
Cherokee Sheriff's Department / AP
Ryan Brunn, 20, of Canton, is shown in his Dec. 7 booking photo.
JACKSON, Ga. -- An apartment complex maintenance man who molested and killed a 7-year-old girl committed suicide in prison on Thursday, two days after being sentenced to life in a notorious case that led to the resignation of a town police chief.
“I can confirm that Ryan Brunn did commit suicide," Kristen Stancil, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections, told the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Brunn was fund unresponsive in his cell at the Jackson State Prison on Thursday afternoon and was pronounced dead at a hospital, the newspaper reported.
Corrections officials did not say how Brunn killed himself. A source told 11Alive News than Brunn hanged himself.
On Tuesday, Brunn pleaded guilty to molesting and killing 7-year-old Jorelys Rivera. The girl disappeared Dec. 3 from a playground at her Canton, Ga., apartment complex after going to get sodas from her friends. Her body was found a few days later in a trash bin.
Speaking softly and with little emotion, Brunn told the court he lured Jorelys into a vacant apartment, molested her, then beat and stabbed her.
He said that when she struggled, he hit her about five times with one of her roller skates and then wrapped her body in a blanket, which he then dumped in a trash compactor.
"I didn't want her to go home and tell her mom or dad on me," Brunn said. "So I cut her."
Hundreds gather to mourn slain Ga. girl
Brunn insisted he never had sex with the girl, and prosecutors agreed to reduce charges against him from aggravated child molestation to child molestation. He also pleaded guilty to a range of other charges, including assault and abandonment of a dead body. He had no history of a criminal past and passed a background check to work at the complex.

Ricardo Arduengo / AP
Joselinne Rivera mourns in front of the coffin containing the body of her daughter, Jorelys Rivera, during herĀ funeralĀ in Penuelas, Puerto Rico, on Dec. 13.
Canton Police Chief Jeff Lance resigned after a review revealed his department violated several of its own policies and made many mistakes in the search for Jorelys.
A 17-page review by LaGrange Police Chief Louis Dekmar said Lance and his department made a host of mistakes, according to The Associated Press.
The inquiry said there was little doubt that Rivera was already dead by the time Canton police received the missing child report. But it said if another such report were handled in the same manner, police "may indeed miss an opportunity to save a victim's life."
The review found that the officer who responded to the initial call treated the case as a routine one that "would be solved in the same manner as dozens of other such cases that the agency had handled in 2011."
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News


AWESOME!!! Burn in hell!
There are more grammar errors in this article than the mistakes the police department made. Anyways.... this guy saved us a lot in tax dollars. RIP to this little girl.
May he eternally choke on wad of Satan's ... well, you get the idea.
They think it was suicide..or maybe Bubba just helped him along. After all, even Bubba's have kids,
He haged himself? Is that something like swallowing a cup of ground glass? I hope so.
Anyways? Grammatical errors? GCK- WYO?
He killed an innocent baby girl - haging's too good for him! Wretched pun over wretched copy editing aside, rest in peace baby girl!
He got it all backwards. He should've killed himself BEFORE he went near that girl.
This story isn't about him, nor should it be.
RIP little one.
Ah, anothertop quality MSNBC editing job! Does anyone at MSNBC know how to write a complete sentence without grammatical errors and spelling mistakes?
I hope she gets her eternal vengeance on him in the afterlife!
Hanged himself.
Ri-i-i-ight.
That's pretty old school, you know, 'giving' a prisoner something to 'hang himself' with.
I. Love. It.
Now the taxpayers won't be burdened with decades of publicly funded representation and appeals... to say nothing of his incarceration and health care.
Good riddance.
Thanks Dude for saving the taxpayers lots of money for years you didn't deserve to live.
Gray or grey? Both are correct. But how is it that he "was fund unresponsive"? Now that's a tuff one to comprehend. Just imagine MSNBC response if it was Bush or a Republican that wrote this garbage. What a joke! HYPOCRITES!
The cowardly ba$turd took the easy way out. Rest in Peace little one.
you people with your grammar and spelling test, will you just shut up and write about the story, nobody cares about the grammatical error, they got the job and you didnt, soo shut the hell up, simple okay geeesus.
you guys arent so perfect either.
the story should have been about the girl & no pictures of him. at least he saved the county lots of money.
Proper writing technique is not a requirement at a school of journalism. A political correctness is.
This sentence is grammatically incorrect. Embarrassed?
And to you as well!
In the old days like may be the 1800 they would give a man that they thought to be guilty of a crime, a gun to kill himself rather then be embarrassed going to Court, and most of them did kill themselves and saved the cost of keeping them in prison. Not a bad idle if you think about it.
