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'I ended up riding through a puddle of blood': Witness recalls canal murder crime scene

A witness recalled finding one of the canal murder crime scenes in 1992.

PHOENIX — On Wednesday, prosecutors called a witness that described finding the scene where Angela Brosso was murdered in 1992. 

Charlotte Pottle told the court she was riding her bike along the Arizona Canal in November of 1992 when she discovered the crime scene. 

"[I] ended up riding through a puddle of blood," she said. "But I wasn't sure what it was at the time."

Prosecutors have charged Bryan Patrick Miller with killing Brosso and Melanie Bernas in roughly the same area in 1992 and 1993.

RELATED: Man accused of high-profile Valley canal killings stands trial, defense pleads not guilty by reason of insanity

Brosso was decapitated, with many stab wounds and cuts on her body. Bernas was also stabbed to death, but with a cross and initials carved into her chest. 

Pottle described stopping on her was back that day and inspecting the paved path. When she discovered the puddle she rode through was blood, she said she also noticed a blood trail that looked like something had been dragged a distance. 

Pottle said she followed the blood trail through the gravel and down into the canal. She said she did not see a body.

Pottle said she called police when she got home. 

Prosecutors also called Arlene Bernas, Melanie Bernas's mother, as a witness Wednesday. Arlene Bernas described discovering that her daughter was missing.

"Melanie's bike was missing," she said, "and I was very, very concerned at that point."

Bernas said she called friends and family before checking with hospitals to see if Melanie had been taken there. 

Miller was tied to both murders 30 years later when police matched his DNA to DNA found on the two bodies.

Miller's attorneys have said he does not remember the murders but admitted he killed the two. They claim he has mental illnesses and are asking the judge to find him not guilty by reason of insanity.

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