Missing Clayton mom believed to be dead 6 weeks after vanishing, police suspect boyfriend, his wife

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — Six weeks after a woman vanished and someone cleaned out her apartment, Clayton County police now say they believe she is dead.

Family reported Briana Winston, a 23-year-old mom of a 4-year-old, missing on April 1 after going to her apartment and finding it had been completely cleaned out by Michale Edwards, her live-in boyfriend the father of her child.

Police say the family then went to her job and were told she didn’t show up to work on March 17.

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Channel 2′s Tom Jones spoke with Winston’s family as they passed out flyers and asking people for help finding her.

Winston’s uncle, Kendrick Langford, said that while he was searching behind her apartment building, he found a bag with something strange inside.

“It was a pair of shoes,” Langford said. “I know it was some bleach because I smelled the bleach in it.”

Investigators say they believe Winston vanished in the early morning hours of March 17. Despite her body not being found, they say all evidence points to Winston being dead. They will proceed with investigating the case as a homicide.

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Police have named Edwards and his wife, Brienna Phillips-Edwards, as persons of interest.

The family said Winston’s 4-year-old daughter is with her father and that Winston had a rocky relationship with him.

“The relationship was not good,” Langford said.

Anyone with details on Winston’s disappearance should call investigators at 770-477-3747.

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23-year-old mother missing 3 weeks after someone cleaned out her apartment, family says

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