Giles alleged Facebook profile detailed in court; Green case continued
Jan. 12—EBENSBURG, Pa. — Brian B. Giles and Justin A. Green, both being charged for criminal homicide, among other counts, appeared in Cambria County court Thursday for status conferences.
Giles went before Judge Tamara Bernstein on Thursday with his attorneys Tim Burns and David Weaver.
The purpose of his conference was to discuss pre-trial motions for the case and hear testimony from Johnstown police Detective Sgt. Cory Adams on a Facebook profile allegedly operated by Giles.
Burns addressed Bernstein about stipulations that any protection from abuse orders filed against Giles, besides those entered by his deceased wife Nancy Giles, of whom he's accused of killing, be excluded from the upcoming trial.
Additionally, he asked that the prosecution not reference Brian Giles' girlfriend, Jilly Todaro, who's been missing since December 2020.
Both of these requests contained the caveat that they not be noted unless the defense provides an opening.
No objection was offered by the prosecution, and that led to Cambria County Assistant District Attorney Jessica Aurandt questioning Adams about the Facebook profile of "Bradley Giles."
She asked a line of inquires to establish that Brian Giles was the owner and operator of the account based on his photos, date of birth associated, middle name — Bradley — and a similar email address used for the profile.
Additionally, Aurandt had Adams confirm that Brian Giles' family and known associates were "friends" on the account.
"Everything I've gone through in the records indicate (Brian Giles owned the account)," Adams stated.
During Burns' cross-examination, he questioned if there was any way to establish with 100% accuracy that Giles not only owned the Facebook page but operated it, noting that this is a day and age of identity theft.
"The issue is who created this profile," Burns asked.
Adams testified that based on his investigation revealed it was Brian Giles.
This was followed by a discussion about the relevance of the account during trial and how that evidence would be used by prosecutors to establish Giles' mental state following his wife's disappearance and death.
Berstein approved the orders requested by the defense and set a new status conference date of Feb. 13.
Giles' case is scheduled for jury trial the week of March 11.
Green went before Cambria County Senior Judge Norman A. Krumenacker III to discuss his case on Thursday, which was ultimately continued until the end of March.
The defendant is accused in the shooting death of Daryl Vincent Lee Jr., whose body was found in July along state Route 403 in Indiana County.
During the proceedings, Michael Filia, Green's attorney, informed the judge that there will likely be pretrial motions filed.
In light of that, Krumenacker advised Green that a continuance would be in his best interest, noting a pretrial conference could most likely take place on March 6 with jury selection to occur in April — although that date may change.
Green requested time to discuss the matter with his counsel, when all but the deputies were escorted from the room.
Within minutes, court was back in session and Green accepted the continuance.
Filia said afterward that the defense is awaiting full discovery from the Cambria County District Attorney's Office and again advised that there would likely be pre-trial motions filed after that information is shared.
