UPDATE: GBI spokesman John Bankhead said agents from the regional office in Milledgeville are on scene to investigate Brunn's death. An autopsy will be performed "hopefully tomorrow" by a GBI medical examiner, he said.
In an apparent suicide, Ryan Brunn, the 20-year-old who pleaded guilty to the murder of 7-year-old Jorelys Rivera, was found dead in his cell today, the Georgia Dept. of Corrections has confirmed.
The Ledger-News has learned that Brunn was found unresponsive in his cell at 4:15 p.m. and later was pronounced dead at 5:37 p.m. a hospital near the prison in Jackson.
Brunn pleaded guilty to the murder and other charges Tuesday. Superior Court Judge Frank Mills sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The Ledger-News has sought further comment from the Dept. of Corrections and a comment from the GBI, which now is investigating his death.
Brunn told the judge in court he lured Jorelys, a Canton Elementary first-grader, into a vacant apartment with a photo of her missing roller skate. It was there he asked her to disrobe, then he cut her with a utility knife and then bludgeoned her to death with the skate.
Breaking news from earlier today: Canton Police Chief resigns
Canton City Manager Scott Wood announced today that Police Chief Jeff Lance "decided to pursue other career options" and subsequently submitted his resignation as chief of the Canton Police Department this morning.
"He is a committed law enforcement professional who has served the people of Canton for over 20 years," Wood said. "We genuinely wish for him and his family the very best as he contemplates alternative career options."
Assistant Chief Todd Vande Zande will serve as interim chief of police; Wood said the search for a new chief will begin as soon as possible.
Lance's resignation came two days after a third-party review into the search for Jorelys Rivera was released to city officials. The review showed that the department did not follow "protocol."
According to the 17-page review performed by LaGrange Police Chief Louis Dekmar, the Canton Police Department failed to comply with its own policy, as well as accepted police practices.
“The review of the Rivera investigation revealed several lapses in policy compliance, omissions in accepted investigative protocol, and a tardy request for available outside agency resources,” said Dekmar. “Additionally, it revealed Incident Command Management issues that were inconsistent with accepted or approved practices.”
In regard to not adhering to its own policy, Dekmar said the department failed to provide proper notification to the police chief regarding the missing child.
“In the Rivera case, contrary to policy, rather than prompt notification of the police chief through the chain of command as soon as possible, chain of command notifications began one hour after the event began,” Dekmar said.
The report said Lance was not contacted until two hours after the incident, while Vande Zande was not informed until he heard the news from Lance. Dekmar said in the report that Lance did not arrive on scene until 17 hours after the child was reported missing; however, he was updated via phone calls. Detectives did not arrive at the River Ridge complex until two hours after Jorelys was reported missing.
The original 911 call came in Dec. 2 at 7:12 p.m.; Canton police arrived on scene three minutes later.
“Time is critical in these types of incidents,” Dekmar said. “The Canton Police Department response regarding the search effort during the first few hours of the missing report were consistent with accepted police practices.”
Law enforcement authorities upgraded the case status from missing to child abduction by 3:15 p.m., the following day. Dekmar said in his report that the responding officers continued to operate as though the child was a missing runaway after the critical 48 hour mark. The child’s body was discovered that following Monday in a trash compactor that investigators had moved off-site.
In addition, Dekmar concluded that the Canton Police Department failed to properly notify the National Center for Mission and Exploited Children (NCMEC) about Jorelys’ disappearance, as they were not informed until Dec. 4 at 4:40 p.m., 48 hours after the child had vanished from a playground in her neighborhood.
Dekmar said the department also failed to promptly notify the county’s Department of Family and Children Services, contrary to policy. DFCS was notified Dec. 3.
The report also revealed that department’s supervisory officers failed to request assistance from the state police (GBI and GSP); Missing-Children Clearinghouse; Victim-Witness Services; and NCMEC Project ALERT team. The report said GBI was contacted two days after the child was reported missing because Cherokee County Sheriff Roger Garrison had called the director and asked for any assistance.
Investigating officers from the department also failed to initiate a neighborhood canvas using standard questionnaires; to develop and execute an investigative plan; to determine what additional resources and specialized services were required; and to establish a lead-management system, Dekmar wrote.
In fact, law enforcement officials from other agencies reportedly told Dekmar they felt as though they “were walking on eggshells” during the search for the missing child. An internal affairs investigation conducted by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office concerning a deputy and trainee failing to report significant findings, also noted the “lack of a level of command.”
In response to the findings, Wood said, "We take very seriously the observations and recommendations included in this report and will work diligently to ensure that any and all advisable policy and procedural changes are developed, implemented, and maintained within our police department.”
For more on the third-party review and Lance’s resignation, see the Jan. 25 edition of the Ledger-News.
