Man held for court in Smithfield ‘love triangle’ homicide
A couple exchanged sex for drugs with a Uniontown man for several months before the boyfriend was shot in his Smithfield home and his girlfriend helped clean up the scene July 18, according to testimony.
Wiley Estill Gambrel, 58, was held for court Monday on homicide and related charges after testimony from Deana Jean Hughes, 33, who is also charged in the death of James “Jay” Plance.
Hughes said she and Plance paid Gambrel for crack cocaine with sex, with either both participating or she and Gambrel alone.
“(Gambrel) said, before, that he wanted to be with me,” Hughes testified.
Gambrel came to their Smithfield trailer along Ringer Road July 17 with several cases of beer and $200 worth of crack cocaine, which they drank and used together through the night and morning, according to Hughes testimony.
Early on the 18th, she said Gambrel went to his van parked outside and returned with a rifle, which he pointed at Plance’s head.
“(Plance) looked at him and said, “Really, are you gonna point that at me?” Hughes said.
“He said ‘Yes I am’,” and pulled the trigger, she testified.
Hughes said Plance fell to the floor. Gambrel folded his body into a cardboard box, which he loaded into his van with a dolly, she said.
Plance’s mother left the room before District Attorney Rich Bower showed Hughes a photo of the body stuffed into the box. Hughes cried, openly showing emotion for the first time during the hearing.
She testified she was in shock and helped Gambrel clean her boyfriend’s blood from the floor, using towels and mops. A picture of a white bucket filled with several inches of blood was admitted into evidence, which Hughes identified as a mop bucket used in the cleanup. She rode with Gambrel to drop off the body at a garage at 3540 Morgantown Road in Georges Township, which he used as a shop for his heating and air conditioning business.
Gambrel told her he was sorry it had to be that way, she testified.
“I said ‘I don’t even know why it had to happen this way. Why would it?” she said, adding that he did not answer.
Hughes struggled to answer simple questions during the hearing, such as how long she knew Plance. She said they were living together at the trailer. Gambrel was married but separated from his wife, she said.
She testified during cross-examination that she did not have any arguments with Plance leading up to the shooting.
Hughes testified Gambrel drove to McDonald’s along Morgantown Street to buy food after dumping the body and picking up a change of clothes at his Nutt Avenue apartment, then bought a leash for her dog at Family Dollar. She said he showered at her trailer and she called her grandma, saying she needed to stay there.
Her aunt called 911 at about 9:30 a.m., saying Hughes told her that Plance had been shot and killed at their trailer. Hughes called 911 to report the killing about 15 minutes later. State police forced entry into the trailer and found the body was moved and someone tried to clean up the crime scene.
Hughes later led troopers to the garage, where Gambrel was found outside cleaning out his van. They found the body inside and a .22-caliber rifle in the van. Gambrel admitted to shooting Plance, according to court paperwork.
The courtroom was overflowing with family and friends of Plance, many wearing “Justice for Jay” T-shirts. Several muffled cries during the testimony. They declined comment after the hearing.
Bower said they are pursuing a first-degree murder conviction in the case. He did not elaborate on a motive in the killing.
Gambrel is held without bond in Fayette County Prison on charges of criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence.
Hughes is charged with hindering apprehension, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. She was freed from jail after a $50,000 bail was posted on her behalf.