Manslaughter: Mary Winkler
draws a lesser charge from jury
Published April 20, 2007
By Brant Sappington
Staff Writer

SELMER, Tenn. -- Mary Winkler showed little emotion Thursday afternoon as she was pronounced guilty of voluntary manslaughter, a verdict her defense attorneys described as just.
Prosecutors had sought to convict Winkler of the more serious charge of first degree murder in the March 2006 shooting death of her husband, Fourth Street Church of Christ minister Matthew Winkler.
After 10 days of proceedings and eight hours of deliberations, jurors chose to instead convict Winkler of the lesser offense.
The jury had been given the option of finding her guilty of offenses ranging from first degree murder with a potential sentence of life with parole down to criminally negligent homicide which would have carried a sentence of as little as one year.
Defense attorney Steve Farese said he believes the verdict was just.
“I guess it’s the difference between getting hit on the head with a bowling ball and getting hit on the head with a tennis ball,” he said. “I think we prefer the tennis ball.”
Winkler will be sentenced May 18 in McNairy County Circuit Court and faces a possible sentence of three to six years in prison. She would be eligible for parole after serving 30 percent of her sentence.
Defense attorneys said the judge will also have to consider alternative sentencing options, such as probation, at the hearing.
Judge Weber McCraw agreed to allow the defendant to remain free on her existing $750,000 bond until sentencing. Her attorneys said she will return to McMinnville, Tenn., where she has been living since her release on bond.
The charge of voluntary manslaughter differs from first-degree murder in that it does not require premeditation on the part of the defendant and states that the person must have acted in a state of passion stemming from a sufficient amount of provocation. Both charges require jurors to find the defendant intended to kill the victim.
Assistant District Attorney Walt Freeland’s case against Winkler centered on a series of apparently fraudulent financial transactions he said were controlled by the defendant. Freeland argued the potentially illegal financial activity, which included involvement in a lottery check scam and a practice of writing bad checks between bank accounts known as check kiting, was about to come to a head and Winkler was afraid her husband would find out what she had been doing. He described Matthew Winkler as a loving father and husband and sharply questioned Mary Winkler’s claims of abuse.
Defense attorneys depicted Matthew Winkler as an abusive, controlling husband. Mary Winkler testified to years of emotional, physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her husband. She told jurors on the morning her husband was shot she had gone into their bedroom to confront him after he had used his hand to cover the mouth and nose of their infant daughter in an effort to quiet her crying.
The defense argued the shotgun went off accidentally and their client did not intend to shoot her husband.
Defense attorney Leslie Ballin urged people not to forget about the victim in the case.
“At the end of the day, we are left with the memory of Matthew Winkler. Even though there’s been a lot of negative things said about him in this trial, we know there was a good side to Matthew Winkler. We heard that from Mary,” he said.
The district attorney’s office released a statement thanking all those involved in the investigation and trial and expressing their continued concern for the Winkler family.
“We want the Winkler family to know that our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to them for the loss of their son, brother and father, Matthew Winkler,” read the statement.
Winkler’s family initially indicated they would release a statement to the media, but declined comment following the verdict.
Farese said the defense had declined several plea offers ranging from 35 years down to 15 years in prison before deciding to go to trial.
Mary Winkler’s decision to take the stand in her own defense was key to the case, according to Ballin.
“I think Mary was Mary,” Ballin said of her testimony. “She was honest and she was there to tell the world what went on behind those doors. I think that her testimony played a huge role in the decision.”
A final jury of 10 women and two men were tasked with deciding a verdict in the case. Prior to the beginning of deliberations three jurors - a middle aged black woman, an older black man and a middle aged white woman - were chosen at random as alternates and released from service.
The conclusion of the trial also brought to a close almost two weeks of intense media coverage in McNairy County. Journalists from throughout the country converged on the McNairy County Justice Center when the trial began on April 9.
The media frenzy continued unabated throughout the trial. As Mary Winkler left the justice center following her conviction, she was met by a large crowd of photographers and videographers seeking to get a shot of the woman whose actions turned an intense media spotlight on this West Tennessee town.
Farese said he hopes the coverage of the trial will draw more attention to the issue of domestic violence.
“We would not have been here today had this problem been recognized and been dealt with,” Farese said.

