DNA Matches Tie Brothers to Cold Case Rapes Across Metro Atlanta

DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announced on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, the indictments of two brothers linked to multiple rape cases around metro Atlanta from 1986 to 1987.

According to the indictment, Jeffrey Briney, 59, faces 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 Probationer.

David Briney, 62, faces 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.

Both brothers were arrested on February 27, 2024. Jeffrey Briney was taken into custody by deputies with the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Unit, while David Briney was arrested by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Unit. They remain in jail without bond.

The charges stem from incidents in 1986 and 1987. On March 28, 1986, four men forced their way into an apartment on Briarwood Road in what is now the City of Brookhaven, holding five college students at gunpoint and raping two young women.

Similarly, on October 27, 1986, two men entered an apartment on Buford Highway, where they raped both women residing there and stole valuables before fleeing.

New Testing Breaks Cases

The cases remained unsolved until June 2023 when the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) sent rape kits from the incidents to a private lab for testing.

DNA analysis from a rape victim in the Briarwood case revealed a match to Jeffrey Briney in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). The same DNA profile also matched one of the assailants involved in the Buford Highway case, highlighting a potential connection between the two crimes, which occurred within close proximity to each other.

Furthermore, in August 2023, DNA testing from the other victim in the Briarwood case yielded a CODIS match to David Briney. This discovery not only implicated David Briney in the Briarwood incident but also linked him to seven additional cases, including one in Cobb County and six in Fulton County, further broadening the scope of the investigation into his alleged criminal activities.

Georgia Sexual Assault Kit Initiative

David and Jeffrey Briney were identified through the investigative work of the Georgia Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (GASAKI) Task Force. GASAKI was established in 2018 in partnership with the Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) as part of a multi-year, multi-million dollar federal grant under the National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative. The team consists of prosecutors, investigators, and victim advocates from the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office, the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office, the Prosecuting Attorneys Council (PAC), and CJCC (with resources from the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department and Rape Response) working collaboratively to solve cold case sexual assault crimes.

Additionally, the GASAKI Task Force relies on the ongoing work and commitment of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab to process previously untested Sexual Assault Kits.

The FBI launched CODIS in 1998. Prior to that, investigators could only test DNA evidence if they had a suspect to whom they could compare the samples. The GBI has safeguarded the untested kits for years.

Thanks to a federal grant secured by CJCC, the GBI was able to send about 2,500 of those kits to private labs for processing in 2023. 74 of those kits were from DeKalb County cases.

Cold Case Tip Line

Investigators with the Office of the DeKalb County District Attorney have identified nearly a dozen other cases that fit the same fact pattern. In addition, there were others involved in some of these crimes who have not yet been identified.

Anyone who believes they have information about the Brineys or their unknown accomplices, please call our Cold Case Tip Line at 404-371-2444.