Going West: True Crime - Susana Morales // 318

Starting point is 00:00:00 What is going on to crime fans? I'm your host Teeve and I'm your host Daphne and you're listening to Going West. Hello everybody! Thank you so much for tuning in and big thank you to Ashley for recommending today's case. Otherwise we would not have heard about it. This is a Georgia case that took place just last year. So thank you everybody for tuning in and yeah. There's a there's a lot of laws that are trying to be passed right now because of this case the family is fighting for change and you'll see why. Yeah, absolutely.

Starting point is 00:00:45 It is amazing. And by the way, if you finished this episode and you're done with Going West yesterday, or yesterday, or yeah, yesterday, we came out with our last bonus episode of June, and that is the story of Emanuella or Landy. That is an Italian case, and it's crazy. Heath and I do a lot of discussing in that episode. It's one of those type of stories. So if you wanna hear that one,

Starting point is 00:01:07 and 90 other full length ad-free bonus episodes that we are not going to cover on Going West, head on over to patreon.com slash going west podcast, or just subscribe on Apple subscriptions. Yeah, that case is really, really wild. I mean, there's so many like conspiracies that are tied in. We talk about the Vatican, we talk about like underground gangs, syndicates, all sorts of stuff.

Starting point is 00:01:29 So please go check that out. All right guys, this is episode 318 of Going West. So let's get into it. In July of 2022, a 16-year-old girl went missing during her walk home from a friend's house in Georgia. Over seven months later, her remains were found in the woods of an Atlanta suburb, and shortly after her discovery, it was determined that she was killed by an unlikely person who had a history of stalking. This is the story of Susanna Morales was born on June 25, 2006 in Atlanta, Georgia, but she grew up in Norcross, which is a fairly small northeastern suburb of Atlanta. Her parents immigrated from Mexico

Starting point is 00:03:06 about 10 years before she was born, settling into the state of Georgia and having three kids total, and there were all girls. The youngest of the family, Susanna joined two older sisters, one who is named Julissa, and the other was Jasmine. Described by her family as bright, kind, and loving, Susanna had a passion and talent for music, and she was a very skilled piano player. She was also teaching herself guitar and ukulele, and she loved to sing well, accompanying herself with an instrument.

Starting point is 00:03:39 But her mom Maria describes her as a girly girl who loved fashion and makeup. She describes her as a girly girl who loved fashion and makeup. In the summer of 2022, Susanna was heading into her junior year at Meadow Creek High School. On the morning of Tuesday, July 26, 2022, so about a month into her 16th year of life, off of school for summer break, Susanna headed into work for the day and then returned home around 4pm. Deciding to go to her friend's house for a few hours in the evening, she left her family's home on Santa Ana Drive Northwest, headed for the Sterling Glen apartment complex on Winscape Village Lane.

Starting point is 00:04:17 And generally this walk would take between 10 and 15 minutes. And as she always did, Susanna reached out to her mom to let her know that she had arrived to her friends place safely, telling her, yes, I'm here. Around 9.40 pm, after spending about 3 hours with her friend, she texted her mom that she was going to walk home. And with Susanna's friends' apartment building and Susanna's home less than a mile from each other, or about 1 kilometer, her family expected her to arrive home by about 10 pm, so within 20 minutes or so. So as the time ticked by with no sign of Susanna, they grew increasingly more concerned. Between 10-07 and 10-21 pm, the location of Susanna's phone shows her on Singleton Road, which connected

Starting point is 00:05:07 Susanna's home with her friend's apartment building, so it seemed as if she was on her way home. But, her phone last pinged near the intersection of Oak Lock Trace and Steve Reynolds Boulevard, so about a 20-minute walk in the wrong direction moving east away from her house. And then, after 1026 PM, Susanna's location tracking disappeared altogether and did not return. So with that, repeated calls and texts from her family went unanswered and straight to voicemail. And you can imagine what her parents are thinking and just her family in general is thinking at this time when they are fully expecting her to be home at, you know,

Starting point is 00:05:53 around 10 p.m. and then all of a sudden they see that her phone is pinning in the opposite direction and then just completely shuts off. Like that is so terrifying to think about. Yeah, and like I said, it would have been about 20 minutes or less for her to walk home. And 46 minutes later, her phone just goes off. Like her location goes off.

