Decision delayed in convicted killer Miles Bryant's request for new trial

Ex-officer Myles Bryant seeks new trial in murder case

Myles Bryant, a former Doraville Police Officer serving life in prison for the 2022 kidnapping and murder of 16-year-old Susana Morales, returned to court to request his conviction be overturned. 

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - A former Doraville police officer convicted in the kidnapping and murder of 16-year-old Susana Morales is asking a judge to throw out his conviction and grant him a new trial.

PREVIOUS STORY: Miles Bryant guilty, sentenced in murder of 16-year-old Susana Morales

What we know:

A motions hearing took place Thursday morning in the Superior Court of Gwinnett County in the case of Miles Bryant.

During the hearing in Gwinnett Superior Court on Thursday, the defense called one witness — Bryant’s former trial attorney, Tracy Drake — who testified about several issues raised in the amended motion, including her objections to Life360 location evidence, concerns about not receiving the full scope of a jailhouse informant’s testimony in discovery (including a reference to the death penalty and "only one body"), and points where she said she either chose not to object for strategic reasons or missed testimony she now believes should have been challenged.

"Normally, that would have been something absolutely to object to," Drake testified, referring to certain pieces of testimony. "It was kind of difficult in this case because it was so emotionally charged. I probably should have objected more, but I was trying to temper with not being [seen as an aggressive] defense attorney to the jury."

Prosecutors questioned Drake on her experience and her review of discovery evidence, specifically asking why she did not review the District Attorney’s entire file under the office's "open file" policy.

On cross-examination, the state questioned Drake about her experience, her review of discovery, her awareness that the informant was on the witness list, and why she did not review the district attorney’s entire file under the office’s open-file policy.

After the witness was excused, the state asked to submit a written brief after the hearing it receives the hearing transcript. The defense said it was not opposed and said it was preserving all previously filed issues.

Decision delayed in Miles Bryant retrial request

A former Doraville police officer convicted in the kidnapping and murder of 16-year-old Susana Morales is asking a judge to throw out his conviction and grant him a new trial. The judge heard from his former lawyer during a hearing on Thursday. She will make a decision after the state files its response. 

The judge reserved making a ruling and gave the state 30 days from the date the transcript is filed to submit its brief.

The backstory:

Bryant was convicted in June 2024 of malice murder, felony murder, kidnapping and misdemeanor false report of a crime in the death of Susana Morales. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 12 months.

The original motion for a new trial was filed on June 13, 2024, and has been amended twice since that date. 

In a second amended motion for new trial filed Nov. 26, 2025, Bryant’s attorney, Richard Armand, argues Bryant received ineffective assistance of counsel and that the verdict should be set aside.

The filing contends trial counsel failed to object to portions of testimony from medical examiner Carol Terry, M.D., who told jurors, "I'm very suspicious of strangulation, chest impression, suffocation, smothering, something of that nature. And I just do not have the body in a condition where I can prove that or disprove that. And so I've called it undetermined."

Terry also testified, "I can say I'm very suspicious, and that's where I have to leave it," and added, "[a]nd these circumstances are very suspicious for homicidal violence. But I can't prove it because of the condition of the remains."

Bryant’s motion argues that testimony violated Georgia evidence rules and improperly allowed the jury to base its finding of guilt on speculation. The filing cites Strickland v. Washington and Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., asserting there is a reasonable probability the outcome would have been different had the testimony been excluded.

The defense further argues that the cumulative effect of alleged trial errors and deficient performance by counsel denied Bryant a fundamentally fair trial.

Bryant was convicted in the July 26, 2022, disappearance and killing of Morales, who never returned home after visiting a friend at the Sterling Glen Apartments, where Bryant also lived. Authorities initially considered her a runaway. Six months later, her remains were discovered in Dacula along Drowning Creek Road near Highway 316.

Susana Morales (Supplied)

A jury deliberated for about six hours before returning guilty verdicts on all major counts.

What we don't know:

The judge did not set a specific date for a decision, granting both legal teams additional time to file supplemental paperwork before a final ruling is issued.