Man convicted of murder

A Hungry Horse man was convicted Thursday of murdering his wife last year.

Charged with deliberate homicide, Charles Glenn Smith Jr., 50, changed his plea to "no contest" without the benefit of a plea bargain.

He told the court he wished for the case to be over.

"It should have been done five months ago," said Smith, who was arrested Dec. 9 in connection with the shooting death of his wife, 46-year-old Jody Smith.

From the stand in Flathead County District Court, Smith offered no objection as County Attorney Ed Corrigan outlined the basic tenets of the state's case.

Smith faces up to 100 years or life in prison and a $50,000 fine. Another 10 years could be added to the sentence because Smith used a firearm.

The state will ask the court to impose the maximum sentence, Corrigan said, adding that Jody Smith's family is still angry and grieving over her loss.

The shooting occurred just after 7:30 p.m. at the Smiths' home in the 100 block of First Avenue West North in Hungry Horse, according to the Flathead County Sheriff's Office.

Jody Smith reportedly was sitting in a chair knitting or sewing when she was shot four times in the chest and abdomen with rounds from a 9-mm pistol.

After the shooting, Charles Smith called 911 and said he had shot his wife.

When officers arrived, Smith was out on the front porch, unarmed, and surrendered peacefully. Jody Smith was pronounced dead at the scene. There were no other people in the house at the time of the shooting.

The killing appears to have occurred after an escalating domestic argument. Corrigan said Thursday he didn't know what the altercation was about. Alcohol was involved.

The Smiths had been married 15 years and had lived in the Flathead Valley for at least 13. Their relationship appears to have been marked by strife.

Charles Smith previously had been arrested at least twice for assaulting his wife. In 2004 he allegedly hit her in the head and pulled her hair, and in 1998 she accused him of hitting her with a frying pan.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com