The judge found Miller guilty in April on charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and attempted sexual assault for the savage stabbing attacks on Angela Brosso in 1992 and Melanie Bernas in 1993.
Bryan Patrick Miller, also known as the “Zombie Hunter,” has been sentenced to death for the gruesome murders of two women who were attacked while biking along a canal in the 1990s
During the sentencing, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Suzanne Cohen condemned Miller’s actions, stating, “The defendant did not just murder them. He brutalized them. And he evaded capture for over 20 years.” The judge’s decision to impose the death penalty disappointed Miller’s defense team, who expressed their intention to continue fighting to save his life.
Angela Brosso was assaulted on November 8, 1992, while biking along a Phoenix canal. Her decapitated body was discovered in a field the following day, which would have been her 22nd birthday. Her head was found in the Arizona Canal more than a week later. Less than a year later, Melanie Bernas, a high school junior, was found dead in the Arizona Canal, about a mile and a half away from where Brosso’s remains were discovered. Bernas had been sexually assaulted, and her killer had carved a cross into her chest.
The cases remained unsolved until 2015 when DNA evidence linked Miller, a single father and Amazon employee, to the murders
In March 2022, Miller waived his right to a jury trial and pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. However, he was ultimately found guilty in April this year.
Expressing the pain and loss endured by the victims’ families, Brosso’s mother, Linda, stated in court, “The defendant stole my angel from the Earth. Angela was my one and only. I will never be able to plan her wedding. I will never have grandchildren.” Similarly, Bernas’ older sister, Jill Canetta, emphasized the ongoing anguish, saying, “Words cannot begin to explain the level of excruciating pain we experience every single day since her murder. We live without her smile, her hugs, her companionship. We live without her love.”