Posted on 08/02/2007 2:50:54 PM PDT by rawhide
FAIRHOPE, Ala. A minister's wife who disappeared from a religious conference in Louisiana, only to be located four months later living in New York, knows she made a "serious mistake" by leaving and has returned home to Alabama to be with her two children, her lawyer said Thursday.
Mary Elizabeth Byrne Smith, 30, didn't plan her mysterious departure and acted upon "emotional distress in her personal life," attorney Robert Stankoski said in a statement released to the media at a news conference.
"While her actions may have seemed illogical, it was a very difficult decision for Mrs. Smith to leave her children, whom she loves very much, and forgo any additional communication," he said.
Smith accompanied Stankoski during the news conference but did not address reporters. The attorney declined to answer questions about Smith's husband, saying she is "exploring several options about reuniting with her family."
Smith, a kindergarten teacher whose husband is pastor of the First Baptist Church of Summerdale, vanished in March while attending a Christian women's conference with friends in Bossier City, La. She excused herself to go to the restroom and wasn't seen again.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
At least she didn’t shoot her husband in the back, leaving him to die a slow painful death while she and the kids went to the beach.
BTW is Mary Winkler out of jail yet?
Yes, as a matter of fact, it DOES seem illogical.

Life imitates art....sort of.
In Bossier City, police Sgt. Jimmy Stewart said his extensive conversations with Smith after she was located had “changed my life.”
“She has instilled in me a faith in people. I think she’s a very good person, and I wish her the best in life,” said Stewart, who declined to reveal anything Smith had told him. “I may never hear from Beth Smith again, but I’m sure she’ll do fine.”
***There’s just a bunch to this story that isn’t being told. Kinda reminds me of that pizza delivery guy who got blown up by a bomb after he robbed a bank. More questions than answers, but at least this lady is still alive.
Abandoned children = deal breaker
Mary is doing her 4 month sentence in a funny farm. No jail time for Sweet Mary!
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