Starting point is 00:06:13 So they're thinking what is going on? Exactly. So Susanna's mom, Maria and sisters began calling her friends in the area, wondering if maybe she had just changed her plans at the last minute and maybe decided to go to another friend's house. But Maria found this unlikely saying quote, she always answers my calls, even if she's frustrated saying what do you want or leave me alone, but she always answered. I got so worried, since that night I haven't slept.

Starting point is 00:06:39 I called all of her friends and waited until it was 6am and went to look for her at those homes that I knew. It was an overwhelming sense of anguish. My hope was always that she would return alive. Now by the next morning which was Wednesday July 27, 2022, with no word from her and no sign of her at any of her friends' houses, Susanna's parents reported her missing to the Gwinnett County police. And sadly, they were called being met with uncertainty on the police's end, which we see basically all the time. Even though Susanna had never shown any desire to leave, or behavior to indicate that she wanted to, police quickly wrote off her disappearance as a voluntary one, even though she was

Starting point is 00:07:22 only 16 years old. In a ring response sent by the Gwinnett County police to Susanna's family, they wrote quote, she is missing as a fugitive because she went off on her own. There has been no clue to believe that she is in danger. Totally get that because I'm sure they see it, you know, a decent enough amount, but her walking in the opposite direction of home and then her phone turning off or at least her location turning off, despite her telling her mom that she was about to walk home.

Starting point is 00:07:51 Like, that's the biggest piece of it to me. She said she was on her way home and she didn't arrive. Yeah, exactly. Police should have looked at the text messages, realized that she claimed she was headed home and then, you know then made their determination from there, but it doesn't seem like they really did much. And it just seems like not a convenient time, but I guess 45 minutes later for her location to go off.

Starting point is 00:08:13 Like sure, they could be thinking, oh, well, maybe she doesn't want to be found. Maybe she doesn't want you to know where she is. But it's like she's 16 years old. It's late at night. Yes, it's the summer. But she said she was on her way home, and they have to understand that this looks a little weird. Yeah, let's take it for what it is. So obviously her family was completely shocked at police's response because they just didn't believe that she was a runaway,

Starting point is 00:08:36 especially because she was on her way home. Police also encouraged the family to wait 48 hours before officially reporting Susanna missing, assuming that she would just return on her own. Which is not standard protocol for a 16 year old, for a minor. It's not. So believing she was in danger and that they were losing precious time, Susanna's family launched their own investigation. They kept a close watch on her social media activity, observing her Snapchat to see if

Starting point is 00:09:03 she had sent anything, and monitoring her Instagram snapchat to see if she had sent anything, and monitoring her Instagram and TikTok to see if she had liked or posted anything, or maybe possibly followed anyone. But all of Susanna's accounts remain stagnant, and she stayed out of touch with all of her friends and her family members. Her sister Jasmine said, quote, she has never left the house, she has never done this. It doesn't go more than a few hours without her contacting us. At least she sends us a message.

Starting point is 00:09:29 We don't know anything about her. She's not active on her social networks. Nothing at all. In addition to keeping tabs on our online presence, her family posted missing posters all around town and hosted a rally to raise awareness. But they continued to struggle to get the police to take Susanna's case seriously and treat it like a disappearance, which, as we can all imagine, must have just been incredibly

Starting point is 00:09:56 frustrating and just super disheartening. But with the police seemingly disinterested in helping find Susanna, her family appealed to the community. Then while canvassing the neighborhood and asking questions door to door, her family came across security camera footage from a local business where Susanna can clearly be seen walking by on Singleton Road, just like her phone had attested, on her way back to her family's house, proving that she did leave the apartment and she was walking home herself.

Starting point is 00:10:29 Yeah, she had intentions of going home. Yeah, and then something happened where she turned around, or at least her phone turned around, right? Or she did so unwillingly. Jasmine also added this quote, something happened between that place and our house. After this, police stated that they were, in fact, conducting an investigation, but they still didn't confirm that foul play was suspected, nor did they confirm that they believed that Susanna was not a runaway.

Starting point is 00:10:58 A statement made by an officer regarding her case, said quote, Our detectives have continuously worked on Susanna Morales' case since we received it. At times, there were no leads in the case. At those times, we requested the public's help in providing information via our social media and local media. But there remained no sign of Susanna. Then about six months later, on February 6, 2023, a shocking discovery was made.

