Michigan couple Carol Giles and Tim Collier injected friend with acid and bleach for overhearing murder confession
The Michigan police made a disturbing discovery in 1997 after they received a 911 call from a group of fishermen who had been casting their lines in Flint River. The fishermen told the authorities that while they were walking down a trail toward the water, they saw a pile of blankets. Upon looking underneath the bedding, they found the bruised and bloodied body of a local waitress and nurse, Nancy Billiter. Oxygen's series 'Killer Couples' looks at the Billiter case uncovering what the victim went through before her death.
Carol Giles
Investigators decided to interview Carol Giles, Billiter's roommate, in order to learn more about Billiter's death. After the death of Giles's husband, Jesse, Billiter had moved into Giles's house. Jesse had been almost 500 pounds and had many health issues after suffering from a stroke.
He had also been diabetic and died after suffering from a supposed heart attack in September 1997. At the time, Billiter had offered to move in and help Giles look after her two children while she went to work. Giles shared that she had seen Billiter earlier in the week and her, her boyfriend Tim Collier, and Billiter had hung on out on Tuesday night.
At around 1.30 am, Billiter had reportedly left to go visit her mother. Giles was asked whether she thought it was normal that Billiter had not come back home for many hours when her aura changed and she grew evasive and defensive.
She was taken in for further questioning where she revealed she had not been fully honest. She said that on the night of November 12, Collier and Billiter had got into a bad argument after Collier suspected Billiter of stealing some money.
Collier did not believe Billiter's story that there had been a break-in while she was home watching the kids, and had fabricated the story to cover up. Their argument had turned physical and Collier allegedly hit her many times while brandishing a gun, Giles said.
Collier then tied her to a bed in the basement and continued to beat her up before proceeding to smother her with a bleach soaked towel. Giles said she was horrified while Collier suffocated her friend to death. According to Giles, Collier had made death threats against her if she told anyone.
She added how she was made to clean up the crime scene and the two dumped the body in Flint. Collier had planned on burning her body but the flames self-extinguished before the body caught fire. She was placed in protective custody while authorities searched for Collier who had told Giles he would be laying low.
Tim Collier
Collier's version of events differs from what his former girlfriend had said. According to Collier, he watched Giles use her late husband's insulin syringes to inject Billiter with battery acid. When the acid started to destroy the syringes, Giles started to use bleach.
He added that Giles was the one who suffocated her friend with a bleach soaked towel. He claimed that he did not carry out Billiter's murder but admitted to being an accessory to the crime.
The Truth
Upon a search of Giles's home, the investigators found evidence that supported both Giles and Collier's theories – multiple syringes, blood splatter on the basement wall, a blood-soaked mattress. When Giles was brought in for questioning again, her story started to crumble and she confessed that the victim was killed as the couple suspected that she had overheard a conversation where Giles admitted to killing her husband Jesse.
Giles had begun having an affair with Collier after Jesse had a stroke. She was also tired of taking care of her husband and used Jesse's syringe to inject him with an overdose of heroin instead of insulin. Giles said Collier had given her drugs to execute the crime.
Giles and Collier were charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Jesse and Billiter. They were both sentenced to life in prison with no parole.
'Killer Couples' air on Thursdays at 8/7c on Oxygen.