Human remains have been found in the basement of a man convicted last week of murdering his wife, authorities in Pennsylvania said.
On Thursday, a jury found Brian Giles, 48, guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Nancy Giles, who went missing in October 2018. Her remains were found in May 2019 in a shallow grave near a trail on the Inclined Plane hillside in downtown Johnstown, where the couple lived.
One day after his guilty verdict, police found another body in downtown Johnstown. This time, in the basement of Giles’ former home, buried under two to three feet of dirt.
The remains were discovered when police searched the residence in the city’s Kernville section after a report of a possible body.
Coroner Jeffrey Lees called the death “highly suspicious” and vowed a lengthy and methodical investigation.
The remains have not yet been identified but the discovery comes after Giles’ girlfriend, Jilly Todaro, who also lived in the Kernville residence, disappeared in December 2020, a few days after a reported domestic altercation.
Todaro remains missing and officials would not confirm whether the search is related to that case. No charges have been filed.
Lees said after an autopsy Saturday that the remains would be taken to Mercyhurst University in Erie on Monday for more forensic investigation. A ruling will then be made on the cause and manner of death, and the body will be identified.
During his trial, prosecutors argued that Brian Giles was verbally abusive to Nancy Giles and would not allow her to have a cellphone, WTAJ reported.
Her remains were discovered with fractures from blunt force trauma on the front and back of her skull after a man metal detecting came across her body in 2019.
Giles was charged with her murder three years later.
“He (Giles) disposed of her (Nancy) body with the same degradation he showed in the years prior for her,” Cambria County Assistant District Attorney Jessica Aurandt said.
Prosecutors have also alleged that over time, the defendant told a total of 18 different stories about what happened to his wife.
“Giles had the motive, the opportunity and the stories ready,” Aurandt said, adding that Giles misled police and took down missing person posters.
Aurandt also alleged that the lack of forensic evidence in the case was because Giles made sure there wouldn’t to clean up his crimes.
But despite the accusations, Giles has maintained his innocence, telling WWCP after his trial: “Nope, I’m innocent, but if this is what they want to do let them do it, man.”
He continued: “I’ve been railroaded before. It’s all good. There ain’t nothing I can hope for, right? Everybody got what they wanted.”
Defense attorney Timothy Burns, who had cited his client’s report of mental health struggles, described the guilty verdict as “disappointing” and said the defense would explore its options.
Giles is set to be sentenced on August 13 at 1 p.m. First-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence in Pennsylvania.