Starting point is 00:11:31 A motorist driving along Highway 316 near DeCula, Georgia apparently pulled over to take a phone call, noticing what appeared to be human remains in the brush between Drowning Creek Road in Highway 316, the driver phoned 911 immediately. Decomposed remains of a nude body had been discarded there, situated on the line between Barrow and Gwinnett counties, about 20 miles or 32 kilometers away from where Susanna disappeared. And on top of this, her body was barely concealed. I mean, obviously, if this

Starting point is 00:12:05 guy was able to find her by just glancing at it. The Gwyneth County Police announced, quote, on Monday, February 6, 2023, shortly after 6.30 p.m., Gwyneth Police responded to Highway 316 between Drowning Creek and the Barrow County Line after receiving a call from a passerby stating that they saw what they believed to be human remains in the woods. Detectives and CSI responded to the scene and the Gwyneth Medical Examiner's office took possession of the remains. Detectives are investigating the manner and cause of death of Morales.

Starting point is 00:12:39 But let's get back to the scene here, so there appear to be nothing buried on her person, including clothing or jewelry, and there was nothing that would indicate who had left her there. That is, until they came across a discarded handgun near Susanna's body. When police searched for the gun's registration number, it came up as belonging to a local 22-year-old man named Miles Bryant. We'll get this. Miles was known to police already for multiple reasons. Firstly, he had a strange criminal history

Starting point is 00:13:11 that involved accusations of stalking. And also, because he himself was a police officer. Miles Bryant was an officer employed by police in Doraville, which is another northeastern at Lanna Suburb, and it's only about 10 minutes away from where Susanna and her family lived in Norcross. Hoping, but also not hoping for a positive identification so that they could bring the family closure, police requested a dental record and DNA sample from Susanna's mother Maria to verify the identity of the body. While her family hoped that the remains did not belong to Susanna's mother Maria to verify the identity of the body.

Starting point is 00:13:46 While her family hoped that the remains did not belong to Susanna, they were confirmed to be a match. Prior to becoming a police officer, Miles had served in the National Guard and it also held multiple positions as a security guard. At the time of Susanna's disappearance, he still worked part-time as security in his own apartment building, which happened to be the very apartment building that Susanna had been visiting on the night she disappeared.

Starting point is 00:14:16 And get this, so the same day that Susanna vanished, Miles claimed that someone had broken into his truck, which she had left unlocked by accident, and stolen his gun. Which seems like pretty convenient timing, doesn't it? It does. And he filed a police report shortly after to further push that his gun had been stolen, which is what you should do, but what are the chances that your gun is stolen, and then

Starting point is 00:14:42 it's found next to the body of a girl who is last seen in the same apartment building that you work and live at? Very slim. Exactly. So, on February 13th, 2023, Miles Bryant was arrested by the Gwyneth County Sheriff's Office on suspicions of involvement in Susanna's disappearance. The day after his arrest, February 14th, the Doraville police released the following statement, quote, the city of Doraville was notified the afternoon

Starting point is 00:15:12 of Monday, February 13th, that a now former police officer was being served felony arrest warrants by the Gwynet Police Department in connection with the disappearance and murder of Susanna Morales. Our prayers rest with the disappearance and murder of Susanna Morales. Our prayers rest with the family and friends of Susanna Morales, and everyone else affected by this tragedy. Such fucking bullshit, though. That statement pisses me off because going back when she first disappeared, they didn't

Starting point is 00:15:39 do anything. They called her a runaway, they made it seem like she had just left on her own volition. And they really didn't believe that anything had happened that foul play had happened. And now they're saying, oh, like our hearts really go out to the family. Fuck you, you didn't do your job. Yeah, I mean, I know a lot of people are also probably wondering if people like in the department knew

Starting point is 00:15:59 that he was behind it. I don't think it was anything, like I don't think it was corruption. I think they were just, I think it was just negligence. I think so too, but yeah, it really bad negligence. And also the arrest weren't stated that Miles was suspected of murder, rape, and other federal crimes. The statement also confirmed that regardless of the level of involvement in Susanna's disappearance, Miles had been terminated from the police force.

