Slain Minister's Wife to Be Charged With Murder

Fox News ^ | March 24, 2006

[Blogger]

Slain Minister's Wife to Be Charged With Murder Friday, March 24, 2006 MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The wife of a Tennessee pastor found shot dead in his house Wednesday will face first-degree murder charges, authorities announced Friday.

Mary Winklerwas found Thursday night with the couple's three daughters in Orange Beach, Ala., about 400 miles south of their home in Selmer.

Investigators with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said she was interviewed during the night and the charges were being prepared.

"We've interviewed her and she was cooperative," said Jennifer Johnson of the TBI, adding that once a warrant with the charges was drawn up, extradition proceedings would begin to have her returned to Tennessee.

Matthew Winkler was found shot to death in the bedroom of his parsonage Wednesday by church members who began searching for him after he failed to show up at an evening event at Selmer's Church of Christ.

Police said there were no signs of forced entry, but Winkler's wife and children — Breanna, 1; Mary Alice, 6; and Patricia, 8 — were gone.

[monkeywrench]

Why do you suppose the police aren't releasing the motive for the murder?

[txrangerette]

It trashes the victim, and there is some sense of decorum and compassion for his family in not talking about it until he is laid to rest.

[Rte66]

It bothers me, too. Part of the problem may have been the transfer between the states. No one would want the children to have to stay in Alabama, since they had never lived in the state.

There ARE some Winkler family members in Alabama, so that could've happened, as far as a temporary foster home with family visits, but it didn't.

Oh, it's on Dateline NBC right now. BBL - Here's a brief story from today:

Sheriff talks about transporting Winkler
March 26, 2006, 04:56 PM CST

Members of the church where Matthew Winkler was a preacher held their first Sunday service since his death.

Black ribbons were tied to the doors of Fourth Street Church of Christ in Selmer.

Security was tight outside during services to shield the grieving churchgoers from from the news media.

Meanwhile, Mary Winkler spent her first full night in the McNairy County after being brought back from Alabama where she fled with the couple's three children.

"She's fine. She had no emotion whatsoever," said McNairy County Sheriff Rick Roten about his trip from Orange Beach, Ala., to Selmer with Winkler. "She was quiet, cooperative...didn't ask any questions, didn't talk about anything."

A picture of Matthew Winkler was printed on the cover of Sunday's church program. Those who attended the service would only say that the sermon was about how to grieve.

[monkeywrench]

Okay, thanks. I thought that, but thought there might be more to it than that.

[txrangerette]

No, I really think they are stalling to let the situation play out for the slain minister's family. Imagine unleasing some terrible accusation against him (which looks like will happen) before he is even buried.

[Gondring]

Can you tell my why you think it only applies to those who convert after marriage?

II Corinthians 6:14

[colt fan man]

txr, you make a very good point...the police are keeping quiet FOR NOW because they know that if they release the motive (and it is AGAINST the husband...i.e. child molesting) before the funeral that people would be repulsed and not show up...i would think that if the motive was AGAINST the wife that they would have released it already

...they will release it shortly after the funeral

[Rte66]

Well, the Dateline NBC segment was less than "clarifying." They had the friend, Pam Killingsworth, on for most of it. All she talked about is everything we've seen - "perfect family" "happy" and so on.

But here's the weird part. They had Mary Winkler's attorney on at the end - I have been trying to pin down his name for the past 20 minutes. It sounded like the interviewer said "Steve Parese." But there isn't any such attorney. There are attorneys named "Priest" in Knoxville, where her father lives, who is said to have hired the attorney, but none are named Steve and they aren't criminal attorneys. I've gone through as many TN lawyers as I care to sift through right now.

Bottom line, I have no idea what the man's name is and it isn't on the Dateline website, where they tell you to go for more info. (They have an outdated story from yesterday on there.)

What he said was (paraphrasing) he "believes it was unintentional" and "they were dealing with a dangerous situation there." She will be pleading "not guilty."

(So why did she confess to planning a murder????)

[colt fan man]

i should clarify my last post: the police don't care about the attendance at his funeral...they are delaying out of respect for his family

...his service is tuesday at 3pm, so expect them to release the motive wed or thur

[OrangeDaisy]

1.) He can’t figure out how best to spell his older child’s nickname. First it’s Trisha, then Tricia.

Ever consider that maybe the person who typeset the article for the bulletin is the one who misspelled the name, not Matthew Winkler.

[OrangeDaisy]

There ARE some Winkler family members in Alabama, so that could've happened, as far as a temporary foster home with family visits, but it didn't.

The family member in Alabama is the children's Great Uncle. The grandparents are well respected and well known in Tennessee and Alabama. It is highly unlikely that they would "coach" the children (as someone said in another post) at all. Their concern now is for well being of their granddaughters first and foremost.

[Rte66]

??? I didn't say anything about "coaching." I said there ARE family members in Alabama, so if the courts in Alabama had chosen to keep the children there in their children's services system, there would have been family members in the state as contact points. That's a *good* thing, not a *bad* thing.

[Rte66]

There's no reason for anyone to release a "motive" to the public at all.

[Rte66]

Thinking about the gun that was in the home (*assuming* it was a shotgun, but won't say that specifically) that was said to be used for turkey hunting ... I wondered if there is a spring hunting season for wild turkey in TN.

Sure enough, there is.

