WARSAW, N.Y. – The wife of a New York farmer who was hit with a pitchfork, shot in the head and then buried in manure has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Charlene Mess of Attica faces up to 25 years in prison in the April 2015 death of Douglas Mess, her husband of 30 years. She entered the plea Thursday in Wyoming County Court.
District Attorney Donald O'Geen says the Mess family supports the lengthy prison sentence.
Authorities say Charlene Mess hit her 52-year-old husband with a pitchfork and shot him in the head with a .22-caliber rifle before burying his body in a manure pile on the family dairy farm.
One of his sons reported him missing, setting off a seven-hour search.
Charlene Mess is scheduled to be sentenced June 23.