Starting point is 00:16:25 Nine days after his arrest, Miles was officially charged with murder and kidnapping. Following his arrest, information began to tumble out about Miles' history, with abuse of the power that he wielded as an officer. So aside from living in the same apartment building that Susanna departed from, you know, on her walk home that evening that she disappeared? Miles had no known previous connections to Susanna. Her family believes that it's possible that he had been watching her, tracking her movements, and following her around for months prior to Susanna's disappearance, as this was a

Starting point is 00:16:59 friend's apartment that she would frequent. And police have also not confirmed or denied this, but it seems like a pretty distinct possibility, given the seemingly random nature of this crime. And her family does not think that they had any actual verbal contact before Miles abducted Susanna, but it's still unknown. Because of how far away Susanna's body was recovered, it's believed that she was transported in a car while she was still alive, so it's possible that Miles either offered her a ride or dragged her into the car against her will.

Starting point is 00:17:32 Police have surmised that Miles likely encountered Susanna on the sidewalk around 10 pm, shortly after she texted her mom Maria that she was headed home and departed from her friend's apartment. So this is really sad because, you know, she had just texted her mom, hey, I'll be home in just a minute, and then boom, she disappears. Well, yeah, because he probably saw her leaving might have even seen her entering the building

Starting point is 00:17:55 and probably followed her outside. Sure, and when we're gonna get into Miles' history with stocking, so it seems like this was probably also the case with Susanna. So based on the level of decomposition, as well as the distance between her home and Norkross, and where her remains were discovered in Nikula, police believed that Susanna was killed no later than 2am

Starting point is 00:18:20 on July 26th, about four hours after she was last seen. Later in 2022, before he was connected to Susanna's disappearance, because remember that didn't happen until early 2023, Miles was disciplined at work for an unrelated issue. On October 2nd, 2022, Miles took down a report of a missing child, but inexplicably waited three days to actually file the report and he was written up for this.

Starting point is 00:18:50 Like I said, he was disciplined. Then about two months later, Miles came under fire again, but this time as the perpetrator in a disturbing case of stalking, which he just kind of touched on, we're going to go into those details right now. So in December of 2022, a woman named Alicia Bates filed a police report with the Gwyneth County Police, as well as the door of ill police, and that's where Miles was employed, and she alleged that he had been stalking her for months. Alicia and Miles actually grew up together.

Starting point is 00:19:24 They met in a fifth grade classroom, and then the two remained, you know, kind of friendly into adulthood, but nothing romantic. They just knew each other, but in March of 2022, their relationship evolved into something much more dangerous when Alicia came home in the middle of the night to find that her apartment had been broken into. As Alicia explains, she was working a late shift and she received a call from Miles. She said, quote, I get a phone call

Starting point is 00:19:53 and he was asking if I was home. I said I was at work. I asked him what did he want and he said, nothing, I was just checking on you. Then I came home at like 12 because I was a manager at Taco Bell and my door was kicked in. Alicia said she initially thought that it had been somebody else and didn't think that Miles was capable of doing such a thing, especially because of his background in law enforcement and military service.

Starting point is 00:20:18 You know, we think of these types of people to be those who protect and serve, right? Exactly. Protectors that could never do any harm, right? Right. As it should be. But then her neighbor reached out to her and said that their ring security camera had caught multiple videos of a man lurking outside her apartment, again on multiple occasions, always seeming as if he was trying to get inside. Before that short break, Daphne told us that shithead Miles had been stalking his friend Alicia Bates and even tried to break into her apartment.

Starting point is 00:21:14 And it was caught on film. So obviously terrified by this, Alicia watched the footage and spotted Miles attempting to break in time and time again over the course of a few months. He would knock, jiggle the door handle and tamper with the lock, look through the p-pull and into the cracks of the door, and even press his ear against the door to determine whether or not she was home. So creepy.

