Authorities are accusing Brian Sluss (44) of killing his ex-girlfriend, Monica Moyan (23), and then impersonating her over social media and text for months to cover up his crime. He was arrested on Tuesday at his parents’ home in Virginia and returned to North Carolina to face charges.
Sluss has been a person of interest in the case ever since Moyan went missing last year. Witnesses last saw her alive in April 2019, but because of Sluss’s deception, Moyan’s missing persons report was not official until July. Although they haven’t found Moyan’s body, police have been treating the investigation as a homicide since at least October of last year.
“While this was a very emotional case, they were able to set those emotions aside and do what they do best,” Holly Springs Police Chief John Herring said. “Yesterday, it paid off for us.”
Sluss initially claimed that Moyan–who is the mother of two children with Sluss–had become addicted to heroin. He told some friends and family that she was in a rehab facility; others claim Sluss said she was detoxing at home and couldn’t be reached.
Moyan’s mother didn’t buy it. She was sure that the text messages she’d been receiving from her daughter were fake. She requested a wellness check by local police in July, triggering the missing person investigation.
According to reports, police obtained warrants to search Moyan’s apartment and discovered traces of blood and “signs of cleanup.” They also seized the drain traps from the kitchen and bathroom sinks as part of their investigation.
Tragically, they also discovered a positive pregnancy test in her apartment. Investigators stated, “we believe Monica being pregnant may have been a factor in the incidents that led up to Monica’s death.”
Moyan had previously filed for a domestic violence restraining order against her ex-boyfriend. In addition, her mother and other confidantes confirmed that Sluss had been abusive. Despite a trespass order preventing him from being at her apartment, Sluss had apparently been staying there for months after the presumed murder. Neighbors reporting seeing him with his young daughters (ages 4 and 1) as recently as July.
“She was very nice. Every time I would speak to her, she would speak to me. I would see her getting in her car sometimes with her two little girls. I loved her little girls,” a neighbor said.
Sluss is being held without bail as he awaits his day in court.
