A ‘confession’ made by the ‘Zombie Hunter’ who has been sentenced to death for the murder of two young women may link the Death Row inhabitant to another victim, authorities believe.
Bryan Patrick Miller, 51, who earned his nickname for his elaborate steampunk costume, is awaiting execution for the murder of Angela Brosso, 21, and Melanie Bernas, 17, in Phoenix in the early 1990s.
But now a chilling apparent confession Miller allegedly made to his ex-wife eight years ago has resurfaced that may link him to a third case, the disappearance of 13-year-old Brandy Myers in 1992.
Brandy’s body was never found and no physical evidence links Miller to her disappearance, authorities point to an interview Miller’s ex-wife had with an FBI agent and a Phoenix police detective in which she told authorities that he admitted to killing a teen who matches Brandy’s description.
‘He was our guy,’ the former head of the Phoenix Police Department’s cold case unit, Troy Hillman, told NBC’s Dateline.
Bryan Patrick Miller, 42, was convicted over the 1992 murders of two young women nearly 30 years later
Now an apparent confession Miller allegedly made to his ex-wife has resurfaced that may link him to a third case, the disappearance of 13-year-old Brandy Myers in 1992
Brandy’s body was never found and no physical evidence links Miller to her disappearance, authorities point to an interview Miller’s ex-wife had with an FBI agent and a Phoenix police detective in which she told authorities that he admitted to killing a teen who matches Brandy’s description
‘There are many secrets to Bryan Miller that we still don’t know about. We can’t prove it, but we all strongly 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.’
However, he said it was ‘frustrating’ that Brandy was largely lost in the media coverage surrounding Miller’s high-profile trial.
‘That frustrates me greatly, because again, she’s a true victim,’ he said.
‘She did nothing wrong and didn’t deserve the fate that befell her.’
Miller told Dateline he was not involved in the killings of Brosso and Bernas and said he didn’t agree with the defense presented during his trial.
His lawyers had argued he wasn’t guilty by reason of insanity.’
Miller is spending his sentence at a Special Management Unit at the Eyman Prison Complex in Florence, Arizona.
Miller, deemed the ‘Zombie Hunter killer,’ drove a tricked-out squad car around Phoenix, Arizona prior to his arrest
Angela Brosso, 22, and Melanie Bernas, 17, disappeared 11 months apart. Brosso’s head was later found in the canal where Bernas’s body was discovered
The horror-obsessed murderer complained about the conditions in the prison where he is currently being held on death row
The horror-obsessed murderer 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 falling’
The convicted killer’s trial took place nearly 30 years after the first murder, and he has since expressed frustration with the justice system, asking: ‘How is a person supposed to defend themselves…for a crime that happened decades ago?’
The convicted killer has publicly criticized the conditions of the prison, complaining about the ‘cold’ and the quality of the food.
‘I am even more isolated from those I care about and also my legal team, the food is still not great and the cells are getting very cold now that temperatures are falling,’ Miller told the tv program 48 hours in October.
He also voiced frustration about his trial, which took place almost 30 years after the 1992 murders.
‘How is a person supposed to defend themselves and prove anything for a crime that happened decades ago?’ he wrote.
Miller’s defense lawyers claimed he suffered from dissociative amnesia and couldn’t remember his role in the killings.
They also said his mother, who died in 2010, had abused him as a child, leading to mental health problems – something that the judge in the trial agreed to after hearing evidence.
‘My mother was not a very good person in so many ways, but what helped was that when I was an adult, she acknowledged that she did horrible things to me and apologized,’ Miller wrote. However, he insisted: ‘I maintain I did not do the murders.’
Miller expressed that his biggest regret was not seeing his daughter, who was just a teenager at the time of his arrest.
The 42-year-old was arrested in 2015 in connection to the murders, at the time a divorced father with a teenage daughter
He says his biggest regret is not being able to spend time with his daughter and friends
Investigators took six months to link the deaths of Brosso and Bernas to Miller through forensic evidence
They failed to make a breakthrough until his arrest in 2015. Pictured: police tape surrounding his home
Miller was revealed to have a sordid history with violent crime and stabbed a different woman in 2002 after offering her a ride. He was cleared of those charges when he claimed she had tried to rob him
‘What I miss most is spending time with my daughter and friends,’ he said.
Investigators took 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 acquired a decommissioned police car in Washington and drove it around Phoenix, deeming himself ‘The Arizona Zombie Hunter.’
On a Facebook page dedicated to his hobby, Miller wrote: ‘Keeping Arizona safe 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 checkered past – including the 2002 stabbing of a different woman in Everett, Washington.
The woman, Melissa Ruiz-Ramirez, accepted a ride from Miller, who took her to his workplace and stabbed her in the back with a 12-inch serrated knife.