Starting point is 00:21:42 So Alicia remembers quote, I never put two and two together until my neighbor ended up telling me that there was like a guy coming and putting his ear to my door and listening to see if I was home and stuff like that. She was alarmed when she saw I'm knocking and she said that she saw I'm trying to break in. And that must have felt so violating. You know, like I remember when I was about a year, year and a half ago or something, because we have, you know, security cameras and somebody had stolen a package off

Starting point is 00:22:09 of our door and just seeing the footage of them in the middle of the night walking up to our door with a mask on in a hood and grabbing the package and like sprinting off into the night was so, it just made us feel so icky you know yes really freaky i can't imagine how she was feeling knowing that not only was somebody trying to break in multiple times with it's somebody that she knows somebody that she is supposed to be able to trust

Starting point is 00:22:35 exactly yeah it just makes it so much worse but luckily this was caught on the security footage exactly so Alicia was so disturbed that she obtained her own security camera system as well as a gun. She explained, quote, When my neighbor told me that she saw Miles come into our community and mess with my

Starting point is 00:22:54 door when I wasn't home, just trying to see if I was home messing with my door knob and stuff. Once she showed me the video, it was alarming. Then, one evening in December, Miles showed up at her apartment while she was inside with her boyfriend. She recalled being scared of Miles abusing his power as an officer, saying, quote, I was home, I was at the door with my gun, my boyfriend had his gun, and we were waiting for him to come through the door because I knew that he was a police officer. This pushed Alicia even further over the edge,

Starting point is 00:23:26 and she finally reported the incidents to the door of the police department. The police department apparently told Alicia that they conducted an administrative investigation and in interviews with local news outlets, officials also claimed that they had addressed the situation with Miles himself and that the behavior would stop. What does that mean?

Starting point is 00:23:46 Like, you address the situation, he's going to stop doing this. Like, oh, we told him to stop. He said he was going to stop. Like, it's giving that, you know? Yeah, it really is. It is. This is warranting pressing charges. But it's so frustrating because if he wasn't a fellow officer, they wouldn't be treating

Starting point is 00:24:02 him like that, you know, but they're saying, oh, we talked to him. It's fine. No, it's not fine. He's one of us. He's one of the guys. So when Alicia filed her police report, Miles' superiors did verify her claims with him, but he downplayed their concerns by saying that he was just checking on her, that he worried about her because she lived alone.

Starting point is 00:24:23 And also that he would stop going by her apartment unannounced. No, like you're a stalker, dude, stop that. It's yeah. The fact that he is allowed to say, I wasn't doing anything wrong. I was just doing my job. I was just checking on her. I just care.

Starting point is 00:24:38 Like, no. Well, obviously, you're trying to manipulate the situation and make it seem like he's not a bad guy when he really is. Of course he's trying to get away with it. So Alicia claims that police did this in order to cover for themselves and protect one of their own and she was essentially told that it was handled in house but with no obvious repercussions. Alicia was also apparently told that if she wanted to press criminal charges against

Starting point is 00:25:02 him that she would need to do so with the Gwinnett County Police Department. So she filed a report with them as well, but claims that her concerns were again dismissed. After Miles Bryant was let go, the Doraville Police released the following statement, quote, in December last year, a woman came to the Doraville Police Department

Starting point is 00:25:23 with a complaint against Mr. Bryant. Our officers talked with her about her concerns and started an administrative investigation. Our command team addressed the complaint with Mr. Bryant and the behavior stopped. When the complainant spoke with our officers that they let her know that any criminal charges would have to be pursued by Gwyneth County. It was the department's understanding that she filed a police report with the county, but the city's department was not informed of any further action from Gwyneth. Alicia has been an outspoken advocate against their handling of the case from the beginning,

Starting point is 00:26:01 saying, quote, I was scared for my life. She thoroughly believes that if Miles had been able to break in that night in December, that she would have been his next victim, saying QUOTE, I was shocked. It could have been me because he was the person at my door coming, unscrewing my knob. It was very alarming. Seemingly in an attempt to cover their tracks, Gwyneth County police announced that they were unsure

Starting point is 00:26:27 why Alicia's report was not investigated, but that in the wake of his arrest and the discovery of Susanna's body, they will be reopening Alicia's case. It's like, oh, now we're gonna open up the investigation. Now that we know that he probably killed someone. Yeah, oh, it just takes murder. That's all. Yeah, so stupid.

Starting point is 00:26:46 That's just sad and terrifying. So Alicia believed that if the police force had been more concerned with the behavior of their employees and less concerned with protecting their image, Susanna could still be alive today, stating, quote, I don't think they took the matter seriously because he was a cop. However, I feel like if they did, Susanna would still be alive.

