Bernard Eugene Giles: The 1973 Titusville Serial Murders
Bernard Eugene Giles is an American serial killer and convicted murderer responsible for killing five girls and young women in and around Titusville, Florida, during a concentrated period of violence in the fall of 1973. Giles was only 20 years old when the murders occurred. His victims ranged in age from 14 to 22, and several were teenagers who disappeared while traveling in the Titusville and northern Brevard County area.
The murders created fear throughout Brevard County as young women disappeared within weeks of one another. Several victims were later discovered in remote wooded areas, palmetto thickets, and orange groves. Giles used both shooting and strangulation to kill his victims. The investigation finally broke open in December 1973 after two teenage girls survived an encounter with him and provided police with enough information to identify their attacker.
Early Life of Bernard Eugene Giles
Bernard Eugene Giles was born on April 9, 1953, in Titusville, Florida. He grew up in the area with three siblings. Accounts of his childhood described his family as outwardly ordinary, and people who knew Giles when he was young did not necessarily see the extreme violence that would later define his life.
Giles attended Titusville High School and showed an interest in art, but his academic performance declined. He frequently missed school and eventually left at approximately 16 years old. After leaving school, Giles learned electrical work and found employment as an electrician.
In 1972, Giles married a 17-year-old woman named Leslie Jo Ann. Their daughter was born in July 1973. This meant that when Giles began his known series of murders only a few months later, he was a married 20-year-old father with a job. His apparently conventional home life provided little indication of the violence taking place away from his family.
The Beginning of the 1973 Murder Spree
Giles's confirmed murders occurred between September and November 1973. He preyed primarily on teenage girls and young women, particularly those who were hitchhiking or otherwise vulnerable while traveling alone. Giles could approach victims in his vehicle without immediately appearing threatening, allowing him to get them into the car before taking control of the situation.
After picking up a victim, Giles drove into isolated portions of Brevard County. Wooded areas, orange groves, and undeveloped land around Titusville provided locations where crimes could be committed with little chance of being observed. Some victims were sexually assaulted. Giles killed his confirmed victims by shooting or strangulation and left their bodies in secluded locations.
The short interval between the murders is particularly notable. After the September disappearance of Nancy Gerry, four more confirmed victims disappeared during a period of less than two weeks in November 1973.
Confirmed Victims
- Nancy Gerry, 18 - Nancy disappeared in Brevard County on September 26, 1973, which is recorded as her date of death. Her body remained undiscovered for more than two months. On December 10, 1973, her fully clothed body was located in a palmetto thicket in Brevard County. She had been shot in the head. Ballistics evidence from this murder later became an important part of the case against Giles.
- Sharon Mary Wimer, 14 - Sharon disappeared from the Titusville area on November 5, 1973, the date recorded for her death. She was only 14 years old. Her body was discovered in a secluded area after she had been strangled. She was found wearing a St. Christopher medal or necklace, while items of her clothing were discovered nearby.
- Krista Jean Melton, 14 - Krista was reported missing on November 14, 1973. Available accounts place her murder at approximately the time of her disappearance, although her remains were not recovered until January 31, 1974. Her fully clothed body was discovered in the North Brevard area. She had been shot in the head. Because of the delay between her disappearance and discovery, the recovery date should not be confused with the date she was killed.
- Carolyn Jan Bennett, 17 - Carolyn, a 17-year-old from the Mims, Florida area, disappeared on November 15, 1973, which is recorded as the date of her death. Her remains were discovered in Brevard County on December 25, 1973. She had been shot in the head. The condition of the remains demonstrated that she had been dead for some time before their discovery.
- Paula Darlene Hamric, 22 - Paula disappeared in the Titusville area on November 17, 1973, the date recorded for her death. At 22, she was the oldest of Giles's five confirmed murder victims. Her body was discovered eight days later, on November 25, 1973, in a wooded area. Her hands had been bound and she had been strangled.
