Wife Indicted for Tennessee Minister’s Murder
From AP
By WOODY BAIRD, Associated Press Writer
SELMER, Tenn. - The wife of a minister who was shot to death in his church’s parsonage was indicted Monday on a charge of premeditated murder.
Mary Winkler, indicted by a McNairy County grand jury, has been in custody since the day after the March 22 slaying of her husband, Matthew Winkler. Authorities have said she confessed but they haven’t disclosed a motive.
Matthew Winkler, 31, a minister at the local Church of Christ, was found dead in his bedroom after he failed to show up for an evening service.
His 32-year-old wife and the couple’s young daughters found the next night in Orange Beach, Ala.
Mary Winkler has not yet entered a plea and remains jailed in Selmer, about 80 miles east of Memphis. Her lawyers didn’t immediately respond to calls seeking comment on the indictment Monday.
“We’ll have a defense,” attorney Steve Farese said last week without elaborating.
A couple of questions come to my mind:
- Why did her lawyers feel it was better for her to remain in jail rather than out on bail?
- Why does she keep her motive secret?
My feeling is there is a lot more to this story. There are a lot of secrets being kept.
This woman looks like someone who has thrown herself on the sword. If so, who is she sacrificing herself to save?
I hope she talks. Talking gives her children permission to talk. Keeping secrets sends the message that they too must keep secrets.
I don’t have the facts, just my brief observations and speculation. I have a feeling this will be an interesting case to watch unfold.
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The Median Sib has discussion at Mary Winkler - Finally Some News.
Previous: Mary Winkler: The Preacher’s Wife
Discussion: The Median Sib:
Tennessee Church of Christ Minister Murdered by Wife - No Wonder?
Mary Winkler - Motive? Tragedy!
My Cruel, Callous and Mean-Spirited Opinion
Women’s Place in the Church - Is the Church of Christ Right?
I have said right along there is more to this story than in print. I say she was abused by the power people, you know, like the preachers and the police. I hope she goes free when the “religious folk” have the guts to speak out, or her family or daughters. HE was guilty of something, perhaps abuse and molestation? You see, she was in a spot like most innocent people, the weak who are so taken in by “religion” would never believe her story or a cry for help, so she took care of things herself! Certainly not the right way, but if you have ever been abused, you can snap as enough becomes enough!
I knew Matt and I know Mary. I went to college with them and have roomed at youth camps with matt (July 2004). He was a friend - Mary was a friend - I just never knew her well because she dropped out of school before I could get to know her. All of these theories about our religion being too oppressive for women, about Matt doing something terrible to her or the girls, all this junk about “He probably had it coming”… Can we please put this junk aside now? We definately don’t know all the facts yet, but today’s hearing surely shed some light on this case. She was apparently at “victim” of a “check kiting” scam. Did he have knowledge of this - I don’t know, but in the hearing it came out that she handled ALL of the families finances (really oppresive husband, huh?) - he might not have even known about the alleged (my word) scheme - I don’t know. He was riding her about the “way she ate…way she walked…everything”…..ok Is that reason to kill someone? No marriage is perfect - spouses sometimes “bug” each other or “ride” each other pretty hard - no doubt, it sounds like they needed Christian marriage counseling. But why shoot him? Remember I said that she left school early? She had a breakdown - mentally. Bi-polar stuff.
We’ve heard it haven’t we? Oppresed. Cult. Church of Christ Cult (thanks to the high and holy Nancy Grace), Mean Husband, child abuse, molestation,…I mean, we’ve heard everything indicting Matt and the Church with this tragedy. It appears the truth may simply be she was involved in something illegal, she had financial pressures because of it, she had three kids - major responsibilities there, she wasn’t attractive as she used to be (trust me), she lived in a fish-bowl being a minister’s wife (a lot of women live in fish bowls, but they didn’t do what she did),…and what we know as of today is that he told her one time where he kept the gun and the next thing she remembers is that the sound of the gun going off wasn’t as loud as she thought it might be…. wow. She doesn’t remember wanting the gun, getting the gun, pointing it at Wink, or pulling the trigger - while he SLEPT in the bed! She destroys his back and major organs - he askes “why?” and she says, “I’m sorry” and leaves him to die! She didn’t call anybody, didn’t check on him, didn’t cry, … she just left him there to die. I’m, right now, happy for Matt. I’m happy because now some of these terrible “drama motives” have been put to rest. I’m happy for the church. It wasn’t the religion folks. I love Mary to death, but I’m sorry to say this doesn’t look good for her and I just hate what she did and what its costing her and everyone involved. No one was “abused”. It’s because of your ignorance - you just didn’t know either one of them. Anyone who shouts “abuse” in any form needs to open their eyes to the fact that Mary handled all the finances. Duh…hello….? She doesn’t sound abused. She sounds like she has the freedom to do what she wants - like renting a condo in Gulf Shores or whatever else that might have been. There was no kind of crazy abuse going on - extramarital or viciousness with the daughters.
I’m still eager to find out how she could have been a “victim” in the “check kiting” scheme. From what I’ve read about “check kiting”, it takes one or more people who are really one their toes and know whats going on to make this crime work. But like I said, I’m just learning about “check kiting” so maybe she was a victim of it. I don’t know. I only know that HER words were that she just “snapped”.
Consider your blog lucky to hear from one of their friends! I have completely refused to become a part of any of this madness. I don’t even know if I’m doing the right thing by posting to this blog. But I want everyone here that has blamed this on Matt or the churches of Christ to please step back - away from the hype - and view the facts. Our Lord did not die for a church that would oppress women or cause crime. It…just…ain’t…so! Keep Mary in your prayers. She surely sounds like she has more going on in her mind that we can ever understand. Please keep the girls in your prayers - they are doing fine with Matt’s mom and dad. We took up money for the Winkler Family fund (http://www.winklerfamilyfund.com/) at church and sent to Dan. Funds given to this fund will go to the care for the girls. And as troubled as Mary now may seem - I want you all to know that she sent our congregation a Thank You letter from jail for that contribution. She loves her girls and I know she misses them deeply. Please keep Mary in your prayers.
Dear Russ,
God Bless you. I know that speaking out like this must be difficult. Especially since, as you said, so many people seem out to get Matt and the Church.
People need to realize that just because they have seen other instances that have gone a certain way, does not mean that this crime “fits the mold”. These are people we are talking about. Not just the latest news story. I pray that these blogs are all long gone before those poor little girls are old enough to stumble upon them.
Everyone needs to consider that these children will grow up. They will someday get online and maybe search for the information online. How it will effect them is up to us. Will they read that their mother was nuts????? That’s crazy! We are Americans, we have the right to speak our mind. Let’s not forget our right to shut up. I just wish people would think about the things they are saying before they put it online. Imagine how those girls would feel to hear such things. Protect them from our ignorance.
Matt is with God now. I pray that Mary will find her way to him as well. To the friends and family, I truely hope that you are all blessed. That the Lord will help you find the strength you need to pull through this tragedy. For the children, I hope they can somehow live a calm and productive life.
No one knows exactly what happened, except for Mary. However, I’ve also heard from people who knew them personally, and their impression of Matthew was not favorable at all.
I went to high school with Matt. While I have never met Mary I can tell you Matt was one of the most honorable men I have ever met. The news media tells a great a story of how Matt must have been a horrible person. Molesting the kids, abusing his wife, cheating on his wife. Well, the facts are coming out. Lets all face Mary is just another psyco bitch.