Prosecutors Charge Deer Lodge Man With Double Murder

Prosecutors charged a Deer Lodge man with murdering a mother and son and stealing thousands of dollars in silver from them.

NBC Montana reports Beverly Giannonatti, 79, and her son, Gregory, 57, disappeared in late October. Just nine days earlier, a cleaning lady reportedly found a bar of gold worth $480,000 in Beverly’s deceased ex-husband William's house.

The Giannonattis' bodies were found in late November.

David Wayne Nelson faces two counts of deliberate homicide. Charging documents say he killed Gregory with a hammer after being confronted for stealing the silver bars. The documents say when Beverly came into the room, Nelson pushed her against the wall where she fell and hit her head on what investigators believe to have been a vanity. They say Nelson then strangled her with an electronic wire.

Prosecutors claim Nelson removed and dumped carpeting and floor boards to conceal the murders. The documents also show he painted over the walls to hide evidence.

The charging documents say after lying about the involvement of three other men Nelson confessed to killing the Giannonattis and gave Deer Lodge Sheriff Scott Howard details of the murders. They say Nelson then led investigators to two dump sites off the Old Stage Road. Documents show on Nov. 30, investigators found two bodies in one dump site hidden under sticks and logs.

Nelson is also accused of stealing 17 100-ounce bars of silver from Gregory and selling them in Missoula for more than $26,000. The charging documents show Nelson was working as a handyman on some of Beverly's rental properties.

Officials are still trying to find the bar of gold.