Nancy Gerry - September 26, 1973
Eighteen-year-old Nancy Gerry was the earliest confirmed victim in Giles's known murder series. She disappeared on September 26, 1973. What happened to her remained unknown for weeks as investigators had no body and no immediately obvious connection to the young electrician who would later be identified as her killer.
Nancy's body was finally discovered on December 10, 1973, in a palmetto thicket. She was fully clothed and had suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head. The discovery occurred at almost exactly the same time that the incident leading to Giles's identification was unfolding elsewhere near Titusville.
Nancy's murder ultimately provided investigators with crucial physical evidence. A forensic examination connected the bullet evidence in her case to the .22-caliber firearm seized after Giles was arrested. This strengthened the prosecution's ability to link him directly to at least one of the murders through evidence rather than confession alone.
Sharon Mary Wimer - November 5, 1973
Fourteen-year-old Sharon Mary Wimer disappeared on November 5, 1973. Her murder marked the beginning of an especially concentrated period of killing. Over the following twelve days, three additional confirmed victims would disappear.
Sharon was strangled. When her body was recovered, investigators found that she was wearing a St. Christopher necklace. Her shirt and sweater were reportedly discovered near her remains.
The killing of a 14-year-old demonstrated the extreme vulnerability of the people Giles selected. His victims were not chosen because of lengthy personal relationships with him. Instead, circumstances such as traveling alone or accepting transportation could place a young woman in his path.
Krista Jean Melton - November 14, 1973
Fourteen-year-old Krista Jean Melton was reported missing on November 14, 1973. Her disappearance came only nine days after Sharon Wimer vanished.
Krista was not immediately located. Weeks passed while investigators were beginning to realize that multiple disappearances and murders in northern Brevard County might be connected. Her remains were eventually discovered on January 31, 1974, after Giles was already in custody.
Krista was found fully clothed and had been shot in the head. Her discovery provided further confirmation of the number of victims associated with Giles. The substantial gap between her disappearance and the recovery of her body also illustrates one of the difficulties investigators faced: victims had been concealed in remote areas where they might remain undiscovered for weeks or months.
Carolyn Jan Bennett - November 15, 1973
Seventeen-year-old Carolyn Jan Bennett disappeared on November 15, 1973, just one day after Krista Melton was reported missing. Carolyn was associated with the Mims area north of Titusville.
Her remains were not discovered until Christmas Day, December 25, 1973. By that point, Giles had already been arrested. Carolyn had been shot in the head.
The discovery of Carolyn's remains was part of the process through which authorities established the full extent of Giles's known murder series. The recovery of multiple bodies in isolated sections of Brevard County showed that investigators were dealing with repeated crimes rather than unrelated disappearances.
Paula Darlene Hamric - November 17, 1973
Twenty-two-year-old Paula Darlene Hamric disappeared on November 17, 1973, only two days after Carolyn Bennett vanished and three days after Krista Melton disappeared. Paula became the fifth and final confirmed murder victim attributed to Giles.
Her body was found on November 25, eight days after her disappearance. She had been strangled and her hands had been bound. The location was another secluded area around Titusville consistent with Giles's practice of taking victims away from populated locations.
Paula's killing demonstrated that Giles did not depend upon a single method of murder. Three of his confirmed victims were shot, while Sharon Wimer and Paula Hamric were strangled.
A Rapid Escalation of Violence
The chronology of Giles's crimes reveals an alarming acceleration. Nancy Gerry disappeared on September 26. After a gap of several weeks, Sharon Wimer disappeared on November 5. Then Krista Melton vanished on November 14, Carolyn Bennett on November 15, and Paula Hamric on November 17.
Therefore, three of Giles's five confirmed victims disappeared within a period of only four days. Four of the five disappeared within less than two weeks. Had Giles not encountered victims who successfully resisted and escaped in December, there was a serious possibility that his attacks could have continued.
