Testimony began Monday in the homicide trial of Johnstown man Brian Giles, who is accused of killing his wife, Nancy, several years ago.
Prior to opening arguments, one of the jurors was dismissed, at Giles’ request.
During opening arguments, the prosecution stated that the case is a story of “manipulation and jealousy,” arguing that Giles was very controlling of his wife. Witnesses say Giles did not allow his wife to talk to other men, take her medication, or wear her glasses. They also say Giles often accused her of cheating on him.
Prosecutors argued that Giles’ behavior with his wife ultimately led to her death.
In response, Giles’ defense argued that the evidence in the case is all circumstantial and that there is no physical evidence linking Giles to his wife’s death.
Prosecutors then discussed a letter which investigators say Giles allegedly wrote to them after he was arrested in 2022.
Investigators testified that Giles admitted in the letter that “he and another person buried his wife in a shallow grave along a trail near the bottom of the Johnstown Inclined Plane after she reportedly suffered a seizure.”
Nancy’s mother then testified that she did suffer from seizures since she was a child. Her mother also testified that Giles would often prevent Nancy from calling her or seeing her.
Others close to Brian and Nancy’s relationship testified that Brian was “verbally abusive” and that he had reportedly “kicked her out of their home” around the time of her disappearance.
Giles’ defense argued that none of the individuals contacted police to report the alleged abuse.
One of the individuals then testified that he later asked Brian about Nancy’s disappearance, to which he allegedly admitted to killing her.
Johnstown Police Detective Cory Adams then took the stand, where he testified to some of Brian’s social media behavior around the time of Nancy’s disappearance.
He stated that after she was reported missing, Giles reportedly deleted a joint Facebook account of he and Nancy, and then created a new account where he allegedly posted that he was “getting a divorce from his cheating wife.”
At the end of Monday’s testimony, we spoke with Giles, who maintained his innocence.
“I am innocent. I want the world to know I’m innocent. What happened to my wife is tragic. I want to make sure that everybody understands that I may be accused of it, but they’re accusing the wrong person.”
The trial is scheduled to continue Tuesday at 9 a.m.
Prosecutors say the jury will hear testimony later this week on the evidence surrounding Nancy’s death as well as the “various stories” that Giles allegedly told about her disappearance.