'Canal killings': Bryan Miller speaks at last, but offers no apologies or new clues

Bryan Miller addressed a Phoenix court on Monday, three decades after he murdered Angela Brosso and Melanie Bernas.

"I am not looking for sympathy today," Miller told Judge Suzanne Cohen, who must decide whether to sentence him to death or life in prison for the two murders committed in the early 1990s.

He said he could not imagine the pain experienced by the family and friends of Brosso and Bernas. But this acknowledgment of their suffering — and a stated desire that his words not compound it — was as far as Miller went.

He accepted the verdict, he said, and hoped it provided "some measure of relief."

But he did not apologize for killing Brosso and Bernas.

Nor did he shed any light on the circumstances of their deaths. With no known witnesses to either murder, all that is known about each young woman's final moments is what has been pieced together from forensic evidence.

"I wish I could provide answers to the questions you have," Miller said. "I have learned new things about myself in this process, and while I don't have all the answers, I hope to find some."

For subscribers: The man accused in the Phoenix canal killings goes to trial 30 years after 2 women died

The two murders, 30 years ago

Miller was convicted of murdering the two women 10 months apart, killing Brosso in November 1992 on the eve of her 22nd birthday and Bernas, who was a 17-year-old high school student, in September 1993.

Each young woman was out cycling along Phoenix canals when they were attacked. They both died from a forceful stab wound to the back and were mutilated and sexually assaulted after death.

Brosso's body was found on the morning of Nov. 9, 1992, in a field just east of the apartment block where she lived with her boyfriend. She had been decapitated and subject to a knife attack so frenzied her torso was all but cut in two. Her head was found 11 days later in the Arizona Canal where it flows by Metrocenter.

Brosso's body was also found in Arizona Canal, not far from where Brosso's head was located, on the morning of Sept. 22, 1993. She had carvings across her chest and a cut across her neck and had been dressed in a turquoise bodysuit.

DNA evidence suggested the same man was responsible for both murders, but with no suspect to match it to, the case ran cold for two decades. Miller was arrested in January 2015 after new forensic analysis led police to him.

He pleaded guilty for reasons of insanity and told experts he could not recall the murders.

But after a lengthy bench trial, which ran in fits and starts in the Maricopa County Superior Court, he was found guilty last month.

In the weeks since, the state has pursued the death penalty, while Miller's attorneys have sought to persuade Cohen he should receive a life sentence.

'I know I am different'

On Monday, Miller spoke for just over 2 minutes.

He stood flanked by his defense attorneys as he addressed Cohen from the lectern, his voice firm and, for the most part, unwavering.

His words were an allocution statement — an opportunity to address the judge prior to sentence — not testimony. Miller was neither sworn in nor questioned by anybody.

He said he was sorry with regard to his daughter, who was 15 when he was arrested and charged with murder in 2015. Miller raised her as a single father after gaining full custody around 2008.

"She means the world to me and if there's anything I can do to make this part of her life easier, I will do it," he said. "I was not a perfect father, but I tried my best."

"I am sorry for the damage this experience has caused her. I miss her."

'Zombie Hunter': Judge hears about Bryan Miller's persona

Miller also talked about his childhood and experiences with his mother, a topic that dominated the trial, and declared he "wanted to learn more" about himself.

"I know I am different. I didn't understand completely why. I thought it had to do with what my mother did to me," he said. "Growing up, I was scared. I was lost. I was confused. I was not allowed to express myself."

"I want to get help in trying to open up the parts of me I know I have shut out."

There was more he could say, he added, but "this has gone on long enough".

Closing statements on Miller's sentence will begin Wednesday.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Canal killings: Bryan Miller addresses court, says he accepts verdict