There has been so much negative publicity regarding this tragedy. I thought I'd post a couple of articles I've seen whose objective doesn't seem to be to blame the church for this unfortunate tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers remain with this family.
Published in USA Today on 3/27/06.
Even after her first court appearance Monday, the public knows little about what motive Mary Winkler allegedly gave police for shooting her husband, a popular and well-liked minister at Fourth Street Church of Christ in the small town of Selmer, Tenn., 80 miles east of Memphis.
Sheriff's deputies lead Mary Winkler into the Baldwin County Satellite Courthouse in Foley, Ala. Sheriff's deputies lead Mary Winkler into the Baldwin County Satellite Courthouse in Foley, Ala.
Winkler, 32, said nothing beyond "no, sir" when asked if she had any questions during her arraignment Monday at the McNairy County Criminal Justice Center, where she has been held since she was extradited Saturday to Tennessee.
Her attorneys entered no plea, and the judge granted the defense's request to postpone a bail hearing until her preliminary hearing Thursday morning. The funeral for her husband, Fourth Street Church of Christ minister Matthew Winkler, will be today in Selmer.
Two students at Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tenn., who knew the Winklers, were among 200 to 300 people who attended a visitation for the family Monday night in Selmer, Tenn.
Shane Fisher, 19, sophomore Bible major from McMinnville, had worked with Mary Winkler at the Super D drugstore there about two years ago. He was a clerk and she worked in the mail room.
He would often tell her jokes "to crack her up," Fisher said. He described her as "very compassionate, so friendly all the time."
"I don't ever remember her having a bad day," Fisher said. "She was a good Christian lady; she really was."
Fisher attended a youth seminar with FHU sophomore marketing major Tyler Boyd, 19, during spring break last week in McMinnville. Many youths were there who knew Matthew Winkler, whom they often called by the nickname "Wink," Boyd said.
Boyd said the minister encouraged young people to search the Bible, find the truth and serve God with everything they had.
His death has motivated many, Boyd said, adding that he also doesn't think Matthew Winkler would have any trouble forgiving his wife.
"I think Wink would be the first one to forgive her after this," Boyd said. "I don't think he'd have to think about it."
Mary Winkler's lead defense attorney, Steve Farese, said he had not seen the statement she gave police during questioning in Alabama after she was apprehended there Thursday night with her three daughters, and he cannot talk about any conversations he has had with his client.
He described her current state as "quiet, very reserved and still in semi-shock."
"She's sad about Matthew's death and sad about being away from the children," Farese said. "It's hard for everyone to understand what she's looking at right now."
Investigators said Winkler confessed and gave a reason why she shot her husband, but no motive has been publicly discussed.
Winkler was charged Friday with the killing after a nationally publicized search led to her capture in Alabama. Members of the church community have expressed shock at the shooting and have described the Winklers as a seemingly ideal family.
Family friend Pam Killingsworth visited her in jail Sunday and said Winkler expressed remorse. She wishes she could walk down the aisle of her church and repent her sins, Killingsworth said.
Wearing a jail-issued orange suit with her legs shackled, Winkler was led by hand Monday into the packed courtroom by her attorneys. She didn't look up at the more than 70 church members, spectators and media representatives seated in the small room and remained facing the judge once she was seated.
Winkler sniffled and seemed to be crying as her attorneys conferred at the bench and photographers behind her snapped photos.
At least a dozen women from her church attended the arraignment. Several sat in the front row so Winkler could see them.
"We just came to show moral support, but she didn't look up so I don't know if she saw us," said Fourth Street Church of Christ member Judy Turner.
"I believe she felt us," friend Susie Wolfe said.
Flyers were still posted on the courthouse bulletin board announcing the Amber Alert authorities had issued last week for Winkler and daughters Breanna, 1, Mary Alice, 6, and Patricia, 8, after church members found Matthew Winkler shot dead at the parsonage. A patrol officer in Orange Beach, Ala. caught Winkler Thursday night driving in her minivan with the three children. Matthew Winkler's parents, Dan and Diane Winkler, have custody of the couple's three children.
Defense attorney Leslie Ballin said he also hasn't seen Mary Winkler's statement, but he's not convinced it will amount to a legitimate confession.
"We will be looking at what condition she was held in, if she was without sleep or food, or any pressures that may have been lent upon her," Ballin said.
In a news conference, District Attorney Elizabeth Rice offered thoughts and prayers to the family of Matthew Winkler, 31.
Rice declined to comment on Winkler's alleged motive.
"All evidence will be presented at the appropriate time," Rice said.
