Jeffrey Briney sentenced to 8 life sentences, plus 185 years for 1986 DeKalb County cold case rapes

DEKALB COUNTY, GA—An Atlanta man accused of multiple sexual assaults nearly 40 years ago will spend the rest of his life in prison, DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announced on today, Oct. 24.

Jeffrey Briney, now 61, was found guilty of 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 in connection with an incident on March 28, 1986. 

Jeffrey Briney’s brother, David Briney, also has been found guilty in connection with the rapes.

In a sentencing hearing held Thursday, Oct. 23, all four of the women who survived the assaults delivered victim impact statements to the court about the attacks that “shattered” their lives.  They described how the crimes affected them, their friends and family, and their plans for the future, but they also shared how they found the strength to heal, help others, and live on with joy and purpose.  After hearing from the survivors and Briney’s defense attorney, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Tangela Barrie, who presided over the trial, sentenced Jeffreu Briney to the maximum allowed under Georgia law, 8 life terms, plus 185 years to serve consecutively. 

According to the investigation, 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, tied them up, and raped two young women before ransacking the apartment.

On Oct. 27, 1986, two men with a handgun forced their way into an apartment in the 3000 block of Buford Highway.  The assailants raped both women who lived there and then tied them up and left with valuables.

The cases went cold until 2023 when the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) sent the rape kits to a private lab for testing. 

In June 2023, DNA collected from one of the Briarwood rape victims came back with a Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) match to Jeffrey Briney.  The DNA also matched that of one of the attackers in the Buford Highway case.  The two crime scenes are less than a mile apart. 

In August 2023, DNA collected from the other Briarwood rape victim returned a CODIS match to Jeffrey Briney’s brother, David Briney.  That DNA also connected David Briney to seven other cases, including one in Cobb County and six in Fulton County.  A trial date for David Briney has not yet been set. 

The case, assigned to the District Attorney’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Unit, was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Agatha Romanowski, with assistance from Senior Assistant District Attorney Ashley Warmack, District Attorney Investigator Crispin Henry, District Attorney Investigator Brandi Rogers, and Victim Advocate Julie Varnado.  DeKalb County Police Department Major S. Waits, now retired, led the initial investigation. 

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 Office and Bridging Hope) 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 the Combined DNA Index System (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. 

*Because the crimes occurred in1986, Defendant Briney’s Life sentences will follow the parole guidelines outlined by state law at that time.  For more information, visit the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles website.