Miles Bryant declined to testify on his own behalf on Tuesday. Closing arguments are set for Wednesday.
A former Georgia cop charged with kidnapping and killing a teenage girl two years ago won’t testify in his own defense, his defense team decided after the prosecution rested its case on Tuesday.
Attorneys initially said that Miles Bryant would testify on his own behalf, but when the judge asked him if he wanted to take the stand, he declined, WXIA reported.
Bryant was fired from his job as a Doraville police officer last year when he was arrested for the murder of 16-year-old Susanna Morales, who disappeared in July 2022, as CrimeOnline reported. Her skeletal remains were found seven months later in a wooded area off Highway 316 in Gwinnett County.
Bryant’s gun was found “in close proximity” to Morales’s remains. He had reported it missing the day after the girl disappeared.
On the final day of testimony on Tuesday, Gwinnett Police Detective Angela Carter told the jury that cell phone data put Bryant at the spot where the teen’s body was found and that he conducted multiple searches related to her disappearance, WSB reported. Carter said he also searched for his license plate number on a website that tracks license plate recognition cameras.
Investigators also found that Bryant searched Google for information about how long a body takes to decompose.
Attorneys used the remainder of Tuesday to argue about jury instructions and are expected to present closing arguments on Wednesday.
