Johnstown man held for trial in 2018 murder of wife

Patrick Buchnowski, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
·3 min read
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Sep. 1—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — A Johnstown man was ordered on Wednesday to stand trial, accused of murdering his wife — whose body was found months later in a shallow grave along a hiking trail in the city.

Brian Bradley Giles, 47, is charged with killing Nancy Giles, 40, who went missing from their Franklin Street apartment in October 2018 and whose body was found in May 2019.

Giles was held for trial following a three-hour preliminary hearing Wednesday before Senior District Judge Michael Musulin, of Johnstown.

Prosecutors presented as evidence a letter allegedly written by Giles in which he allegedly admitted to burying his wife's body, and testimony from a man who said he heard Giles threaten to kill her.

Giles pleaded not guilty through public defenders Maribeth Schaffer, David Raho and Kimberly Feist. He is charged with criminal homicide and aggravated assault. A charge of hindering the prosecution was withdrawn.

Assistant District Attorneys Jessica Aurandt and Warren Crilly III called five witnesses to testify.

John Teston, a relation of Giles by marriage, testified that he heard Giles threaten to "bash her head in and bury her in the woods."

Giles interrupted the testimony, saying: "I'm sorry, your honor, this is my life we're talking about. I don't want to be humiliated."

Dr. Dennis Dirkmaat, a forensic anthropologist from Mercyhurst University, said he brought in a team of 16 members to excavate the remains of Nancy Giles, who was found buried about two feet deep along the James Wolfe Sculpture Trail near the Inclined Plane by a man with a metal detector.

The remains show injuries to the face, skull and ribs caused by blunt-force trauma, Dirkmaat said, and some of the bones appeared to be disturbed by animals.

Cambria County Coroner Jeffrey Lees testified that Nancy Giles was identified through dental records and a medical implant. The manner of death was ruled homicide.

Johnstown police Sgt. Cory Adams said Brian Giles gave police several versions of his wife's disappearance, and told police he had seen his wife after she had been reported missing and that she was OK. He also allegedly said that Nancy Giles had run off with another man.

"Just about everything he told us was a blatant lie," Adams said.

Khody Detwiler, a forensic document examiner, compared Brian Giles' handwriting to a letter he reportedly wrote to the clerk of courts.

"The letter gives an alternative explanation to what happened to his wife," Aurandt said. "The letter contains information that Nancy died of a seizure and that he panicked and had to bury the body for fear of contacting police."

Giles' attorneys asked the judge to throw out the charges.

"There is no specific evidence linking Giles to the crime — none whatsoever," Raho said.

Giles is being held without bond in Cambria County Prison in Ebensburg.

Giles remains a suspect in the disappearance of Jilly Todaro, 43, who went missing from the Franklin Street apartment she shared with him. Todaro was last seen Dec. 12, 2020, in downtown Johnstown, on surveillance footage.