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 Giles had a unhappy childhood and grew up in a abusive home. Most of his friends described him in a very positive manner. He attended 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.Murders
As victims, Giles would choose young girls, most of whom hitchhiked. Their bodies were found, in some cases raped, in orange groves or wooded areas in Brevard County.Arrest
On December 10, 1973, Giles lured two underage hitchhikers into his car and drove them to the woodlands outside 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 in a book while riding in his car. On the next day, Giles was arrested and his car was examined, during which investigators seized a 22-caliber pistol. He was charged with assault and attempted rape. 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.Court
While sifting through the cases, a forensic ballistic examination confirmed that Gerry had been killed with a revolver belonging to 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 did not suffer from any mental illnesses or abnormalities. He was declared sane, and a trial date was scheduled for April 29, 1974. The Brevard County State Attorney's Office said that if convicted, they would seek theAftermath
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 Giles 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. Since then, Giles has been moved around various penitentiaries around the state. In 2019, he received a second wave of fame after British journalist and TV host Piers Morgan visited Giles in prison to conduct an interview for one of his new segments.See also
*External links
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giles, Bernard 1953 births 20th-century American criminals American escapees American male criminals American murderers of children American people convicted of murder American rapists American serial killers Criminals from Florida Escapees from Florida detention Living people People from Titusville, Florida Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Florida Serial killers from Florida