A “confession” from the “zombie hunter” sentenced to death for murdering two young women could link the death row inmate to another victim, authorities believe.
Bryan Patrick Miller, 51, who got his nickname because of his elaborate steampunk costume, is awaiting execution for the murders of Angela Brosso, 21, and Melanie Bernas, 17, in Phoenix in the early 1990s.
But now a chilling, obvious confession that Miller allegedly made to his ex-wife eight years ago has resurfaced, potentially linking him to a third case, the 1992 disappearance of 13-year-old Brandy Myers.
Brandy’s body was never found and there is no physical evidence linking Miller to her disappearance. Authorities point to an interview Miller’s ex-wife conducted with an FBI agent and a Phoenix police detective in which she told authorities that he admitted to killing a teenager matching Brandy’s description.
“He was our guy,” Troy Hillman, former head of the Phoenix Police Department’s cold case unit, told NBC’s Dateline.
Nearly 30 years later, 42-year-old Bryan Patrick Miller was convicted of the 1992 murders of two young women
Now an apparent confession Miller allegedly made to his ex-wife has resurfaced and could link him to a third case, the 1992 disappearance of 13-year-old Brandy Myers
Brandy’s body was never found and there is no physical evidence linking Miller to her disappearance. Authorities point to an interview Miller’s ex-wife conducted with an FBI agent and a Phoenix police detective in which she told authorities that he admitted to killing a teenager matching Brandy’s description
“There are many secrets about Bryan Miller that we still don’t know about.” “We can’t prove it, but we all firmly believe that Bryan Patrick Miller killed Brandy Myers.”
Stuart Somershoe, a retired Phoenix missing persons detective who investigated Brandy’s case, told NBC News: “He will never harm another woman or child, and that’s an important thing.”
But he said it was “frustrating” that Brandy was largely lost in the media coverage surrounding Miller’s high-profile trial.
“That frustrates me a lot because, again, she’s a real victim,” he said.
“She did nothing wrong and did not deserve the fate that befell her.”
Miller told Dateline that he was not involved in the killings of Brosso and Bernas and that he disagreed with the defense presented during his trial.
His lawyers had argued he was not guilty by reason of insanity.
Miller is serving his sentence in a special management unit at the Eyman Prison Complex in Florence, Arizona.
Miller, considered a “zombie hunter-killer,” drove a rigged patrol car through Phoenix, Arizona before his arrest
Angela Brosso, 22, and Melanie Bernas, 17, disappeared 11 months apart. Brosso’s head was later found in the canal where Bernas’ body was discovered
The horror-obsessed killer complained about the conditions in the prison where he is currently being held on death row
The horror-obsessed killer complained about the conditions in the prison where he is currently being held on death row
Miller (right) claims: “The food is still not great and the cells are getting very cold now that temperatures are dropping.”
The convicted murderer’s trial came almost 30 years after the first murder, and since then he has expressed frustration with the justice system, asking: “How is a human being supposed to defend himself… for a crime that was committed decades ago?”
The convicted murderer has publicly criticized prison conditions, complaining about the “cold” and the quality of the food.
“I’m even more isolated from those I care about and from my legal team, the food is still not great and the cells are getting very cold now that temperatures are dropping,” Miller told 48 Hours in October .
He also expressed frustration with his trial, which came nearly 30 years after the 1992 murders.
“How is a person supposed to defend himself and prove something for a crime that happened decades ago?” he wrote.
Miller’s defense attorneys claimed he suffered from dissociative amnesia and could not remember his role in the murders.
They also said his mother, who died in 2010, abused him as a child, which led to mental health problems – something the judge at trial agreed with after hearing the evidence.
“My mother was not a very good person in many ways, but what helped was that as an adult she admitted that she had done terrible things to me and apologized,” Miller wrote. However, he insisted: “I maintain that I did not commit the murders.”
Miller expressed that his greatest regret was not seeing his daughter, who was a teenager at the time of his arrest.
The 42-year-old was arrested in connection with the murders in 2015, when he was a divorced father of a teenage daughter
He says his biggest regret is not being able to spend time with his daughter and friends
It took investigators six months to use forensic evidence to link the deaths of Brosso and Bernas to Miller
They failed to make a breakthrough until his arrest in 2015. Pictured: Police tape around his house
It turned out that Miller had a sordid history of violent crime and stabbed another woman to death in 2002 after offering her a ride. He was acquitted of these charges when he claimed she tried to rob him
“What I miss most is spending time with my daughter and friends,” he said.
It took investigators six months to link the deaths of Brosso and Bernas to Miller and failed to make a breakthrough until his arrest in January 2015.
The horror-obsessed killer had purchased a decommissioned police car in Washington and drove it around Phoenix, calling himself “the Arizona Zombie Hunter.”
On a Facebook page dedicated to his hobby, Miller wrote, “Protecting Arizona from the things that go bump in the night.” Also available for your event.’
It later emerged that the former Amazon delivery driver had a troubled past – including the stabbing attack on another woman in Everett, Washington in 2002.
The woman, Melissa Ruiz-Ramirez, was given a ride by Miller, who took her to his workplace and stabbed her in the back with a 12-inch serrated knife.