"Tennessee Wild Turkey Dates Have Been Announced. 2006 Statewide Wild Turkey Season is April 1 - May 14, 2006 - bag limit is 4 bearded turkeys. Youth hunt - March 25-26, 2006"

Of course, there's no reason for any long gun that's not used for protection to be loaded in the house, but look at those dates. I wonder if Matthew, as a long-time former Youth Minister, ever took "youth" - young men - from the church on wild turkey hunts and whether he might have been getting ready for one two days before the youth season opened. Like, having the gun out, his camo and orange vest, caps, and so forth.

Would Mary have gotten upset having the gun out with the girls around? Would that be the "dangerous" situation?

[hinckley buzzard]

$20 says the MSM will find some way to use some element of this story to try to trash Christians.

The MSM has already decided he was a child molester, and she did it "for the chirren." They will of course link this supposition to the uptight fundy Christian preacher, all repressed and neurotic about s-e-x.

[txrangerette]

I suspect she has talked their arms off and made a statement. Is that not part of a public record at some point, whether or not there is a trial?

You just know the "authorities" are going to make some kind of public representation...could they ignore motive in their presentation? They COULD, but will they want to? It will be rather difficult to ignore it in that everyone in the world knows she shot the man.

Now we are waiting for the whys and hows of the way it came down. There weren't any witnesses that we know of. Much of this will come from the murderess herself, will it not? (Whether we trust her account or not.) Of which motive will be HUGE.

Now there will be things she says that might be checkable by investigators. If they could catch her lying about some material fact of the case in the statement she made, well, maybe that would make a difference in her fate.

Until then, and or until a trial, when they comment publicly, how can they ignore motive it she spilled her guts to them and it was all about motive???

[SwordofTruth]

There is no Biblical command to only marry other members of the church of Christ.

Yo daisy, read the word of God and comprehend if you can.

2 Corinthians

6:14-18
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

[Rte66]

[Jackson, TN, Sun]

Visitation today for slain minister
Wife faces arraignment in Selmer for first-degree murder

By ANDREW TRAN

The first court appearance for a Selmer woman accused of fatally shooting her minister husband is scheduled on the same day that friends and family will begin paying their respects to him.

Mary Winkler, 32, is scheduled to be be arraigned on a charge of first-degree murder at 1:30 p.m. today at the McNairy County Criminal Justice Center.

Meanwhile, friends and family of Matthew Winkler, 31, are invited to gather for visitation from 5 to 8 p.m. today at Shackleford Funeral Home in Selmer. The funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Fourth Street Church of Christ in Selmer, where Winkler was the minister. Burial will follow at the Carroll County Memorial Gardens in Huntingdon at 3 p.m.

Instead of sending flowers, mourners and well-wishers are asked to contribute to a fund that has been set up for the three Winkler children. The donations will be used for counseling and for establishing a trust to help pay for college for Breanna Winkler, 1, Mary Alice Winkler, 6, and Patricia Winkler, 8. Donations may be sent to Winkler Family Fund, 229 Ward Circle, Suite A-23, Brentwood, TN 37027.

A judge granted custody of the girls to Matthew Winkler's parents, Dan and Diane Winkler of Huntingdon, at a hearing Friday afternoon in Alabama. [snip]

[Mark17]

Why is it that most people tend to think that the husband must have deserved it?

I don't know, PC maybe?

[Rte66]

Update on Mary Winkler's defense attorney ...

I finally ascertained that the lawyer's name is Steve Farese, Sr. While he's often called a "Memphis attorney," he practices out of Ashland, MS (which was why I couldn't find him using Memphis as the office address -- he *is* a member of the Memphis Bar). His name has graced the pages of this FR site several times in the past.

FWIW, he last night argued about the media overemphasizing the "dangerous situation" of which HE spoke Sunday night on Dateline! He's the one who brought it up and said it!

Now WAFF-TV reports: "While Farese can't go into details about his conversation with Winkler, he does dispute reports circulating about a "dangerous situation" inside the Winkler home. ... Farese says there's no evidence to prove that. ... "It was taken out of context. It was only a theory that something was going on in the home that in and of itself was dangerous," says Farese. ... But Farese believes there could be a number of factors leading to the crime. ... "I think the accumulations of the pressures of life in and of itself certainly would have some factor in the case," says Farese. [snip] ..." {Grrr from Rte66)

I'll list some previous mentions of him here, for your reading pleasures, then clean up a list I have put together of some more of his recent clientele.

Past FR threads with Farese mentioned:

--Defended Scout Leader Keith Crumpton who pled guilty to charges of sex with minors in 1999, Greenville, MS ... http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3ad3d7186a3d.htm

--Farese Sr. Defending Tennessee Waltz defendant Shelby County Commission chairman Michael Hooks Sr. Sept 2005 ... He will enter a not guilty plea at that time, his attorney, Steve Farese, said. Hooks did not comment after the hearing. ... Jan 24 2006 ... Hooks's attorney, Steve Farese, says he is not aware of the FBI's surprise visit last week, but he says he's not surprised. "It appears that the government is getting ready for trial," says Farese, "to show that what (Hooks) has been indicted for is not a one-time act, but that he has been involved in nefarious acts before...to 'dirty up' the defendant." ... Farese has said Hooks, the first local public official to be stung in the federal operation, will not resign from the county commission, and he will exercise his right to a fair trial. ... Hooks is already set to collect double his tax-paid county pension, more than $1,700 a month, whether he is convicted or not. The veteran county commissioner and former city councilman, who years before maintained his seat despite an arrest and an admitted addiction to cocaine, issued a statement June 1 amid speculation that a federal grand jury would indict him. ... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1489521/posts

--Miss. lawyers accused of wrongdoing in suit ... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/939221/posts

--6-24-2002 - Mississippi [Medical] Malpractice ... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/705197/posts

More a little later ...