Oh I like that idea Chuck. Just like in the movie The Count of Monte Crisco - however there was no bullet so the offender had to suffer.
probably hung himself with a jail guards belt....
Uh, clothes are hung - people are hanged. No charge for the remedial English.
Gumps - I charge you with being a wad stuck to a wall.
mojo77 - Rock on, and don't let some insolent dolt silence you.
Young lady, rest in peace.
Gumps wasn't insolent - he was pointing out ignorance. You want to promote ignorance??
"Hanged" is the right word but, hey, at least he didn't say the guy was well hung.
Buh dum tish
Notanidiotlikeolegunny, the ignorance is that both are grammatically correct. It is only in the last 20 years that "hanged" has become more used with people. Back in the 1960's, if you said hanged, would would have been considered wrong by most people.
I am glad this scum killed himself Good riddance.
Sonar, you're an idiot. Stop breathing.
"Hung", "Hanged", WTF makes the difference? Do you idiots that argue back and forth over every little spelling or grammatical error not realize that you only suceed in making yourselves look like petty, moronic children. Whether you're right or wrong, you ALL come across as juvenile little weasles.
You are judged by the way you act, how you speak, the clothes you wear and if you want your written comments to be taken seriously, you ARE judged by how and what your write.
A man was hanged for his role in a murder.
But you will never say you hanged a picture on a wall.
Get it?
All are correct... some are archaic, some are used in different English speaking countries, and others have acquired different meanings over the centuries... nonetheless, all are correct!
RDF-44 - considering your name calling, do you really think that you come across any better than those whom you criticize? It's much more juvenile to call others names than to correct grammar and spelling errors. Like wilsonaide stated, if someone wants to be taken seriously, he or she needs to know how to use proper grammar, spelling and punctuation. It's gotten to the point that it's almost painful to read these posts because only about one out of ten people know the correct use for words such as their, they're and there, to, two and too, your and you're, etc.
BTW, you misspelled "weasles". It should be spelled weasels. Not only do you point a finger at others and call them names, you are too lazy to click on spell-check.
who cares, now shut up already
good let them all kill themselves
I agree, but I wish he had to live out his miserable days like the captive monster he is/was.
doolittle13: why should your tax dollars allow him three meals a day, a bed to sleep in, books to read, tv to watch, even college classes would be paid for; just so he can live out the rest of his life? He sure didn't give any of that to the 7 year old girl. Better for him to be dead, but I would have liked to see it at the hands of Bubba and not suicide.
Oh agreed for sure!! Just thought he could suffer in the days leading up to Bubba's wrath.
He didn't commit suicide to do US a favor, he did it to do himself a favor. In which case I am against it - because he should receive no favors.
Completely contrary to the business of courts, lawyers and prisons which are a multi trillion dollar enterprise, the new president and congress should pass laws streamlining this system and finding a devils island to throw these criminals on. It is a shame to spend $30,000 a year, feeding clothing and protecting this shi*.
Mexico has a devil's island, María Madre, in the Islas Marias island chain 70 miles west of the Mexican mainland. It has a capacity for 5000 prisoners.
First right thing this POS ever did. Justice served.
Wow. Assault and murder a 7 year old, kill yourself..........that was REALLY worth it.
When we talk theoretically about how we'd like to die, no one ever says "suicide after murder" or "texting while in traffic" and yet so many people make choices that lead them to such tragic endings. Weird, that.
I wonder who did what to the perp that made him want to do something like this - and then act on the urge (not impulse - he'd been thinking about it for weeks before, based on things he said to neighbors). I'm guessing someone molested/raped him when he was a kid. I am relieved that he's no longer going to be a threat or burden to anyone again. But I can't help wondering what secrets died with Brunn. He was pretty messed up for being as young as he was.
Don't they watch these guys in jail? This guy was able to take the easy way out.
We're all better for it. The prisons are overcrowded. He likely wouldn't have ever been a contributing member of society. The only shame is that he waited till after he terrorized and murdered a child to off himself, rather than doing it before he got that warped.
Another scum bag bites the dust!
I hope the guards had something to do with it, and they should do this to all the fricken pedophiles in jail. This will save more kids in this world. R.I.P brave little girl. Damn can you imagine the fear in her. Errrrrrrrrrrrr
Oh, you know, this sort of thing used to happen to guys like this... now where did that belt come from?
He did take the easy way out. But, a trial would not have guaranteed life or death in prison. He could have gotten ten years, and been out in seven, just to do it again. Also, her family does not need to go through a trial and hear every gory detail of what he did to their little girl. Everybody wins!
