A Duluth man was sentenced to life in prison for fatally shooting his wife and nearly killing his niece-in-law at a Gwinnett County apartment two years ago, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Bryan O. Miller was convicted Friday of malice murder and aggravated assault in the 2021 shooting after a jury rejected his efforts to claim self-defense or be found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, according to the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office. Superior Court Judge George Hutchinson sentenced Miller, who was 53 at the time of the incident, to life without parole, plus 30 years.
On May 18, Gwinnett police responded around 9:45 p.m. to the shooting at the Reflections on Sweetwater Apartments on Sweetwater Road. Officers arrived at the gated complex and entered building 6, where the niece-in-law — who was shot several times and had called 911 — yelled that the shooter might still be in the area, the DA’s office said.
Police continued into the apartment and found Gracie Miller, 61, dead from several gunshot wounds. An autopsy by the county medical examiner’s office determined she had a “contact-range” wound to the head, prosecutors said.
Her relative, who was visiting from New York, was also found suffering from several gunshot wounds, “particularly to her neck,” according to the DA’s office.
“(She was) desperately holding onto her life,” prosecutors said. The woman, who was 44 at the time, was taken to a hospital and survived.
Police utilized both ground and air units during the search for Bryan Miller, who approached the crime scene about an hour later, pretending to be unaware of what was happening, the DA’s office said. But a witness told police that Miller “uttered to himself” that he killed his wife, and the GBI found gunshot residue on his clothing, prosecutors said.
Bryan Miller, who also lived in the complex, was booked into the Gwinnett jail on charges of felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a gun during the commission of a felony.
Police said the Millers were separated at the time of the shooting.
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