Clayton County Police on Monday alleged the family of a man accused of killing his estranged girlfriend may have played a role in the woman’s death.
In a recent update on the investigation, police said Ebony Anderson, Brieanna Phillips-Edwards and Keilan Wright have recently been charged in connection with the death of Briana Winston, whose charred remains were found earlier this month dumped behind a cemetery of a Tennessee church.
Michale Edwards, Winston’s one-time 23-year-old boyfriend and father of their four-year-old daughter, is accused of strangling Winston and driving her body to Ripley, Tennessee in mid-March, where he and another man allegedly burned her remains in a burn barrel and discarded them.
Edwards has been charged with felony murder in connection with Winston’s death. He also faces charges of concealing a death, tampering with evidence, aggravated assault and conspiracy to commit a crime.
Investigators said during the update last week that both Ebony Anderson, Michale Edwards’ mother, and Brieanna Phillips-Edwards, whom Michale Edwards secretly married in January, may have been more involved than previously thought.
Police captured a phone call Michale Edwards made from the Clayton County Jail on April 8, during which he allegedly told Phillips-Edwards to burn shoes and gloves that investigators think may have been used in the killing
Edwards had been detained in the Clayton County Jail after admitting to investigators that he had visited the apartment he shared with Winston in recent months, despite an October protective order instructing him to stay away from her.
Investigators said they believe Ebony Anderson was listening in on the April 8 call.
Investigators also said they found text messages between Michale Edwards and Phillips-Edwards that suggest she lent him her Toyota Corolla to transport the body.
Anderson and Wright are charged with conspiracy to commit a crime and tamper with evidence, while Edwards is charged with party to the commission of a crime.
Winston’s family attended the Thursday police update, but declined to comment on the latest developments. Last week, they told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the details of Winston’s death have been devastating.
“I’ve had many sleepless nights, crying every night,” Jasmine Walker said Friday. “Just knowing what happened and that no one was there to help her.”
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