2 brothers indicted in string of DeKalb cold case rapes from the 1980s

Jeffrey Briney was indicted on four counts of rape, seven counts of kidnapping, one count of aggravated sodomy, two counts of armed robbery, five counts of criminal attempt to commit armed robbery, seven counts of aggravated assault, three counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and one count of possession of a firearm by a first offender. Jeffrey Briney’s charges were in relation to two separate home invasion rape cases.

David Briney was indicted on two counts of rape, five counts of kidnapping, five counts of criminal attempt to commit armed robbery, five counts of aggravated assault and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

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Both men are in jail without bond.

Investigators said that on March 28, 1986 at around 9:45 p.m., four men pushed their way into an apartment on Briarwood Road in what is now the City of Brookhaven. The suspects held five college students at gunpoint and raped two women before ransacking the apartment.

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On Oct. 27 the same year, two men with a handgun forced their way into an apartment on Buford Highway, raped two women that lived there and then tied them up and stole things from them.

Both cases went cold until 2023 when the GBI sent rape kits to private labs for testing. The Briarwood evidence came back matching both David and Jeffrey Briney. That DNA also matched one of the attackers in the Burford Highway case. The DNA also tied David Briney to seven other cases including one in Cobb and one in Fulton counties.

Earlier this month, Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Mark Winne talked to Fulton County Deputy District Attorney Julianna Peterson Eley about how she shared the news with the alleged victims.

“There were a lot of tears. There was a lot of overwhelmed feelings,” Eley said. “For a lot of these victims, they had never heard anything on their case for over 30 years.”

Investigators have identified nearly a dozen other cases that fit the same fact pattern. Anyone who thinks they may have more information is asked to call our Cold Case Tip Line at 404-371-2444.