Skeletal remains found in the home of a Pennsylvania man convicted last week of killing his wife in 2018 have been identified as his girlfriend, who was last seen in December 2020.
Brian Giles, 48, was found guilty of first degree murder and aggravated assault in the death of Nancy Giles, who vanished from the couple’s Johnstown home in October 2018, as CrimeOnline reported. Her remains were found seven months later in a shallow grave along the James Wood Sculpture Trail.
By the next year, Giles’ new girlfriend, Jilly Todaro, was living in the apartment, and on December 11, 2020, there’s a “domestic altercation” between them. Two days later, Todaro disappeared. The following February, investigators searching the apartment found a clump of human hair, women’s clothing, and cleaning supplies, along with a letter, purportedly written by Todaro, saying she left for a new lover.
In May 2021, Giles was charged with making terroristic threats, harassment, and disorderly conduct at a bus terminal and convicted in September. He was sentenced to six to 16 months in jail and three years probation.
But in May 2022, prosecutors charged him with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, and hindering prosecution in connection with the death of Nancy Giles.
The day after his conviction, investigators returned to the home where Giles had lived first with his wife and then with Todaro, this time to search the home’s basement. And they found human remains.
On Thursday, those remains were identified as Todaro’s, the Tribune-Democrat reported. Cambria County Coroner Jeff Lees said the identification came through body imaging Wednesday by a forensic odontologist and anthropologist. Lees said she suffered “homicidal violence” without elaborating.
Charges have not yet been filed in relation to Todaro’s death, but Cambria County District Attorney Greg Neugebauer told the Tribune-Democrat he expects charges to be filed soon. He answered bruskly when asked how many suspects he was considering.
“One,” he said. “That should tell you something.”
“The details of what led us there again last week are in a sealed search warrant,” Neugebauer said. “I can’t go into detail about that, but we had for the first time very specific information relative to where a body would be located. Obviously, when we went there, we expected it to be Jilly.”
Neugebauer said he and detectives had spoken with Todaro several times before her disappearance — she was allegedly the victim of several assaults by Giles.
“Jilly was really a nice person. She really was,” Neugebauer said. “I don’t think she always liked things I had to say to her, or (Cambria County Assistant District Attorney Jessica Aurandt) had to say to her, but we were coming from a good place, trying to help her. She was a good person.”
“This one hits me a little differently,” Neugebauer said. “Every homicide is a tragedy. This one is just a little different.”
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[Feature Photo: Brian Giles and Jilly Todaro/Police Handout]