The December 10, 1973 Attack That Exposed Giles
On December 10, 1973, Giles picked up two teenage girls who were hitchhiking. He drove them toward an isolated wooded area outside Titusville. The circumstances began to resemble those surrounding his earlier crimes, but this time his intended victims resisted.
The girls fought against Giles as he attempted to overpower them. During the confrontation, Giles produced his firearm. His weapon malfunctioned or misfired during the struggle, giving the girls an opportunity to escape.
The survivors immediately became extremely important witnesses. They were able to provide authorities with a description of the attacker and his automobile. Even more importantly, they had seen information inside the vehicle that allowed them to provide police with the name Giles.
This transformed the investigation. Instead of searching only for an unknown predator connected to a series of disappearances, investigators now had a specific suspect.
Arrest on December 11, 1973
Police arrested Bernard Eugene Giles on December 11, 1973, one day after the two girls escaped.
Investigators searched his vehicle and seized a .22-caliber firearm. Giles initially faced charges related to the attack upon the surviving girls, including assault and attempted sexual assault. Detectives, however, quickly began examining whether he might be connected to the missing and murdered young women whose cases were troubling Brevard County.
At one stage, authorities considered Giles a possible suspect in numerous other disappearances reported in the region. Investigators worked through the cases individually. Several people initially believed to be missing under suspicious circumstances were eventually located alive, reducing the number of cases that could reasonably be attributed to him.
The investigation ultimately established five confirmed murder victims.
Ballistics Evidence
The murder of Nancy Gerry became particularly important to the prosecution because investigators possessed both her remains and the firearm seized from Giles.
Forensic ballistics testing connected evidence from Nancy's fatal shooting to Giles's .22-caliber weapon. The result gave prosecutors physical evidence associating Giles with one of the murders and increased the legal pressure against him.
Authorities charged Giles with Nancy Gerry's first-degree murder. As additional bodies were recovered and the investigation expanded, prosecutors assembled cases involving the other victims.
Confessions and Guilty Pleas
During the early stages of the case, Giles did not immediately accept responsibility for everything investigators suspected him of doing. His attorneys pursued psychiatric evaluations as his case moved toward trial.
Two evaluations were conducted in 1974. Giles was considered competent and legally sane for the purposes of the criminal proceedings. Prosecutors were preparing to seek the death penalty if he went to trial and was convicted of first-degree murder.
Facing that possibility, Giles entered into an agreement with prosecutors. He admitted responsibility for the murders, including the killing of Paula Hamric, and pleaded guilty in connection with the other confirmed victims. He also admitted involvement in violent attacks that had not resulted in deaths.
His admissions established that the five deaths had been committed by the same offender and brought the principal criminal investigation to a conclusion.
Sentencing
On August 13, 1974, Bernard Eugene Giles received multiple life sentences for the murders and related crimes. The plea arrangement spared him from a possible death sentence.
Giles was subsequently transferred into the Florida prison system. The outcome meant that a murder series that had begun less than a year earlier had resulted in his permanent removal from the community.
The 1979 Prison Escape
Giles's criminal history did not end completely with his imprisonment. In October 1979, he escaped from Florida State Prison with two other inmates.
The men used improvised methods to distract prison security and managed to get through the institution's perimeter. A large search followed. Authorities were particularly concerned about Giles because of his history of murder and violence.
His freedom was short-lived. Giles was captured approximately 26 hours after the escape and only several miles from the prison. He was later convicted of escape and received an additional prison sentence.
The Pattern of Giles's Crimes
Giles's confirmed murders display several recurring characteristics. His victims were female and relatively young. The youngest were only 14. Several were encountered while hitchhiking or traveling alone.
Transportation was an important part of Giles's method. His vehicle allowed him to approach someone in one location and quickly move her to an isolated part of Brevard County. Once away from witnesses, the victim had fewer opportunities to attract attention or obtain assistance.
Isolation also assisted Giles in concealing the murders. Remote vegetation, wooded areas, and agricultural land around northern Brevard County meant that bodies could remain hidden for considerable periods. Nancy Gerry was missing for more than two months before her body was recovered. Krista Melton remained missing from November 1973 until the discovery of her remains at the end of January 1974.