Starting point is 00:27:08 Alicia has said that she is still haunted by the stalking that lasted almost an entire year. So as word spread about 22-year-old Miles Bryant's arrest, termination, and the likely role that he played in Susanna's death, his fellow officers, friends, and neighbors reeled from the shock. Though many like Alicia knew a darker side of him, others didn't see it at all. One neighbor explained her surprise by the news, saying, quote, it's hard to put my mind around it right now, that this person who lived in this complex did that.

Starting point is 00:27:43 This neighbor even recalled feeling safer having him around, knowing that he was both a police officer and that he worked security in the building. But in fact, that worked against all those that he came into contact with. Another neighbor remembers, quote, he was very normal, just smiling, laughing, and living his life.

Starting point is 00:28:02 Poor baby laid out in a field somewhere. Are you serious? How can he be that cold-hearted? How is somebody that cold-hearted? After his arrest, Miles' apartment was scoured for any sign of Susanna. And following this, a neighbor of Miles shared footage of police combing his home and retrieving items of note,

Starting point is 00:28:22 including a large white sheet. His squad car was also taken in for forensic processing. And at first, he was only charged with concealing a death and making a false report, you know, referring to the claim that his gun was stolen. But soon, the charges were upgraded to first-degree murder and kidnapping in addition to concealing a body and false report of a crime for his report of the theft of his gun. Those Susanna was found near Miles' gun.

Starting point is 00:28:50 Police have not released a cause of death, and it's not clear whether or not she was sexually assaulted. They also have not confirmed what if any evidence was found at the site of the discovery of Susanna's body aside from the fact that she was found devoid of clothing and jewelry, and that Miles' gun was found near her. Now, it's kind of interesting that, you know, and I'm sure that this will be cleared up, but she was found naked when her remains were found.

Starting point is 00:29:18 So, that to me kind of indicates that his intentions were to sexually assault her, but I guess they just have not confirmed that yet. Yeah, and also where are her clothes? We don't know if they were found in his home. If they were found at all, you know, as we're going to get into, there has not been a trial yet. So hopefully things will come out and hopefully even he will confess, but we'll see. So while authorities have been very quiet on the details of the charges leveled against him and everything else, the arrest warrant reads, quote,

Starting point is 00:29:51 accused, did, willfully, and knowingly, give a false report of a crime to a law enforcement officer by falsely reporting that his vehicle was broken into and his gun was stolen. According to the document, Miles alleged that someone broke into his black Ford F-150 truck in the parking lot of his apartment home when he left it unlocked by accident and took the gun, like I said earlier. So through their grief, Susanna's family and especially her sister Jasmine

Starting point is 00:30:19 have made a point of using Susanna's loss to push for change in their community and for crimes against minorities and immigrants to be taken as seriously as others. Jasmine fully believes that if her sister's disappearance had been treated as a matter of life or death when it happened, Miles could have been apprehended right away. And the Morales family was considered lucky, many families with missing loved ones are never given answers at all.

Starting point is 00:30:47 Susanna's case is sadly not the only one like it in the community. Rodrigo Floriana Mayan, who was another 16-year-old from the area, who happened to also attend Susanna's high school, was recently found dead in a home in Tucker, Georgia. Early, their bodies were discovered on the same day, and while police don't believe that the cases are related, they also received negative feedback for how Rodrigo Florianos case was downplayed. Rodrigo Florianos' death was supposedly caused by an overdose, but a friend of his is in custody for concealing his death and hiding his body.

Starting point is 00:31:25 After the discovery of two law students in one day, Medo Creek High School released a statement that read, quote, it is with deep sadness that I inform you about the tragic loss of two members of our Medo Creek High School family. Within the last 48 hours, we have lost two of our former students. One of the things I value about our school community is it's so close, caring, and supportive. Qualities we need at this time. Our hearts and thoughts are with family, friends, and loved ones of both students, as they cope with this tremendous personal loss.

