Man to serve 9th and final year in fiancée's 1996 slaying


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SALT LAKE CITY — As she watched the man who killed her daughter sentenced to serve a year in jail, the mother of Jamie Weiss said she believes the man's second chance came from the young woman who loved him against her better judgment.

"Somehow I know my daughter Jamie is behind this opportunity he has been given today," Deborah Nelson said Monday, wearing a picture of the dark-haired young woman pinned to her shirt.

She then urged Billy Justin Charles to make the most of his second chance, asking him, "Please become the man Jamie believes you are."

Charles' fiance, 18-year-old Weiss, was found dead in a bathtub overflowing with cold water the day before the couple's wedding in 1996. A medical examiner later determined the young woman had no water in her lungs but died from blunt force trauma and asphyxiation.

Charles was arrested in 2007 and has been behind bars ever since. He was convicted of murder two years later, but his conviction was overturned in 2011.

Now 39, Charles entered an Alford plea earlier this year to a reduced charge of manslaughter, a second-degree felony, in Weiss' death. As Charles reiterated in a brief statement Tuesday, the Alford plea, which is in essence a guilty plea, allows him to maintain his innocence but acknowledge he would likely be convicted at trial.

"We all lost Jamie. If I could give my life for Jamie's, I would," Charles said Monday, apologizing to both of their families and the son they shared. "At the very least, I hope this will relieve some of Jamie's family's suffering. All I want to do is get home to my children."

Weiss' family disputes that the couple had plans to be married in 1996, calling it an error that has followed the story for years. However, initial as well as recent court documents and testimony during Charles' first trial indicated the couple was engaged.

Speaking in court Monday, Nelson and other members of Weiss' family said they believe she was a victim of deadly domestic violence. They blame Charles' explosive temper, claiming his "hate for women" was apparent as abuse continued in two later relationships.

"I feel like something happened to (Charles) to cause him to treat women the way he treats them … like possessions," Nelson said. "Billy, I hope you take advantage of this opportunity. I hope you get to the bottom of why you have this total, horrible hate for women."

Charles wasn't charged with Weiss' death until 2007. He was found guilty of her murder in 2009 and was sentenced to five years to life in prison. Citing the circumstantial case against Charles and errors by attorneys, the Utah Court of Appeals overturned the conviction in 2011 and ordered a new trial, which had been set to begin in August.

Instead, prosecutors agreed to a plea deal, including recommending a year in jail and three years of probation for Charles. A judge followed that recommendation Monday, while noting that Charles will be required to complete domestic violence counseling.

"If you choose to hit a woman again, it's a ticket to the penitentiary," 3rd District Judge Mark Kouris told Charles.

While Charles pleaded guilty to recklessly causing Weiss' death, no details about how she was killed were presented in court. At a change of plea hearing in August, prosecutors noted that in a subsequent relationship, Charles' girlfriend accused him at one point of being a murderer and he responded that Weiss' death had been an accident.

Following the hearing, Nelson said her family, including the couple's now-adult son, remains wary of Charles' release but are grateful he will receive treatment.

"I hope he changes his ways, because he's dangerous," Nelson said. "That's our family's biggest concern, that he will harm another woman."

Kim Cordova, Charles' attorney, said Monday that Charles loved Weiss and that the mother of his younger children has been supportive of his release.

"He's a different person now than he was then," Cordova said.

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McKenzie Romero

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