with that petition. That would be wonderful as well. I would really appreciate it and know their family would appreciate it as well. That is going to be it for me today, guys. Thank you for joining me for another episode and make sure you follow the show on Spotify and Apple podcasts. It really does help me out.

If you want to watch the video version of this show, you can find it on my YouTube channel, which will be linked, or you can just search Kendall Rae. I will be back with another episode soon, but until then, stay safe out there.