Posted on 03/23/2006 10:29:28 AM PST by nuconvert
Tenn. Pastor Found Slain; Amber Alert Issued for Family
Thursday , March 23, 2006
SELMER, Tenn. — A church minister was found shot to death in his parsonage, and authorities were searching for his missing wife and three young daughters Thursday.
It wasn't immediately clear if the woman and children were abducted or if they were involved in the crime and fled.
Church members went searching for pastor Matthew Winkler late Wednesday when he didn't show up for an evening service at Fourth Street Church of Christ, police said. They used a key to enter the parsonage and found him dead in a bedroom. His family was gone.
Selmer Police Chief Neal Burks said Thursday that Winkler, 31, had been shot.
"We're just really puzzled," Burks said. He said investigators weren't sure if Winkler's wife had the children or if any outsiders were involved in Winkler's death and the family's disappearance.
According to Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jennifer Johnson, there were no signs of forced entry at the parsonage.
The bureau issued an Amber Alert early Thursday for the couple's daughters, Breanna, 1, Mary Alice, 6, and Patricia, 8. The alert said the girls may be with their mother, Mary Winkler.
Mary Winkler was last seen late Tuesday afternoon picking up the children from school, said Ed Jones, TBI assistant director. Burks said she worked as a substitute teacher at the elementary school.
Arkansas state police were alerted to be on the lookout for the family's van but said Thursday morning that they had had no sightings of the family or their minivan.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Hard to know if his wife was involved or maybe it was a disturbed church member? Not much to go on yet.
History repeats itself.
I would also look for the two little boys missing in Milwaukee, in every car trunk, or wheel well that was in the vicinity. There have been two of those in my memory.
How precious! Good-looking family, all.
Oh man, how sad. What's the world coming to?
Sadly... a working associate of mine with the "perfect family" was brutally killed in his own basement a few years back.
My friend's "perfect little wife and mother" had her big mechanic adultery-boyfriend and another guy beat him severely with metal pipes.... then shot him to finish him off...
They were all caught -- the killers got the death penalty...
Wifey-mom got life without parole....
My friend's brother & family are raising the two sons....
Berrrrry sad indeed....
This dead-pastor gig resonates a lot....
I would prefer to be wrong on this one....
How terribly sad. There have been a number of these tragic cases (e.g. the family in Richmond).
FOX just announced that the family was found safe in Alabama.
Nothing more.
Yeah, they were in Orange Beach! In the family van, pulled over on the side of the road. Cops just stopped to check on them and see if they needed help. I had asked on the other thread why in the world LE hadn't sent the alert out to MS and AL, too - why just AR and KY?
Well, I'm certain there's more to the story now, but I'm glad those little girls are safe - and the wife, too, of course ... but we'll see what she has to say.
One news story said they knew in Selmer (the cops) at 6:00 that they might be found in southern AL or the panhandle of FL. Then at 7:30 was when they were found accidentally. Maybe the wife used a credit card or gas card or something. Good news, anyway.
Found safe with no one guarding them ...
I just hope that if the wife had anything to do with killing him - the children did not see it happen!!
Earlier on CNN, it was reported that she is "a person of interest" which we all know is law enforcement speak for "suspect".
'Earlier on CNN, it was reported that she is "a person of interest" which we all know is law enforcement speak for "suspect".'
Gee - that doesn't sound good. Poor kids!! If she is guilty of killing their Dad - they will not only lose him - but will lose their Mom too!!
Hope there is good family to care for them and raise them if that's the case.
I heard on the news that he'd been shot in the back. I'm wondering if there was a computer he used regularly in that bedroom... And was he was shot in the back in the middle of the night, while he thought she was asleep? This is purely speculation, mind you, but there's a lot of rage involved when either a husband or wife is involved in cyberporn or cyber relationships and won't stop doing it, even after being caught.
Did CNN say anything that would fit into that purely speculative scenario?
This was in one of the stories I posted on the other thread:
~~~
Church members used a key to enter the parsonage next to the church when Winkler missed the worship service.
"We were at church waiting for him," said Linda Ashe, whose husband is a church elder. "We couldn't figure out why they weren't there. We called the house and the cell phone not knowing anything was wrong."
Ashe said that Winkler had told her he had a gun that he kept in the home but used only for turkey hunting.
Excerpt from another story:
"...
Mary Winkler "hasn't been arrested," Johnson said. "We want to talk to her and find out what she knows" about the slaying of her husband.
The wife has last been seen late Tuesday afternoon picking up the children from school, said Ed Jones, TBI assistant director. Burks said she worked as a substitute teacher at the elementary school.
"We're just so relieved that the kids were found safe and now we can focus on the next task" of solving the crime, Johnson said.
Tracy Stewart, city clerk in Selmer, said city investigators plan to go to Alabama to interview the family."
Very probably - if there is a computer in the house - they will check it for evidence to see if either was having an affair.
If there was any cyber sex stuff going on, they will find it from the sites that were visited.
I will bet that the wife caught him in some kind of chat session...and the argument went heated with him threatening her...she grabbed the gun in the house, and shot him. I'll also bet she is on prozac.
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