In the spring of 2015, the rural town of Attica, New York, was rocked by the grim discovery of a beloved local farmer's body. Douglas Mess, a 52-year-old male, was reported missing by his son on Monday, April 20th, after he failed to show up for his job as a supervisor at Baskin Livestock in Batavia. Concern mounted as friends and family knew him to be a hardworking and dedicated man, deeply rooted in his life as a farmer.
A search was launched on the family's sprawling dairy farm, a place where he had spent countless hours working the land.
The search came to a devastating end when Douglas's body was found concealed within a large manure pile on the farm. The gruesome nature of the discovery sent shockwaves through the community. The investigation into his death quickly focused on his wife of 30 years, Charlene Mess. In the initial hours of the search, Charlene had played the part of a concerned wife, even riding her horse around the property, allegedly looking for her husband. However, this facade crumbled as investigators uncovered a much darker story.
The evidence revealed a brutal and calculated crime. Investigators determined that Charlene had first attacked her husband, striking him multiple times with a pitchfork, leaving him injured but still alive. She then retrieved a. 22-caliber rifle and delivered a fatal shot to the back of his head. After ending his life, she bound his hands and feet with bailing wire. Using an electric feed cart and a skid steer, she transported his body to the manure pile, burying him in the hopes that his remains would quickly decompose and never be found. The couple was known to have a volatile relationship, and it was later revealed that Douglas had expressed his desire for a divorce, which may have been a motive for the murder.
Charlene Mess was arrested and initially charged with second-degree murder. At first, she pleaded not guilty. However, faced with the overwhelming evidence against her, she eventually accepted a plea deal. Charlene pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of first-degree manslaughter. Despite the brutality of her actions, she reportedly showed no remorse for the killing. In June 2016, a judge sentenced her to 25 years in state prison, with an additional five years of post-release supervision, ensuring she would be held accountable for the calculated and cold-blooded murder of her husband.
