Authorities have reported that a man from Georgia has been arrested on charges of murdering the mother of his child and burning her remains. The arrest comes after she discovered that he had secretly married another woman.
At a press conference on Monday, Lt. Ashanti Marbury of the Clayton County Police revealed that during the investigation into the disappearance and death of Briana Winston, 23, from College Park, Ga., they uncovered shocking details that even authorities were not anticipating. According to the police, Briana Winston was reported missing at the start of April after her concerned family was unable to contact her since mid-March. Her family continued to worry and eventually checked her apartment and they found out that her home had been “completely cleaned out by the father of her child and live-in boyfriend, Michale Edwards,” Clayton County Police said in a statement on April 26.
Detectives discovered that on the morning of March 17, Edwards visited the apartment where Briana Winston was staying. According to Lt. Ashanti Marbury, she confronted him about his infidelity, leading to an argument during which he allegedly choked her. Following the altercation, Edwards placed Winston’s body in a suitcase and transported it to an unidentified man’s residence in Gates. There, they allegedly placed her body in a burn barrel, doused it with accelerant, and set it ablaze, according to authorities.
They burned it for hours “until just skeletal remains” were left, Marbury alleged. “Then they used a shovel to break down Briana’s bones in an attempt to speed up the burning process,” she added.
Edwards allegedly disposed of a portion of the remains on the side of the highway while the other man “dumped her remains in a cemetery” she continued to allege.
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Investigators spoke to Edwards on April 4 after he was taken into custody on charges of aggravated stalking for reportedly violating a protective order related to a domestic violence incident involving Winston that occurred in October 2023. In addition to the stalking charge, Edwards is also facing charges of aggravated assault, malice murder, felony murder, and tampering with evidence.
Marbury stated that the case became a “family affair” when Edwards allegedly involved everyone in the crime. On April 5, investigators questioned Edward’s wife, Brienna Phillips-Edwards, who was arrested for allegedly giving false statements to the police.
“We also learned in that interview on April 5 that she had secretly married Michale on Jan. 25, 2024, and that nobody was aware that the two were married,” Marbury alleged.