CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. (TCD) — A 23-year-old missing woman’s boyfriend is charged with murder after her dismembered and burned remains were discovered in two different locations in Tennessee last week.
Briana Winston was reported missing to the Clayton County Police Department on April 1 after her family became concerned that she had not been seen or heard from since March 16. Relatives went to her apartment and saw that it had been “completely cleaned out” by Michale Edwards, her live-in boyfriend and father of her child. The family also learned she did not show up to work on March 17.
Clayton County Police said Winston’s disappearance was “exceptionally suspicious in nature,” and they had reason to believe she was deceased. The missing person case transitioned into a homicide investigation.
According to Clayton County Police Lt. Ashanti Marbury, investigators traveled to Tennessee on May 6 after receiving information that Winston’s remains could be located there. They met with a man on May 7 who initially would not provide details to police, but Marbury said investigators presented him with a proffer, meaning he would be immune from charges.
The man, who was not publicly identified, told police that Edwards went to Winston’s apartment on March 17, and the two argued about Edwards’ infidelity. Marbury said Edwards secretly wed Brienna Phillips-Edwards in January, and Winston reportedly found out about it. Edwards allegedly choked Winston during the fight, killing her. He then put her body in a suitcase and went to another location where he and the witness burned her remains in a barrel.
Marbury said the two men covered her body in accelerant, lit it on fire, and kept the flames going “until she was just skeletal remains.” After, Edwards allegedly took some of the remains to drop off on the side of the highway, while the other man disposed of the rest of the remains in a cemetery.
Edwards was arrested in April on a charge of aggravated stalking, but investigators say he reportedly spoke with Phillips-Edwards on the phone from jail and allegedly asked her to burn a pair of shoes and gloves. Edwards’ mother and brother allegedly assisted in destroying the items.
Edwards is now charged with aggravated assault, malice murder, felony murder, and tampering with evidence. His mother and brother are charged with conspiracy to tamper with evidence. There’s a warrant for Phillips-Edwards’ arrest because she allegedly let him use her car to drive to Tennessee and was “well aware of her whereabouts on March 17.”
“It turned into a family affair,” Marbury said. “He definitely looped everyone into this crime.”
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As horrific as this story is, it sadly highlights the dangers of intimate partner violence and the devastating consequences it can lead to. It’s crucial for everyone to be vigilant about red flags in relationships and to seek help when needed.