I Didn't Do It

Listening to the news on the radio, I had a heart-stopping experience. I heard the news reporter clearly say my name. Imagine my reaction when I heard the report that James Hilson has been jailed and is being charged with criminal homicide.

Man jailed in Clairton killing
Friday, January 11, 2008
By Wade Malcolm, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Melissa Galiyas told friends she feared James Hilson, the abusive former boyfriend accused of assaulting her.

On March 28, the day before she planned to testify against Mr. Hilson, a roommate reported Ms. Galiyas, 36, of Clairton, missing.

Last month, a hunter discovered her bones in a shallow grave on a hillside near her Vankirk Street home, and yesterday, Mr. Hilson, 36, of Clairton, was extradited from Georgia and confessed to strangling Ms. Galiyas with an electrical cord, according to an affidavit filed by Allegheny County police.

Ms. Galiyas was the cousin of Amanda Faux, 22, who was killed in a strangely similar fashion last weekend in Charleroi. And Ms. Galiyas' roommate, Jack A. Nolder Sr., had also opened his Clairton home to Ms. Faux before she moved in with the man accused of strangling her.

Mr. Hilson was facing two counts of aggravated assault for the Aug. 9, 2006, beating of Ms. Galiyas with a wooden stick, but in late March, she agreed to meet him in the woods to drink beer and smoke crack cocaine, Mr. Hilson told police.

While in the woods, the topic of Ms. Galiyas' testifying against Mr. Hilson came up, and the two began to argue over whether she would change her story for the trial, according to the affidavit.

Ms. Galiyas said she would not and started to walk home. Mr. Hilson told police he then picked the electrical cord off the ground and wrapped it around Ms. Galiyas' neck, garotting her from behind.

He later returned to the scene, after purchasing a shovel, to bury Ms. Galiyas' body, according to the affidavit. He told police he stripped off her clothes, which were found in a garbage can on nearby Miller Avenue.

Mr. Hilson, who is charged with criminal homicide and abuse of corpse, was the primary suspect early in the investigation when Ms. Galiyas' roommate informed investigators of his abusive history and the upcoming trial, according to the affidavit.

Mr. Hilson and Ms. Galiyas had protection-from-abuse orders against one another, according to records at the Allegheny County prothonotary's office. The roommate also told police Mr. Hilson would frequently try to call Ms. Galiyas, hanging up when he answered instead.

Mr. Hilson's landlord told investigators that he hastily packed his bags and left his apartment in the early morning hours of March 29. He was arrested Dec. 13 in Macon, Ga., on an outstanding bench warrant for failing to appear for trial in the alleged assault against Ms. Galiyas.

Mr. Hilson was in Allegheny County Jail awaiting arraignment. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for next Friday.