Johnstown man sentenced to life in prison for killing of wife

CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — Brian Giles, who was found guilty of killing his wife in 2018, was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Tuesday.

Giles was originally found guilty by a jury in June of first-degree murder and aggravated assault. After Giles killed Nancy, he took her body to a nearby Johnstown hiking trail and buried her in a shallow grave.

Previous WTAJ coverage on Giles, Nancy and Jillian Todaro

“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 during closing arguments of the trial. “Giles had the motive, the opportunity and the stories ready.”

In 2022, Giles was arrested and charged with homicide after a three year investigation into Nancy’s disappearance. Nancy had been reported as missing by her mother on Oct. 14, 2018, and her remains were found in May 2019. Investigators had noted that her skull had been cracked and ruled her death as a homicide.

Most recently, in June, remains were found at the former home of Giles and later identified as Jilly Todaro. Todaro was a Johnstown woman who was reported missing in 2020. Police noted that the last place she was seen was at the Giles residence before she went missing.

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The remains were found in the basement of the residence. Investigators were prompted to search the home after receiving what they called “concerning information” from Giles right after he received his guilty verdict in June.

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