At the time of her disappearance, Jorelys mother was inside while the child played outside, but a teenager was supposed to have been watching her.
Early in the case it had been revealed that the girl’s two younger siblings had been taken from their mother and placed in protective custody because of a lack of supervision, casting suspicion upon the mother in the disappearance.
Canton police launched a search for the girl late Friday evening, knocking on doors in the neighborhood and even interviewed registered sex offenders.
Police had been searching the apartment complex throughout the weekend, when the little girl’s lifeless body was discovered on Monday in a trash bin near the apartment where she lived.
Jorelys died of blunt force trauma to the head and stab wounds, the GBI said Tuesday.? She had also been sexually assaulted.
Now… just two days after the gruesome discovery an arrest was made in the case.
Details…
A 20 year old maintenance worker has been arrested and charged with the murder of the 7 year old girl.
According to the AJC:
GBI Director Vernon Keenan identified the man as Ryan Brunn, who was taken into custody around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. The suspect has been assigned two public defenders and has a first court appearance Thursday.
Keenan said Brunn lived at the River Ridge apartment complex where Jorelys lived and was killed, and had been a maintenance worker there. Tips from the public led investigators to Brunn, Keenan said.
Calling the killing “planned and calculated,” Keenan declined to discuss evidence leading to the arrest. But said the investigation is not over. “This is a mammoth case.”
Brunn, who has no known criminal record, had been under police surveillance since Tuesday evening, Keenan said. He had been employed at the complex since Nov. 7, John Bankhead, GBI spokesman, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Investigators will now re-trace Brunn’s history at previous addresses and in another state, Keenan said.
Keenan said Brunn had been charged in the killing, and additional charges may be filed by the Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office. “We are confidant that Brunn is the killer, that’s why he’s in custody,” Keenan said when asked if there are any other suspects.
Investigators said they believe Brunn abducted Jorelys within the vicinity of the playground, where she was last seen around 5 p.m. Friday. From there, Brunn allegedly took the girl to a vacant unit at the apartment complex, where it is believed he sexually assaulted her, beat and stabbed her, police said.
Brunn allegedly then put the girl’s body into a trash bin at the complex, which was later compacted. The body was discovered Monday. Because of his employment at the complex, Brunn had access to the compactor on the trash bin, Keenan said. (source)
Major props to the Canton authorities and the GBI for getting this monster off the street so quickly.