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Miles Bryant, a former Doraville police officer, was convicted of murdering 16-year-old Susana Morales and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in Gwinnett County, Georgia. On June 12, 2024, a jury found him guilty of malice murder, felony murder, kidnapping and misdemeanor false report of a crime, and not guilty of criminal attempt to commit rape. That night, Superior Court Judge Tamela L. Adkins imposed the life sentence on the murder charges, plus 12 months consecutive for the false report. Before sentencing, Bryant said, "I just want to apologize to everybody, to the victim's family, that's it."

Morales lived on Santa Anna Drive in the Norcross area of Gwinnett County. Bryant, 22 at the time of his arrest, was also a member of the Army National Guard and worked as a courtesy officer at the Sterling Glen Apartments, the complex she was last seen leaving. Gwinnett County police said it did not appear that the two knew each other or had any previous relationship. At trial, prosecutors argued that Bryant had encountered her before, and a friend of Morales testified that the two girls had met him at the apartment complex.

On July 26, 2022, Morales left a friend's home in Norcross to walk home. She texted her mother at 9:40 p.m. that she was on her way. Her phone showed her walking on Singleton Road between 10:07 and 10:21 p.m., then in the area of Oak Loch Trace and Steve Reynolds Boulevard until about 10:26 p.m. She never got home. Detectives said they had reason to believe she may have gotten into a vehicle and estimated she died between 10 p.m. that night and 2 a.m. the next day.

On February 6, 2023, after a passerby reported possible human remains, her skeletal remains were found in woods near Highway 316 between Drowning Creek and the Barrow County line, about 20 miles from where she was last seen. The medical examiner identified her through dental records. Investigators found Bryant's black Glock 19 pistol about 30 yards from the remains. He had reported it missing on the morning of July 27, 2022, the day after she disappeared, and later said it and his wallet had been stolen from his unlocked car.

Detectives obtained records placing Bryant's personal and work phones at the wooded site on the night Morales disappeared and the next morning. Investigators also said his records showed searches of the wooded area and a search asking how long it takes a body to decompose.

Investigators interviewed Bryant on February 13, 2023, a week after the remains were found. Jurors later heard the interrogation recorded that day. It began with conversation about police work and the military before investigators gradually confronted him with the evidence. He said he had been in the area that night but had not gotten out of his vehicle. A detective testified that Bryant became extremely nervous and began shaking more when told his gun had been found. After several hours, he was placed in handcuffs. He was arrested that day on charges of concealing the death of another and false report of a crime. Police added kidnapping and felony murder charges on February 22, 2023. He was fired from the Doraville department after the charges.

Bryant pleaded not guilty. In closing, his attorney argued there was no evidence that he killed or kidnapped Morales. The defense suggested she may have died of a drug overdose, a theory prosecutors called nonsense. The defense later sought a new trial, arguing that his trial attorney had been ineffective. After a hearing in February 2026, Judge Adkins denied the motion on Monday, March 30, 2026, and his legal team has appealed to the Supreme Court of Georgia. As of November 1, 2026, no ruling on that appeal has been reported, and he remains sentenced to life in prison without parole.

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Part 2 of 2 of the recording described above.