Leah Ryan, he was convicted on Tuesday after electing to plead guilty. He was then sentenced to life without parole....as the first paragraph states.
No guarantees on that. Glad he's dead. Hope it was slow.
What is happening to this world and our society? Where are these freaks and scum coming from? Everyday I read a story like this only the creep doesn't off himself usually. Any criminal act against a child should be automatic life in prision at the very minimum! and I believe that is a generous sentance. These people should not be allowed to ever and I mean ever be allowed back on the street? Legislation has to be changed. If you are convicted and found guilty of the crime of phedophilia you should serve the remaninder of your life behind bars. There is no cure for this. These people can not be rehabilitated this is their sexual preferance this is what arouses them! You can not cure a human being of this! WE should start a nationwide pettition to have our government change this and make into law and make it iron clad so the freakin Lawyers do not find a way to change it or make money off of it! We have the power to stop this particular crime if people would just ban together. We have to stop this unspeakable horror against our children!
Try reading.
"two days after being sentenced to life"
I literally flipped him off when I saw his picture. burn in hell POS . RIP Jorelys. I'm sorry about the pain you suffered in the hands of this animal.
PS- Who the heck does the editing on these articles?.. somebody's not doing their job.
I wonder if he had help in his sucide?
Let's hope.
I really hope so, and I hope he suffered every second of it.
"suicide is painless" give him his due, he did the right thing..
I have to agree with you there, but I would have prefered that he had kill himself before he had murdered a little girl. She would still be alive, and I could even find sympathy for him. As it turned out, well, we all know how it turned out.
Would be nice if they put "Old Sparky" back in commission. Murdering pedophiles don't deserve to live comfortably or to die mercifully. They had no compassion for their victims. We need a deterrent to these types of crimes. Maybe if they saw a few of their buddies fry in a chair, might put enough fear into them to change their ways.
If there is no God then who cares what anyone does. Kill someone,rape someone,do anything you want. After you die life ends so a person might as well have all the fun they want while you;re alive even if they want to have sex with children every day. Who cares and who's to say something is wrong to do. If you want to believe in evolution or be an athiest then you might as well live like it. Have sex with all the children you want day after day because tomorrow your life may end and be no more.
As for me though, I will trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and look forward to eternal life on the new earth. For Jesus says one day the old will pass away and all things made new.
How much you wanna bet this guy was a christian?
Athiests are much much less likely to go to prison than people who believe god superstitions.
But if religion is what you need in order to behave, then by all means please continue to read your little black fairy tale book.
Scott you are being silly.. you know that God's message is written in every mans heart. If he chooses to ignore then it is at his peril. As to the rest, it remains to be seen.
Scott you're an idiot you can not believe in God and still be a good person and many believers have killed.
Beliving in God has nothing to do with your morals
Soo...Scott. The only reason you DON'T rape and kill is because you have to answer for it in the afterlife? But if it weren't for that, you'd be doing all kinds of heinous crimes (or "fun" as you call it) because religion is the only moral compass you have? That is seriously scary.
You're all twisting Scott's words around. All he is saying is that faith in God provides a good moral compass. And I do agree, that those who claim atheism are less likely to worry about their deeds or their morality. Personally though, I do not believe that a true atheist really exists. After all, put most of them in a life threatening situation and what will they call? "Oh God." Those who have seen miracles at least have enough common sense to believe what we can see. So who is it really that believes in fairy tales? Myself, I not only believe, but I know for a fact that God exists, and will not waiver from what I know. And think about it people. God. Good Orderly Direction.
I know that no one is going to want to hear this and you're all just going to scream at me but don't any of you think that he might have been in terrible pain, too? It's pretty obvious that this guy wasn't firing on all cylinders; I sincerely suspect he might have been slow and may not have been capable of deducing the consequences of his actions at the time of the crime. Certainly no excuse for what he did but, come on...shouldn't we feel just a bit of compassion for him? He was obviously suffering terribly from the guilt he felt or he would not have taken his own life. Don't lower yourselves to the level of unfeeling, uncaring hatred that only scars your soul. Have just a bit of pity for these lives that were destroyed in an instant: the lives of two very young people who could have done and been so much.
I hope his suicide was excruciating, and took 3 days.
umm, no. He was smart enough to "cut her" to prevent being reported. Hope he had some help with the hanging so that he was able to experience the terror she felt. stupidity does not trump evil.
@camille: frequently stupidity is, indeed, mistaken for evil... Either way it only damages our own souls to think such horrible thoughts and wish terrible things on one another no matter what the circumstances. Let them both rest in peace if for no other reason than we don't deserve the pain that comes from harboring malice in our hearts.
