Newly-released police reports show the lengths Phoenix Police went to try and solve the canal murder cases in the early 1990's.
Angela Brasso and Melanie Bernas were found murdered along the Arizona Canal in 1992 and 1993. They were stabbed to death and Brasso had been beheaded.
The full police reports, obtained by 12 News and the Arizona Republic, detail how cold case investigators continued to search for suspects.
The documents detail tips called in to investigators by members of the public. One woman apparently suspected her son might have had something to do with the murders, another woman believed her father may be linked to the case.
In the early 90's, DNA was not as commonplace as it is today. But by 2008, when more leads began to come in to the department, officers were collecting DNA on every person of interest they could find.
In at least two cases, officers flew out of state to conduct surveillance on potential suspects. The police reports detail the surveillance operations, with detectives tracking a person of interest for days. In one instance, investigators retrieved trash, a white napkin, belonging to one of those people. That napkin was later tested for DNA.
What the hundreds of pages of police records do not show, however, is how Bryan Patrick Miller came to be on Phoenix PD's list of suspects.
In the past, investigators have only said they obtained Miller's DNA during the course of surveillance operations, which later matched DNA found at the crime scenes.
Miller was arrested in January, 22 years after the murders. He has denied all involvement.