Giles also varied his method of killing. Nancy Gerry, Krista Melton, and Carolyn Bennett were shot in the head. Sharon Wimer and Paula Hamric were strangled.
The Importance of the Surviving Victims
The two girls who escaped from Giles on December 10, 1973, played a decisive role in ending the murder series. Giles had successfully operated without being identified as the killer during the previous months, even while bodies were beginning to appear and families were reporting young women missing.
The survivors changed that. They resisted him, escaped, contacted authorities, and gave investigators sufficiently specific information to identify Giles. Their account directed police toward a suspect within hours rather than leaving investigators dependent upon an open-ended search.
Once Giles was arrested, police could compare his gun, automobile, statements, movements, and personal history against evidence from the existing murder investigations. That process ultimately connected the apparently separate disappearances and killings.
The Five Known Murders
Bernard Eugene Giles is officially associated with five confirmed murder victims: Nancy Gerry, Sharon Mary Wimer, Krista Jean Melton, Carolyn Jan Bennett, and Paula Darlene Hamric.
The confirmed series lasted only a few months in 1973, but its intensity made Giles one of the most disturbing offenders in Brevard County's history. He was 20 years old when he committed the murders, and four of the five victims disappeared during November alone.
Although investigators initially considered the possibility that Giles had killed additional people, the broader group of disappearances investigated after his arrest did not result in additional confirmed victims. Some missing individuals were subsequently found alive, and Giles was ultimately prosecuted for the five murders that authorities were able to establish.
Victim Timeline
- September 26, 1973: Nancy Gerry, 18, disappears and is murdered in Brevard County. Her body is recovered December 10, 1973.
- November 5, 1973: Sharon Mary Wimer, 14, disappears from the Titusville area and is murdered by strangulation.
- November 14, 1973: Krista Jean Melton, 14, is reported missing. Her remains are recovered in North Brevard on January 31, 1974.
- November 15, 1973: Carolyn Jan Bennett, 17, disappears. Her remains are discovered on December 25, 1973.
- November 17, 1973: Paula Darlene Hamric, 22, disappears and is murdered. Her body is recovered on November 25, 1973.
- December 10, 1973: Two teenage girls survive an attack attributed to Giles and provide police with information identifying him.
- December 11, 1973: Bernard Eugene Giles is arrested.
- December 25, 1973: Carolyn Bennett's remains are discovered.
- January 31, 1974: Krista Melton's remains are recovered in North Brevard.
- August 13, 1974: Giles receives multiple life sentences.
Legacy of the Case
The Bernard Eugene Giles case demonstrates how quickly a serial offender can escalate when victims are selected through brief encounters rather than established relationships. Within a matter of weeks, several families in the Titusville and Brevard County communities were searching for daughters or loved ones who had seemingly vanished without explanation.
The case also illustrates the importance of survivor testimony. Giles was not stopped because he voluntarily ended his attacks. His identification followed the resistance and escape of two intended victims on December 10, 1973. Their descriptions gave investigators the breakthrough needed to place a name and vehicle with the predator they were seeking.
Once authorities focused on Giles, physical evidence, recovered remains, witness accounts, investigative work, and eventually his own admissions established the scope of the known murder series.
Behind the name Bernard Eugene Giles are five victims whose lives were taken during the fall of 1973: Nancy Gerry, Sharon Mary Wimer, Krista Jean Melton, Carolyn Jan Bennett, and Paula Darlene Hamric. Their ages, disappearance dates, and recovery locations demonstrate how concentrated the crimes were geographically and chronologically. The oldest victim was only 22, and the youngest were 14.
Giles's arrest on December 11, 1973, ended a killing spree that had unfolded with frightening speed across Brevard County. His subsequent guilty pleas and life sentences ensured that he would spend the following decades in the Florida prison system, while the names of his five confirmed victims remain central to the history of the case.