AngieS
Just asking....are you a parent?
AngieS is right. Getting all flustered up with hatred only damages yourself. Hatred is like a disease. It grows inside you and extends to people who don't deserve it. Every little sliver of it you hold onto, even with 'justification', corrupts you. If you don't do anything about it, in time you will be a bitter old wretch who hates everything around you.
You don't have to like him, and you shouldn't forget people like him are out there. Hatred can blur your vision and cause you to see threats that aren't there. Criminals can latch onto that hatred, play on it and trick you into thinking they are the opposite of those things you hate.
Keeping your mind and heart clear lets you be vigilant without being paranoid, overbearing or gullible. If you are a parent, you owe that much to your child.
AngieS,
Good for you for standing up to make an excellent point. Two lives were cut short and senselessly destroyed.
Granted, the guy hurt a small child, but the courts dealt with that issue. He was handed a sentence that fit the crime..
We are sometimes so full of misdirected anger that we lash out convicted criminals or politicians from the safety of behind a computer keyboard. And sometimes we forget that there are real people behind the headlines. These real people have thoughts, feelings, and imperfections, like the rest of us. Some wear their faults on their sleeves and do heinous things, but those folks live with personal demons. I hope more folks can learn to feel empathy toward other humans.
Why do you assume that feeling bad about his crime had anything to do with his suicide? He's probably a sociopath and can't feel guilt. I figure he committed suicide because he was looking at spending the next 60 or so years on prison. I'm glad he's gone, and that's said without any hate. He was a simply a waste of taxpayer dollars - just a poisoned piece of meat to be warehoused at a cost of $30k a year (and that's just when he's young and healthy - all that free health care adds up the older they get). So good riddance.
With all due respect Ed98208 and others,
Since when is our justice system defined in dollars and cents?
Yes, warehousing prisoners can cost money, but even the costly most poisoned piece of meat (your term, not mine,) is afforded the most basic human rights. One of those rights is the right to life. To take away a life is a matter of the courts and justice system. To follow the constitution and ensure equal rights for every person is worth the cost.
AngieS, I doubt his suicide had anything to do with his feelings of guilt. I would say it had more to do with the life sentence he was given. And are you proposing he be "rehabilitated" so that he could be free to do it again? As per matters of one's soul, if you read the King James Version, you will see that Christ said, "In as much as ye have done unto the least of these, ye have done unto me also." When do we finally say the children have suffered enough. The problem is that there is little to no punishment given these perverts who prey on small children. Sorry, but I don't feel anger over his death, nor do I feel compassion for him. I only feel that his own death was a cop out. He certainly doesn't deserve martyrdom. His actions were his own and in committing suicide he was doing what most of society does today; running away from his problems. Pity he didn't give that little girl a chance to run.
Well said, Cirnobyl.
"Don't lower yourselves to the level of unfeeling, uncaring hatred that only scars your soul." I think it's too late.
You know what -- I don't care about HIS pain. He made the choice to stalk this child, lure her to his apartment, raped her, then killed her to make sure she didn't tell anyone what he'd done. He clearly knew it was wrong to rape her or he wouldn't have killed her to silence her. Then he stuffed her body in a dumpster and joined the search to find her. That must have been some kind of sick thrill for him -- he already KNEW what had happened and where she was.
I am so sincerely sick and tired of the 'he couldn't help it, he had a bad childhood' defense. He CHOSE to do this. Nothing he did was an involuntary action.
At least he had the decency to save the taxpayers of Georgia the cost of supporting his worthless waste-of-oxygen existence for another 40-50 years.
Condolences to the family of this little girl. May they find some kind of peace.
that is the best news i've heard all day !! man does it feel good to get a scumbag off the beautiful earth.and one less scumbag to pay for.!! grrrrreeeeaaat !!
The wacko Loughner ought to join him.
Well done.
Good! Rot in Hell!
Good.
yeah......suicide......if that's what you want to call it :)
Good
I certainly won't mourn this waste of human life...He'll now face his ultimate judge, jury and executioner. Still, it won't bring that little angel that he took from this earth. This should be a major wake up call. Anyone saying Megan's Law is an undue burden or waste of taxpayer dollars...tell that to the families of these kids, who have to live with a tragedy for the rest of their lives. And if law enforcement was complicit or incompetent, then there should be a major shakeup. To protect and serve should be their mantra, and it should apply to the people they are supposed to protect.
Took the coward's way out. Good riddance. He did what the state should've done in the first place. May he burn in hell.
Some terrible genetics in the pool.....
I am so sorry he killed himself...I'm sure someone else would have gotten more satisfaction from doing it. Fu(ker