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.