Published today in the Jackson Sun Newspaper
SELMER - Though they don't understand what reason Mary Winkler would have had for killing their son, her in-laws have "assured her of their forgiveness," a longtime family friend said Monday.
Winkler, 32, has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of her husband, Fourth Street Church of Christ minister Matthew Winkler, 31. His body was found Wednesday at the couple's Selmer home. She fled after the shooting with their three young girls to Orange Beach, Ala., where she was arrested Thursday, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Police have said Mary Winkler confessed to shooting her husband in the back, though they haven't discussed a motive. She has since apologized to his parents, Dan and Diane Winkler, and their sons, Daniel and Jacob, according to Billy R. Smith, dean of the School of Biblical Studies at Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson.
Smith has known the Winkler family for 25 years and said he and Dan Winkler have been friends for that long. Smith has talked to Dan Winkler several times since the tragedy and planned to attend visitation for Matthew Winkler on Monday night in Selmer, he said.
"They were able to visit with her in Alabama, and she expressed her great sorrow for what she'd done, and they assured her of their forgiveness," Smith said. Dan and Diane Winkler "have loved her as a daughter, not as a daughter-in-law, and if they could take her home with them right now, they would," he added.
"They're a great example of what it means to forgive," Smith said of Matthew Winkler's parents. "... That's because of their faith, their character and their love."
Mary Winkler was arraigned Monday afternoon on the murder charge.
Meanwhile, black bows hung on the doors of Selmer's Fourth Street Church of Christ, where Matthew Winkler had been the minister for just over a year. Some members worked around the church to prepare it for the funeral today.
A 5 p.m. visitation drew 200 to 300 people to Selmer's Shackelford Funeral Directors to pay their respects.
Mary Winkler's father, Clark Freeman, attended Monday's arraignment. Smith said he spoke with Freeman on Sunday.
"He's so sorry and just distraught for what has happened," Smith said. "But the relationship between the Winklers and him is very good."
Dan Winkler is a minister at the Huntingdon Church of Christ and teaches at FHU. His father, the late Wendell Winkler, was a well-known Church of Christ preacher, Smith said.
Smith last saw Matthew and Mary Winkler during FHU's Bible Lectureship in February. They visited his office to show him their new baby, 1-year-old daughter Brianna. Matthew Winkler also informed Smith that he'd be participating in an annual FHU youth leadership training program in July, as he'd done in recent years.
"They were both just as happy as they could be and on top of the world," Smith said of the visit.
Smith taught Matthew Winkler at FHU, and his son, Scotty Smith, and Matthew Winkler were best friends, he added.
"I never saw Matthew when he was not happy and excited about his life, but especially about his wife and family," Smith said. "Matthew was being very effective in his work (at Fourth Street) and had made a lot of new friends."
Smith described Mary Winkler as "a wonderful young lady, just like we've known and loved from the day they married." The two had been married 10 years.
"This is a mystery to both sides of the family and their friends," Smith said of the shooting.
Other than family and friends, those attending Monday's visitation included people Matthew had known and touched throughout his brief life.
There was a line of about 100 to 150 people waiting outside to get in before 6:30 p.m. Monday. The line continued inside and could be seen through a large glass window in the funeral home.
Police blocked an entrance to keep out media, which included many local and national print and television outlets.
Two Freed-Hardeman University students from McMinnville, who knew the Winklers, were among those coming to offer their condolences and say goodbye to Matthew Winkler.
Tyler Boyd, 19, a marketing major, believed Matthew Winkler would also be forgiving of Mary Winkler.
"I think Wink would be the first one to forgive her after this," Boyd said referring to Matthew Winkler by a nickname many young people used for him. "I don't think he'd have to think about it."
Boyd said Matthew Winkler encouraged youth to search the Bible, find the truth and serve God with everything they had.
Matthew Winkler taught at a Christian school in McMinnville and was a youth minister at a church there. His wife worked in the mail room at Super D Drugs in McMinnville.
FHU sophomore Shane Fisher, 19, worked with Mary Winkler at the drug store. He was a clerk.
He would often tell her jokes "to crack her up," Fisher said. He described her as "very compassionate; so friendly all the time."
"I don't ever remember her having a bad day," Fisher said. "She was a good Christian lady; she really was."
Both Boyd and Fisher attended a youth seminar last week during FHU's spring break in McMinnville with other youth who knew Matthew Winkler. His death has motivated many to serve God, Boyd added.
The seminar's theme was "The Power of Faith."
"It kind of uplifted us," Fisher said. "I think if Matthew Winkler was here right now, he would tell us, 'Keep going, never give up' and put our faith in God because everything's going to work out all right in the end."
