Kriti Mehrotra
It was June 10, 2008, when 64-year-old Alan Helmick was found shot to death in the kitchen of his Whitewater, Colorado, home, leaving the entire community shaken to its very core. That’s not only because of the brutality towards this individual of great standing but also because his second wife, Miriam Giles Helmick, was soon identified as his assailant, as explored in ABC’s ’20/02: Run, Run, Run.’ However, if we’re being honest, the one individual arguably most affected by this entire ordeal was none other than the now-convicted killer’s son from her first marriage, Chris Giles.
Chris Giles Has Experienced More Loss Than Anyone Can Imagine
While not many details concerning Chris Giles’ early years are publicly available as of writing, we do know he seemingly grew up in an idyllic family comprising both his parents and his elder sister, Amy Michelle Giles. But alas, things changed as time passed by, resulting in the latter sadly passing away from a drug overdose on August 29, 2000, following which the parents also began drifting apart. According to Chris’ own accounts, his father, Jack, took this particularly hard, and it fractured his relationship with his wife, Miriam, too — a union that was reportedly already crumbling.
Nevertheless, not even in his darkest, wildest dreams could Chris ever think he would end up losing another person extremely close to him just a short while later – Jack on April 15, 2002. The Jacksonville, Florida native still vividly remembers he was asleep in his own bed down the hall from his parents’ room in the morning hours of the fateful day when he heard a gunshot. That’s the sound he woke up to, just to then see his mother hysterically coming to him and crying, “He shot himself.” As per Miriam, her loving husband of 26 years had died by suicide while she lay asleep right next to him.
Chris was the one who called 911 that day, all the while restraining his mother because she wanted to go back to the room. Jack’s death was ruled a suicide a short while after, following which Miriam relocated to Colorado. Little did anyone know the dance instructor would soon find solace in one of her clients, Alan Helmick, especially since he had also unfortunately lost his first wife, Sharon, not long before. The couple tied the knot in June 2006, unaware that another tragedy would strike just a little over two years later as the 64-year-old would be shot to death in the kitchen of their home.
Chris Giles Testifed Against His Mother During Her Trial For Murder
Although Chris was a reluctant witness for the prosecutors when Miriam finally stood trial in 2009 for the first-degree murder of her second husband, Alan, he was incredibly significant. After all, he told the court she had not only left everything behind to live with him in Florida not long after his step-father’s murder but also lied to him as well as to the law enforcement officials in more ways than one. He testified he had asked her to stay in Colorado “until everything was taken care of” in Alan’s case, yet she still came to him and even told him she was cleared by authorities to relocate.
What’s more is that Miriam had decided she no longer wanted to go by her given name, per Chris’ testimony, so she was using copies of Alan’s late wife Sharon’s legal identification cards. “I advised her that that wasn’t a good course because I understand that that’s just not legal, nor is it the right thing to do,” he candidly said, but she didn’t listen and continued to go by Sharon. However, it wasn’t until late 2008 that Chris figured out something was really wrong since his mother had begun dating again as if nothing had happened, only to be arrested on December 8.
Chris Giles is Seemingly Trying to Move Forward in Life
In 2009, Miriam was found guilty of murder, attempted murder by arson two months prior to the 2008 incident, and 10-11 counts of forgery, for which she received 108 years without parole. Chris was understandably heartbroken to hear this verdict, considering it meant the loss of his entire family – first his sister, then his father, now his mother – but he does believe justice was served. He even maintains that while testifying against his mother was the hardest thing he ever had to do, it’s still difficult for him to comprehend how someone could go as far as to kill.
Therefore, it appears as if Chris has since chosen to stay far away from the limelight, especially with all the recent speculations about whether Miriam was behind Jack’s death too. Yet, it’s imperative to note Jack’s case remains a closed one, with Florida authorities standing by the suicide ruling. So today, from what we can tell, Jacksonville-based Sales System Engineer at AT&T Chris is simply doing his best to move on from the past, all the while keeping the memories of those he lost alive in his heart.
Read More: Miriam Helmick: Where is Husband Killer Now?
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