How Susan Morales’ Walk Home Ended in Horror After a Police Officer Was Convicted of Her Murder

Teenager Susanna Morales left a friend's apartment in Norcross, Georgia, on a summer night in 2022 with a short walk home ahead of her. The trip should have taken 15 minutes. However, the 16-year-old vanished without a trace. Months later, investigators covered her remains in a wooded area and charged a local police officer with her murder.

The case, now featured in the “20/20” episode “Tracking Susana,” stunned the community because the man convicted was sworn to protect it.

“I want her to remember by her laugh, that she was a beautiful girl, and at the end of the day, she was just a sister, a daughter, a friend, and that night, she was on the way home, and nobody had the right to take that away from her,” her sister, Jasmine Perez, told ABC News.

Morales disappeared on July 26, 2022, after visiting friends at the Sterling Glen Apartments. At 9:40 p.m., she texted her mother to say she was walking home. Phone data later shot. She was heading in the direction between 10:07 p.m. and 10:21 p.m. But she never arrived.

Her family reported her missing the next morning. Relatives later said they believed investigators first treated the teen as a runaway instead of a possible victim.

Gwinnett County Police Chief J.D. McClure said investigators had determined that Morales had encountered someone during the walk.

“We know that between 10 and 10:30 p.m. Susanna had an interaction with an individual,“ McClure said. “Ultimately, she was not seen or heard from again.”

Authorities believed Morales may have entered a vehicle during that time. Her cell phone continued pinging near Oak Loch Trace before it either died or was turned off.

The case broke open months later, on February 6, 2023, when Morales’ skeletal remains were discovered near Highway 316 in a wooded area. Investigators identified the teen after finding fingers with black fingernail polish that matched her appearance before she disappeared.

Authorities also noted that there was little clothing near the remains. Detectives believed she had been naked when her body was left there.

Near the scene, investigators found a black Glock 19 handgun. That weapon became one of the most important clues in the case.

The gun belonged to Miles Bryant, then a 22-year-old officer with the Doraville Police Department. Bryant had also worked as a courtesy officer at the same apartment complex Morales visited the night she vanished.

Investigators discovered Bryant had reported the gun missing on July 27, 2022, which was just hours after Morales disappeared.

Phone records later placed Bryant near the wooded area where Morales’ body was found on the night she vanished. Investigators also uncovered Internet searches from Bryant that included questions about how long it takes a body to decompose.

Despite the evidence, Bryant pleaded not guilty to charges that included malice murder, felony murder, and kidnapping.

During court hearings in 2024, prosecutors presented testimony describing Bryant’s behaviour towards young women before Morales disappeared.

Witnesses said Bryant harassed and stopped women at apartment complexes and sometimes entered apartments without permission.

Alyssa Marvin, a friend of Morales, testified that she and Morales had previously met Bryant at Sterling Glen Apartments. She said Bryant offered them drugs and asked if they wanted a ride in his car, and they refused.

Jurors also saw video footage shown by Gwinnett Police Detective Angela Carter. In the recording, Brian threatened a teenage runaway two months before Morales disappeared.

He warned the girl that she could be kidnapped, murdered and left in the woods.

In June 2024, he was convicted of murder, felony murder, kidnapping and filing a false report. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole, plus an additional 12 months.

Bryant later sought a new trial, but the request was denied. His appeal is now before the Georgia Supreme Court.