Johnstown man accused in wife's murder pleads not guilty
Oct. 12—EBENSBURG, Pa. — Nearly four years after his wife was reported missing, a Johnstown man was formally arraigned in Cambria County court on charges related to his wife's murder.
Brian Bradley Giles, 46, appeared before Judge Tamara Bernstein on Tuesday in a hearing where he entered a not guilty plea to one count of criminal homicide and one count of felony aggravated assault in relation to the death of his wife, Nancy Jo Giles, 40, whose body was found buried in 2019 along a Johnstown hiking trail.
Assistant District Attorney Jessica Aurandt told the court that the commonwealth would not be seeking the death penalty in the case.
The judge explained to Giles that if he were found guilty of the crimes he is accused of, he could face life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder charge and up to 10 years in prison for the aggravated assault charge.
Bernstein issued an order during the hearing that all discovery be turned over to defense by Nov. 28. The next conference in the case will be in January so that Giles will have adequate time to review the discovery with his attorneys.
He was represented at the hearing by public defenders Maribeth Schaffer and Kimberly Feist.
Nancy Jo Giles went missing in October 2018, and her skeletal remains were found buried about two feet deep along a trail on the Inclined Plane hillside near Roosevelt Boulevard, not far from the Stone Bridge, in May 2019 by a man using a metal detector. Her death was ruled a homicide.
Brian Giles was charged with the death in March after he allegedly told a probation officer details of the type of dirt that can be found at the crime scene, according to police.
He remains a suspect in the disappearance of Jilly Todaro, 43, who went missing from the Franklin Street apartment she shared with him after she was last seen via surveillance footage on Dec. 12, 2020, in downtown Johnstown. Numerous searches, including the use of a cadaver dog, have been made on the apartment.
