Guilt by Matrimony: A Memoir of Love, Madness, and the Murder of Nancy Pfister Paperback – November 17, 2015

Guilt by Matrimony is the gripping tale of a woman whose unconditional faith in her one true love led her to be wrongly accused of the murder of an Aspen socialite.In February 2014, Aspen socialite Nancy Pfister was murdered in her own home. Someone bludgeoned Pfister to death, wrapped her in a blanket, and stuffed inside her closet. The question was: Who? Then, in March 2014, a married couple from Denver were arrested and charged with first-degree murder: Nancy Styler, and Dr. Trey Styler, Nancy's husband, had recently lost the family home, and his medical practice. The police heard that although friends of Pfister's they had a falling out with her after a business deal gone sour; and after accusations they had not paid their rent whilst staying in Nancy’s apartment.Nancy who had never been in trouble with the police was stripped and photographed in the apartment by the male police officers, frightened and horrified as things got worse and both Nancy and Trey were taken off to prison, Nancy thought the police will sort this out after all there is DNA and fingerprinting. But this is only the beginning of the most horrific journey Nancy Styler will face. Ten days later, police also arrested and charged Kathy Carpenter, Pfister's personal assistant. Nancy spent months in prison innocent but then her nightmare got worse as Trey Styler, confessed to the murder 100 days later. Trey was slowly losing his grip on reality as he battled with mental illness. Not only that but due to his illness it appeared that Treys medical condition left him barely able walk, much less carry out such a heinous crime. The police speculated about whether the confession was true or if he had help.The book takes a close look at the botched small-town police work, and theories on what really happened. In Guilt by Matrimony, Styler's ex-wife, Nancy, reveals the answers to the biggest mysteries of this case as she recounts the trauma of being falsely accused and then imprisoned for her husband's crime. from their fairytale life in Denver to the morning of their arrest to Nancy's release from jail and her attempts to rebuild her shattered life.The book has a docudrama effect is well versed - it has the facts the case provided as well as the first person details that only those directly involved could share. Excellent read, filled with exclusive interviews, very well written.

This was a good read and definitely a story that needed to be told. It's not often That a totally innocent person is prosecuted the way Nancy was. The only loose end was we never got an update on Kathy after she was arrested. I assume the charges were eventually dropped against her? Other than that, it was a very engrossing albeit horrifying tale of an innocent woman's experience.

I gave it an "It's o.k" because I think the story is interesting but it's written in a very strange way. it's certainly the weaker of the two books. The writer is Nancy Styler who was accused of this crime but freed when her husband confessed. The co-author appears to be an able journalist but must have come to an agreement giving Nancy approval rights because I've never seen a book that panders so much to a person. Thank God Joe McGinness didn't have such an agreement when he wrote Fatal Vision. Anyway, aside from describing Nancy Styler repeatedly as being beautiful, glamorous, brilliant and successful what the book never explains is how this perfect person could not have financially planned for her husband inevitable disability -except to start a spa? The book is written from a really biased perspective but if you can bear it then it's an insiders view and the only one we'll get since Pfister and her husband are gone and Kathy Carpenter sure isn't talking.

Love is blind, and so is rage. Guilt by Matrimony is a detailed journey through the life and heart of a loving wife whose only crime was the unconditional love for her husband, which did not allow her to see the obsessive psychopathic manipulator, and ultimately heinous murderer, whom he had become. While presenting a mountain of indisputable facts proving Nancy Stlyer’s innocence in the brutal death of Nancy Pfister of Aspen, it also reveals how Dr. Trey Styler used his illness of medically unknown origins to suit his purposes, and had the ability to turn an apparent disability on and off at will -- not only on that horrific day when he hammered the eccentric heiress to death, but in the many years before to control relationships with family, co-workers and friends. A must read for those intrigued by the mystery of this murder, and willing to learn how innocent love and madness can combine with fatal results.

This was a great book! In many ways it is different from most true crime books. It has a very interesting and unexpected twist that most true crime books don't have. I absolutely could not put it down! There were only a couple of places where it lagged and I had to skim read those parts. It is well worth reading! Very good!

I can only imagine the terror that went through the minds of Pfister's family and friends as well as Styler's own experience. Seriously, imagine that? What would've been your reaction? What would you have done?Pfister may have had a myriad of issues including the unpleasant personality traits of being arrogant, demanding and self-titled. I can believe that she was a difficult person to please let alone tolerate. Her death was inexcusable and a shock to her community.The loss of control of your own life after the seamlessly never-ending events that plagued their lives, the Styler's were thrown into a chapter of their lives I'm sure they'd prefer to skip entirely. Then comes the part where a murder has occurred.This book is written to put the pieces together for the non-Aspenites to grasp the events and understand the before, during and after of the death of Pfister. It's docudrama effect is well versed and doesn't play too much into theories - it has the facts the case provided as well as the first person details that only those directly involved could share.I recommend this to those who enjoy a serious and respectively written crime-life-drama book!

A very detailed murder story. So detailed I looked at Wikipedia for info so I could miss a lot of pages. The story also shows the results of a sloppy investigation.

Great read. I still believe Nancy Styler to be guilty of this crime, however I have a lot of sympathy for her, and do not believe that she is a bad person, nor her husband Trey. They were just two people pushed to their limits by a nasty woman. I hope Nancy Styler can find peace with this book.