‘Her family found her’: Georgia aunt says relatives kept searching for a missing 26-year-old after police left, then saw a teen drop a tub

The following article includes descriptions of violence and physical harm. Please read with caution.

The family of 26-year-old Shanteria Mosely, known to loved ones as KT, made a harrowing discovery at the Park Valley Apartments in Smyrna, Georgia, on Wednesday night. After Mosely failed to respond to messages while working as a DoorDash driver, her family tracked her phone and looked for her. It ultimately led them to the apartment complex where police say dismembered remains were found, and to the arrest of 18-year-old Kingston Bradley.

Mosely’s aunt, Michelle Weaver, told WXIA that the family searched the woods and went door to door after finding Mosely’s car and tracking her phone pings. Eventually, they called the police. “So the officer ended up coming out,” Weaver said. “She said, ‘So where did her phone ping?’ So we took her back to where the phone ping. She knocked on like three guys’ doors, and you know that was it.” Weaver claimed the officer eventually left, leaving the family to continue their search alone.

Weaver told WXIA that they noticed someone watching them from an apartment window and went to knock on the door. Bradley allegedly answered and told the family he had not seen anyone get out of Mosely’s car. Later, the family claims to have witnessed Bradley attempting to discard a container. “All we see is the boy … throwing a bag, like something with a cloth,” Weaver said. “It’s like a bag kind of cloth, like maybe a laundry bag, and it had like a container in it. He kind of threw it and he ran.”

That witness statement led to the arrest

Law and Crime reported that an arrest warrant identifies Weaver as a witness who saw Bradley carrying a plastic tub around 8:15 p.m. According to Atlanta News First, investigators discovered a dismembered human torso inside the plastic tub after Bradley allegedly dropped it and fled into his apartment. Smyrna police investigators then conducted a search of Bradley’s apartment. Earlier this year, a New York man was spotted on camera with a limb of a woman he dismembered.

The outlet reported that the warrant indicates they discovered multiple bloodstains and a large, blood-covered saw. The apartment also reportedly smelled heavily of bleach and contained a mop, a bucket of water, and a carpet cleaner. According to Atlanta News First, Bradley was taken into custody and is currently being held at the Cobb County jail without bond. He is facing a felony charge of concealing the death of another and has not been charged in connection with her death itself.

“We have not officially identified the victim. Some of that comes out of the Medical Examiner’s office and the ME is not willing to make confirmation at this point in time,” Lt. Meredith Holt with Smyrna Police said, per Atlanta News First. Holt added, “We are looking for the connection between the victim and the person of interest that we are already currently looking at.” Per WXIA, however, the family claims to have recognized Mosely through a tattoo on the remains. 

There is some uncertainty about whether Mosely was working at the time of her disappearance. Not only did her family claim she left to make deliveries, but WXIA’s journalists claim to have confirmed she was working too. However, the police claim differently. “We spoke with DoorDash and DoorDash stated that she was not door dashing at that particular time and she was not clocked in. We talked to them,” Holt told Atlanta News First.

According to WXIA, Weaver expressed frustration that the family, rather than law enforcement, were the ones to locate Mosely. “I just want our story to get out, and I just want Smyrna police to have the correct facts where it all began at, what time it began, the time frame,” Weaver said. “Don’t say y’all found her. Her family found her. Y’all didn’t do nothing. Y’all left us. You guys left us to do it ourselves.” 

Weaver reportedly claimed that the same officer who initially responded returned after the body was found. “Same police officer that came the first time, she was there the second time, and she dropped down,” Weaver alleged. “She said, ‘I should have believed y’all.’” In a different case, a Florida man used ChatGPT to plan the dismemberment of two doctoral students. 

When WXIA asked how she wanted her niece to be remembered, Weaver highlighted the light she brought to others. “With her smiles, laughter, and just full of joy, and talking crap to everybody, and just being happy, cheering everybody day up,” Weaver said. The Smyrna Police Department continues to investigate the case.