Starting point is 00:32:04 This sad news, coupled with the way some learned about it, may raise many emotions, concerns, and questions from our school community, especially from some students. Dealing with death is hard, and it can be very challenging for high school age children. And I know that they did offer Greek, not Greek, grief counseling at the school school after this as well. When the news of Susanna's murder was known by everyone in the area,

Starting point is 00:32:32 another Norcross family claims that they received this same treatment as Susanna's family when they reported 24-year-old Selena Garcia missing. Selena had recently been released from prison, and was basically just trying to get her life back on track when she vanished without a trace one night. After her family was unable to track her down for close to two weeks, they reported her missing. But like Susanna's family, they were told that she likely elected to leave on her own accord. Selena's sister remembered, quote, they treated it as if she had just needed some time alone. She might have just needed a mental break, and I don't think that someone that needs

Starting point is 00:33:11 a mental break is going to be gone for this amount of time. On February 17th of this year, Arale was held mourning the loss of these three individuals outside the Gwyneth County Justice and Administration Center. The Gwinnett County Police Department, however, has repeatedly refuted claims that they have not taken Susanna's case as seriously as they should have. Reporting quote, as a department, we are committed to serving our community through the delivery of professional law enforcement services in an unbiased and compassionate manner. Under the name JusticeForsuzana.com, the Morales family website reads, quote,

Starting point is 00:33:50 We demand a fair and transparent investigation from the Doraville County Police Department. We demand all charges filed against miles. We demand miles be convicted of first-degree murder. We demand acknowledgement that Title 35 of the Georgia Code was violated when the officers told the family to wait 48 hours before reporting Susanna missing. They are also seeking as much information on the suspect Miles Bryant as possible. The only person who knows exactly what happened would be him and getting as much evidence of his demeanor and history

Starting point is 00:34:24 will help. In a press conference held by the family to raise awareness about Susanna's case, her mom Maria said sadly quote, �No amount of money, no amount of justice can bring her back to us. But what we can do is try to make sure that this doesn't happen to anybody else again, and that's why we're here. We do not want the person responsible for this to be free. We want them to receive justice, and we do not want them to receive bail.

Starting point is 00:34:53 And Susanna's sister Jasmine Echo, this by saying quote, we want to make sure that her death changes something, and that it means something in this world. On May 1st, 2023, Miles' bond hearing was held, but he still awaits trial because, you know, this is a very new story still. A change.org petition has been created, advocating that Miles be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, and that his history and law enforcement shouldn't offer him any protection from the fate that he deserves. So if you'd like to sign that, you can find it in the description of this episode. Maria said quote, maybe we would have found her little body together in one piece and

Starting point is 00:35:35 not the way it was found. We do not want any other families to go through what we are going through. Susanna's family believes that miles may not have acted alone and that he may have had help concealing the body or assistance within the police force in covering up the scope of his crimes. They encourage the police force to continue their investigation of what happened to Susana.

Starting point is 00:36:00 So if you have any additional information about the abduction and murder of Susanna Morales, please call the Gwyneth County Sheriff's Office at 770-822-3122. Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going West. Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode and on Friday we'll have an all new case for you. Tuesday. Oh my god. What fucking day is it?

Starting point is 00:36:40 Alright guys, Tuesday we'll have an all new case for you guys to dive into. Yes, we will. Thank you so much for listening to this one. We'd love to hear your thoughts as per usual. We are on all the socials, Instagram, atgoingWestPodcast, Twitter, atgoingWestPod. And we're also on Facebook. If you would like to comment your thoughts, if you'd like to share the case, that would be very helpful.

Starting point is 00:37:03 Also, remember that there is a petition in the description of this show. So please go sign that if you want to. And also, if there is any more information on Miles' trial, we will try and update you guys the best we can. Yes, and the place that we do that is on our socials. Every time that there is an update in a case that we learn about, we always post that on our story or just on our regular page, depending on the update.

Starting point is 00:37:27 And obviously when this trial happens, there might be a lot that comes out. And if there is, then we will just do a second episode on this, like an update episode. If there is enough to discuss, hopefully there will be. I mean, all any of us can hope for is that he confesses. True. And, you know know, also he may be responsible for other crimes that have not come to light yet, you know?

Starting point is 00:37:50 So it's possible that we could learn a lot more about Miles Bryant here. Exactly, so stay tuned. All right guys, so for everybody out there in the world, don't be a stranger. Thank you. you

Going West: True Crime - Susana Morales // 318

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