A man’s body was found dumped in a manure pile, and now his wife has been charged with second-degree murder. Chalene Mess, 48, allegedly killed her husband before leaving his body in the pile of animal feces on the couples’ property. He was reported missing prior to the grim discovery, but authorities aren’t revealing whether or not Mess had participated in the search, or if she confessed to killing him. TWC News reports that the Attica, New York, couple had been married for 30 years prior to this horrific incident.
New York Daily News reports that Mess is being held without bail while authorities investigate the circumstances of the presumed murder of 52-year-old Douglas Mess. His cause of death is not yet known, or it at least it wasn’t immediately apparent when his body was unearthed from the manure pile where he had been buried. Authorities in western New York aren’t sure how he died, nor do they know who buried him. Reports are also not indicating whether or not the wife is being cooperative.
The grisly discovery came after several hours of searching when he was reported missing by his son. The son became concerned when his father did not show up for work on Monday, and had not been seen since that previous Sunday night. The seven-hour-long search ended after police found the body at the farthest end of the family’s 300 acre farm. It was made evident that whoever buried him didn’t intend for him to be found anytime soon.
Burying bodies in manure is something not completely uncommon. In 2011, two bodies were unearthed that had been buried under manure in Gary, Indiana . The two men had been murdered and hidden where the killers presumably thought they would decompose without attracting attention. In 2014, a man was arrested after he reportedly murdered his daughter’s boyfriend . He hid the man’s body in a pile of manure as well.
There aren’t any other details right now regarding the murder of Douglas Mess. With Charlene Mess remaining silent while in jail, the details behind his death may not come out until trial — or at least until police in western New York decide to come out with some details. As it stands right now, nobody in the public is reportedly at risk, and the murder of Douglass Mess was an apparent isolated incident between a man and his very angry wife.
[Photo: Village of Warsaw Police Mugshot]
