Jonathan Giles interview

Tuesday, January 14, 2014 - 11:20 a.m.

Jonathan Giles has been the caretaker at St. Peter's Cemetery since 1999. Detectives Armstrong and Murphy interviewed him at the cemetery while the K-9 unit was conducting their search. The interview was recorded with the witness's knowledge and consent.

Participants:

• Detective T. Armstrong
• Detective S. Murphy
• Jonathan Giles

Detective Murphy: Would you state your name and address for the record?

Jonathan Giles: This is awful. This kind of activity here, it's just not right.

Detective Murphy: Yes, sir. We'll do what we can to minimize the disruption. Can you tell us how many new burials you've had here in the last month?

Jonathan Giles: Yes, I'm sorry. We've had six interments.

Detective Murphy: And how many of those were on the south side of the cemetery?

Jonathan Giles: Only two. Mrs. Nelson on January 2nd and Mr. Demming on December 23rd.

Detective Armstrong: Have you noticed any unusual activity in the cemetery in the last month?

Jonathan Giles: I don't think so.

Detective Armstrong: Have any of the graves been disturbed?

Jonathan Giles: I didn't think so, but I told you when we walked through that something doesn't look right about Mrs. Nelson's grave.

Detective Armstrong: Yes. What didn't look right about it?

Jonathan Giles: Normally, the surface of a filled grave is machine leveled, but the surface of that one looked uneven. Too uneven to be just from normal settling of the soil.

Detective Armstrong: Is it possible someone could have tampered with that grave?

Jonathan Giles: It's possible, but why would anyone do something like that? It's so disrespectful.

Detective Armstrong: Yes, sir. Is it normal for a recent grave to be like that with no sod or other covering on the fresh dirt?

Jonathan Giles: Yes. It gets backfilled with a backhoe, and then it's allowed to settle for several weeks before we add any topfill.

Detective Armstrong: I see. And when was Mrs. Nelson's grave backfilled?

Jonathan Giles: Like I said, on January 2nd.

Detective Armstrong: Of course.

Detective Murphy: Mr. Giles, what hours is the cemetery open?

Jonathan Giles: I suppose it's open all the time.

Detective Murphy: You don't close or lock the gates on the access road?

Jonathan Giles: No.

Detective Murphy: Does the cemetery get a lot of visitors at night?

Jonathan Giles: Some. We have to check Mr. Faulkner's grave every morning for debris and trash they leave behind.

Detective Murphy: What kind of debris and trash?

Jonathan Giles: Usually beer bottles. Not everyone pays their respects… respectfully.

Detective Murphy: Yes, sir. Are you typically here at night?

Jonathan Giles: No, I usually leave around 6:00 p.m. during the winter. I stay a little later in the summer because it stays light longer.

Detective Armstrong: Thank you for your time, Mr. Giles. We'll probably be here for a little while. If we need anything else, we'll let you know, but for now, we'll let you get back to work.

Interview ends: 11:33 a.m.