Bernard Giles

Bernard Eugene Giles (born April 9, 1953) is an American serial killer and rapist who killed five girls and women in Titusville, Florida between September and November 1973. Following his arrest, he fully admitted his guilt and was sentenced to several life imprisonment terms in 1974.[1]

Bernard Giles
Mugshot
Born
Bernard Eugene Giles

(1953-04-09) April 9, 1953
Titusville, Florida, U.S.
Conviction(s)First degree murder
Criminal penaltyLife imprisonment
Details
Victims5
Span of crimes
September–November 1973
CountryUnited States
State(s)Florida
Date apprehended
December 11, 1973

Early life

Giles was born on April 9, 1953 in a Titusville family with three other children. His parents led a law-abiding lifestyle and were described as good, caring parents, thanks to which Bernard had a happy childhood and grew up in a stable home. Most of his friends described him in a very positive manner. He attended the Titusville High School, where he took an interest in visual arts. He achieved some success in this field, but soon lost interest in studying as a whole. Due to chronic absenteeism and poor academic performance, he was forced to leave school at age 16, after which he mastered the trade of an electrician and began working. In 1972, he married 17-year-old Leslie Jo Ann, who gave birth to a daughter in July 1973.[2]

Crimes

As victims, Giles would choose young girls who hitchhiked. After luring them into his car, he drove them to orange groves, where he raped them at gunpoint before killing them. Lasting from September to November, his victims were the following: 18-year-old Nancy Gerry, who went missing on September 26th and was found with a gunshot wound to the head on December 10th; 22-year-old Paula Hamric, who went missing on November 17th and was found strangled eight days later; 17-year-old Carolyn Bennett, whose skeletal remains were found on December 25th; 14-year-old Sharon Wilmer, whom he killed in November and whose remains were found on December 26th; and finally 14-year-old Kristy Melton.[3][4][5]

Arrest

On December 10, 1973, Bernard Giles lured two underage hitchhikers into his car and drove them to the woodlands outside of Titusville, where he attempted to attack them. The victims fiercely resisted, which caused Giles to draw his gun to shoot them, but his pistol malfunctioned and misfired, and the girls managed to escape. They went to police, where they provided a description of their attacker's appearance, his car and even his name, which they had glimpsed while riding in the car. On the next day, Giles was arrested and his car was examined, during which investigators seized a 22-calibre pistol. He was charged with assault and attempted rape.[6] Following Giles' arrest, he was investigated as a suspect in the disappearances of more than 11 girls who had been reported missing since August 1973 and the murders of several others, but in January of the following year, most of the missing girls were located, and Giles was no longer suspected.[7][8]

Court

While sifting through the cases, a forensic ballistic examination confirmed that Nancy Gerry had been killed with a revolver belonging to Bernard Giles, and he was subsequently charged with her murder. He insisted on his innocence, and in early 1974, his lawyers filed a motion for a forensic medical examination, which was granted. In the spring, two independent examinations were conducted, which determined that Giles didn't suffer from any mental illnesses or abnormalities. He was declared sane, and a trial date was scheduled for April 29, 1974.[9]

The Brevard County Attorney's Office said that if convicted, they would seek the death penalty against Giles. Unable to withstand the moral pressure, shortly before the opening of the trial, Giles made a plea bargain with the investigators. He confessed to the murder of Hamric, and during the trial, he plead guilty to the murders of the three remaining girls, as well as a series of non-lethal attacks and attempted murders against others. Bernard admitted that he had been prone to violence from the age of six, often playing games in which he imitated killing the other participant. He claimed to have enjoyed pretend-strangling his childhood friend, who played the role of a witch in one of the games, which was confirmed by a number of acquaintances from that period. According to his testimony, he began to make his first attempts to attack girls in 1969, after dropping out of school, but was unsuccessful. Due to the plea bargain terms, he was spared the death penalty, and on August 13, 1974, Bernard Giles was given several terms of life imprisonment.[10][11]

Aftermath

After his conviction, Giles was transported to serve his sentence at the Florida State Prison in Bradford County. In October 1979, Giles escaped with two other prisoners: with the help of a few hand-made smoke grenades, he and his accomplices managed to distract the guard dogs and the prison guards, after which, using locksmithing tools, they managed to make a small gap in several rows of wire through which they escaped. In the subsequent search, police staked out his ex-wife's house, as they had received a tip that Bernard was planning to kidnap his daughter from his ex-wife, but he was found five miles away from the prison, 26 hours after escaping. He was found guilty of escape and given an additional 15 years imprisonment.[12][5]

Since then, Giles has been moved around various penitentiaries around the state. In 2019, he received a second wave of fame after famous British journalist and TV host Piers Morgan visited Giles in prison to conduct an interview for one of his new segments.[13]

See also

References
  1. Pengelly, Ella (February 8, 2019). "Bernard Giles: Story behind the serial killer and the crimes he committed". Cambridge News. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  2. Moore, Christine (August 13, 1974). "Slayer Intended To Kill Victims". Florida Today. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  3. Rutledge, Jim (December 27, 1973). "Sheriff to Comb Woods by Air". Florida Today. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  4. McBride, Blanton (December 15, 1973). "FBI Assistance Sought In 2 Brevard Murders". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  5. "5 Bodies Found in Grove; Giles Confesses He's Killer". Florida Today. December 26, 1979. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  6. Moore, Christine (December 13, 1973). "Man Jailed in Attacks Suspect in Murder Cases". Florida Today. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  7. "Space Eyes Search Area Where Bodies Discovered". The Tampa Tribune. December 29, 1973. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  8. "Missing Girls Found". The News-Press. January 2, 1974. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  9. "Giles is charged with the first degree murder of Nancy Gerry". Florida Today. April 18, 1974. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  10. "Giles slayings shock citizens". Florida Today. December 29, 1974. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  11. "Slayer intended to kill victims. 13 Aug 1974".
  12. Evans, Christopher (October 17, 1979). "'Noted killer', robber flee prison". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  13. Freedman, Joanna (August 20, 2020). "'Confessions Of A Serial Killer With Piers Morgan' Has Just Landed On Netflix". Tyla. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
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