Jay Man To Be Tried For Wife's Methamphetamine Death

A judge has ruled that a 30-year-old man will be tried on a first-degree murder charge for deliberately causing his ailing wife's death by getting her to smoke methamphetamine.

Charley S. Guess of Kansas, Oklahoma was locked up on a meth charge when he allegedly told a fellow inmate he figured his wife would die if she used the illegal stimulant.

Prosecutors charged him with murder on September 16, 2011, in Delaware County District Court in Jay.

"It's not uncommon for guys like that to brag about what they've done," said Delaware County Assistant District Attorney Kenny Wright.

"Her death was awfully suspicious from the beginning," Wright said.

Read the affidavit for arrest

Delaware County Assistant DA Kenny Wright says they could only pursue meth charges against Charley Guess until he started talking to his cell mate. 

"The guy that gave us this information knew things that nobody besides the killer could have possibly known at that point in time, so we knew that he had talked to him," the prosecutor said.

According to court documents, Guess told his cell mate he was tired of his wife and getting to a point he did not like her anymore. He just wanted her to go away. They had been married for a month.

"Knew that she had this medical condition, and he knew that if he could get her methamphetamine to get her to use it with him that she would probably die," Wright said.

Wright says the health problems alone weren't enough to cause her death, but combined with meth they were.

Court documents also say Guess said when his wife went unconscious, he waited awhile to call 911. 

"He was there with her when the first responders came, holding her hand, talking to her - pretending that he cared," said Delaware County Assistant District Attorney Kenny Wright.

"He actually told Mr. Allen he fooled everybody and no one would ever figure it out."

Charley Guess is now charged with first degree murder in addition to meth distribution and could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted.