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.

[Rte66]

Here's Greta's transcript from the Monday show 3-27; last night's will be in that same section sometime today, if it isn't already there when you click:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,189367,00.html

[Rte66]

http://www.al.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news/1143540985107700.xml?huntsvilletimes?ncrime&coll=1
[snip]
....
In his sermon Sunday, the slain pastor's uncle, Madison Church of Christ pastor Mike Winkler, called the woman accused of killing his nephew "a good mother" and "a very wonderful person."

"We're grieving over the death of Matthew," Winkler said. "We're very grateful that Mary and the girls are safe, but you can imagine that we're crushed ... we are shocked. Never in your wildest dreams do you think something like this can or will ever happen to your family."

He said that too often, people mask what's really going on, that people hide their problems because they fear admitting their less-than-perfect truths will be seen as weakness or lack of character.

"(They) can look like everything is going great, yet things aren't great," Winkler said. "Something isn't right. That can be true even of those who are closest to you. No one ever suspected that Matthew and Mary were struggling."

Winkler challenged his congregation to let the tragedy compel them to look deeper into the hearts of the people they know because "all of us struggle, all of us have problems." He said if someone does take a risk and confides his or her issues to them, they must prove themselves trustworthy and maintain confidentiality.

Then, they must offer unconditional love and acceptance: "We don't turn our backs; we hold out our arms. We don't ignore; we embrace."

"Remember, Christ died for the ungodly," he said. "Jesus said, 'Judge not, that you be not judged.' "

Winkler compared the stories of Peter and Judas in the last days of Jesus. He said both disciples made mistakes, with Peter denying Jesus and Judas betraying Him.

"One thought his problem was insurmountable, and he committed suicide," Winkler said. "The other was crushed by what he did, and he went out, the Bible tells us, and wept bitterly. But in a few days, he was standing up and preaching Jesus.

"One of the things we've learned is that there is no problem in this life we cannot overcome... As long as we're alive, there is hope."

[durasell]

I heard she went to a rave dressed like a zombie...

[Rte66]

I don't want to give this guy any more hits to his silly article than he deserves, but talk about getting some things kinda wrong--this is how "facts not in evidence" seem to become gospel. Some selected clips:

http://www.newswithviews.com/Ryter/jon129.htm

MARY, MARY QUITE CONTRARY
By Jon Christian Ryter
March 29, 2006

NewsWithViews.com

"... On Thursday, the wife of slain Selmer Fourth Street Church of Christ minister Matthew Brian Winkler, 31, confessed to shooting him in the early afternoon of March 22, 2006, before school let out. At least one of the children, Breanna, was home.
....
Winkler rented the beach condo for herself and her daughters prior to the shooting, indicating to police that she pre-planned not only the murder of her husband but an escape route for herself and her children. And, finally, prior to the crime Winkler secured the murder weapon.
...
[Law enforcement refusal to comment] suggests that verbal, or emotional, abuse was likely the reason given by Winkler for planning the execution of her husband and carrying out her plans on the afternoon of March 22 while her two oldest daughters were in school.
...
[Followed by 6 paragraphs about verbal, physical, emotional and other abuse by males, with statistics and quotes from psych people]
...
Whether this line of defense will succeed for Mary Winkler may well depend on whether she was close enough to her mother to honestly confide in her over the ten years of her marriage to Matthew Winkler. [He didn't bother to fact-check and see that Mary's mother died 7 years ago.]
...
[Then several plugs for his BOOK, of course][He is a former journalist from Parkersburg, WV - heh, just like Patsy Ramsey, JonBenet's mother!]
[A little more:]
He authored a syndicated newspaper column, Answers From The Bible, from the mid-1970s until 1985. Answers From The Bible was read weekly in many suburban markets in the United States. Today, Jon is an advertising executive with the Washington Times.

[Rte66]

Pepperdine University is composed of colleges, not denominations. Futhermore, it is a university which has no affiliation with the CoC. You ignorance concerning the CoC is continuing to be demonstrated.

Pepperdine *is* affiliated with the Church of Christ. One of the former presidents of my alma mater, Univ of Oklahoma, was formerly the president of Pepperdine before that (and maybe after, IIRC) - he was an ordained minister of the CofC and Mr. Pepperdine who founded the university was, also.

I believe its charter was for CofC, but like many church-affiliated colleges and universities, it is no longer a major part of the school's mission.

[Rte66]

Correct. I should've kept reading and saved my post before this one. You said it all!

[Rte66]

Was that "someone from the school" named Killingsworth, by chance? You know, the assistant principal of the grade school. Aunt of the teacher Mary subbed for. Jail visitor. Message-deliverer. Media darling. Possibly related to the state trooper who was front and center yesterday. Church Lady, in every sense of the word.

Oh, and one more thing I didn't realize - she was the piano teacher whose lessons Mary and the older girls didn't show up for on Wednesday afternoon - the start of the worrying about where the Winklers were, which culminated in the absence of Matt a few hours later at the prayer meeting.

And did the Everitts talk about the dog barking or was it a different neighbor?

[Rte66]

Ewwww .. Geraldo spittle, from salivating ... yuck! Your poor friend, lol. Ick. Nasty-poo.

[Rte66]

Excellent list. Some good people on there! Hard to picture Janis Joplin and Matthew's grandfather Wendell Winkler being from the same hometown AND the same church, isn't it? Port Arthur, TX. "Poat Aurteur" to Golden Triangleans.

Note to whoever prints up the list: It's Bill Banowsky, with a *y* at the end, not *i*. He was the former president of my alma mater, Univ of OK, as well as of Pepperdine U.

[Rte66]

What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?

[Rte66]

I know "Gaillardia" is Indian Blanket and the subdivision is a nice one, but the name still looks like a bacterial disease to me!

[Rte66]

Well, she makes precious babies!

Mary Alice "Allie" Winkler, 6, left, and her sister, Patricia Winkler, 8, leave the graveside service for their father, Matthew Winkler, in Huntingdon, Tenn., yesterday.

Breanna Winkler, 1, reaches toward her grandfather, Dan Winkler, after the funeral of her father, Matthew Winkler, in Huntingdon, Tenn.

JacksonSunArticle
Wednesday, 03/29/06

Father eulogizes slain minister as 'a loving son'

SELMER, Tenn. — Hundreds of mourners came from near and far, some by shuttle bus, to say their goodbyes yesterday to Matthew Winkler, the minister police believe was shot in the back by his wife here last week.

Winkler was 31 years, four months and one day old when he was killed last Wednesday, the funeral program told mourners. His father, Dan Winkler, also a Church of Christ minister, delivered the eulogy in the Fourth Street Church of Christ, where Matthew Winkler was described as an energetic and popular leader since he moved to Selmer more than a year ago. ...

The couple's three young daughters followed their father's flower-covered casket yesterday.

"He didn't deserve what happened to him," said Doug Letson of Decatur, Ala., Matthew Winkler's high school friend who said he didn't know Mary Winkler. "He was a great guy, a great friend."

Dan Winkler's voice broke at one point during the eulogy, according to church member Jimmie Smith.

"Matthew was a fine, loving husband, but his life was cut short," Smith recalled the preacher saying about his son.

The 55-minute funeral, closed to the media, started about 11 a.m. The sanctuary at Fourth Street was full to its 500-person capacity, and the basement was filled with people watching the funeral on TV monitors, Selmer Police Chief Neal Burks said. ...

"He really did a tremendous job," Barbara Letson said of Dan Winkler's eulogy. "He spoke of Matt from the day he was born until the day he passed away. Some (incidents) were funny, but most were very serious, just telling what a great person he was."

Winkler was buried in Carroll County Memorial Gardens in Huntingdon.

Authorities did not take Mary Winkler to the Selmer funeral home where her husband's visitation was held Monday, McNairy County Sheriff Ricky Roten said yesterday. Roten refused to say whether she was taken to the funeral home at some point before the funeral to view her husband's body.

She was arrested Friday in Alabama and taken to the McNairy County Criminal Justice Center on Saturday afternoon. As of yesterday, she had not seen her girls since arriving at the jail, Roten said. Inmates can receive visitors from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and for one hour on Sundays.

A preliminary hearing and a bail review is scheduled for her at 9 a.m. tomorrow in McNairy County General Sessions Court. ..."

[Rte66]

After the 15-minute ceremony, Matthew Winkler's two older daughters — Patricia and Mary Alice — plucked flowers out of floral arrangements atop the casket and took them home.

[tenn2005]

"he was an ordained minister of the CofC and Mr. Pepperdine who founded the university was, also."

The CoC does not have and never has "ordained ministers."

[yukong]

Well, I see you too are back up and at'em.

Good morning friend.

[blu]

Obviously you missed the memo about not judging FReepers' posts based on their time of membership and number of posts. That's kinda shallow.

[beckysueb]

We believe that it will be the sounding of a trumpet. Why should we believe otherwise?

I wasn't trying to be a smart aleck. But wouldn't that go against what the CoC believes? The reason I ask, I am a Baptist. I think churches, including the Baptist Church, sometimes in trying to be obedient, take the Bible out of context. For example most churches believe that taking a drink is wrong. My consesus is that Paul talks about taking a little wine for the sake of the stomach. In other words wine is good for stomach ailments. He also said that wine cheers the heart of man. Now I know the Baptist church believes the the biblical wine was simply grape juice. I've never had my heart cheered by grape juice, I can tell you that. I contend that they are wrong. There are far too many references in the Bible about TOO MUCH wine being sinful. Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding. The guests were astonished afterward because the host saved his best wine for last, which was usually served first. I take that to mean that as the guests began to get a snootful, meaning alcohol, they didn't notice that the wine wasn't as good, hence their surprise that the last wine was so good. I believe Jesus preached that drunkeness is a sin. I just think that some of the rules that the churches have are sort of like the Pharisees, too many man made rules. Such as women preachers. Most churches think there is nothing wrong with that yet the Bible does say that women are to keep silent in church and if you read Pauls statements about that, I believe it was to keep down a bunch of bickering from the women in church. But anyhow it says if women have a question they are to ask their husbands after they leave the church. But yet most churches have these meaningless rules that they adhere to but yet ignore something that Paul said is wrong. And Pauls writings were divinely inspired.

[beckysueb]

i shouldn't have to support your cult, or any other church for that matter...i don't care if it's none profit or not, it's your members responsibilty to pay for utilities, etc, and so your church should pay property taxes, i don't need to be subsidizing you

Jesus said in the Bible to give to Ceasur what is his, meaning pay your taxes, and give to God what is Gods meaning your tithes. God does not have to pay taxes and the church is the Body of Christ. I don't know of any church that gets taxpayer money. So your statement about supporting the "cult" is wrong. I bet you are a big advocate of so called seperation of church and state, aren't you? But yet you think government ought to be involved enough in the church to collect taxes. You, Sir, are a hypocrite.

[beckysueb]

...and as i previously posted, how is that the mormon church has $1 biilion to buy shopping malls...

Perhaps this is a group of people who happen to be Mormons, and not actually the church that is doing this, but if they are taking money from the Church to do it, then they are wrong and will be judged accordingly. In the Book of Revelations in the end times one of the first things God does is to judge the churches. Churches are not perfect but they like everyone else will be judged for allowing sin into their church.

[beckysueb]

What do you do for a living? C'mon, the truth now. McDonalds? Starbucks?