Winkler Timeline
(Editor’s Note: The Winkler timeline was produced by McNairy County correspondent Jeff York, who used his local connections to produce numerous Winkler stories over the past year and Staff Writer Brant Sappington, who covered the Mary Winkler case, murder trial and jury selection. Some of the times are estimates.)

Sunday, February 6, 2005
10:30 a.m. Matthew Winkler begins as pulpit minister at Fourth St. Church of Christ in Selmer, Tenn.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006
8 a.m. Mary Winkler begins work as a substitute teacher at Selmer Elementary School.
3:30 p.m. Matthew Winkler is last seen walking his dog in Selmer City Park.
5:30 p.m. Mary Winkler was last seen picking up her daughters at Selmer Elementary School.
6 p.m. Winkler family eats pizza and watches movie “Chicken Little” Wednesday, March 22, 2006.
6:30 a.m. Matthew Winkler is shot in the back with a shotgun blast by Mary in their Mollie Drive home.
7 p.m. Church elder Wilburn Gene Ashe and church member Jim Turner check to see why Matthew Winkler did not make it to Bible study. They noticed all the lights were on in the house, the family van was gone and a small dog normally kept inside was outside the house.
8:30 p.m. A group of three men -- Kevin Redmon, Randy Smith and Dr. Drew Eason -- and Eason’s teen-aged son, return to the parsonage and discover the body of Matthew Winkler in the bedroom floor.
9 p.m. Mary Winkler spends the night at Fairfield Inn with her three children in Jackson, Miss.

Thursday, March 23, 2006
3 a.m. TBI issues Amber Alert to find Mary and the three children.
7:30 p.m. Mary Winkler is stopped by Orange Beach, Ala. police. She confessed to shooting her husband to Orange Beach Police.

Friday, March 24, 2006
11 a.m. Dan and Diane Winkler, parents of Matthew Winkler, were granted custody of the children in a hearing in Orange Beach.

Saturday, March 25, 2006
4 p.m. McNairy County Sheriff Ricky Roten brings Mary Winkler back to Selmer from Orange Beach. She remains jailed in the McNairy County Justice Center.

Sunday, March 26, 2006
10:30 a.m. Jeremy Weekley preaches at Fourth St. Church of Christ in first worship service after the shooting.

Tuesday, March 28, 2006
1:30 p.m. Matthew Winkler’s funeral is held at Fourth St. Church of Christ. He is buried in Huntingdon, Tenn. Hundreds of media representatives converge upon
Selmer to cover the funeral.

Thursday, March 30, 2006
10 a.m. Mary Winkler waives her right to a preliminary hearing. Attorneys hint Mary may be suffering from postpartum depression.

Friday, March 31, 2006
10 a.m. Dan and Diane Winkler were granted custody of the children by McNairy County Juvenile Court.

Monday, June 12, 2006
9:30 a.m. Mary Winkler is indicted by McNairy County Grand Jury on first degree murder charge.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006
9 a.m. Children send letters to Mary Winkler for their first contact since her arrest.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006
10 a.m. Mary Winkler pleads not guilty to a first-degree murder charge. Judge McCraw sets Oct. 30 as trial date.

Sunday, June 28, 2006
2:45 p.m. Mary Winkler’s children make their only visit to see their mother in the McNairy County Justice Center.

Tuesday, June 30, 2006
10 a.m. Defense attorneys file motions to ask Mary Winkler be released on bond and to suppress Mary’s confession. Mary’s statement to the police is read in court and gives the first clue to the motive.

Thursday, July 6, 2006
4:30 p.m. Judge McCraw sets Mary Winkler’s bond at $750,000.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006
11:00 a.m. Mary Winkler’s attorneys say both Mary and Matthew Winkler were victims of a Nigerian check scam.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006
11:30 a.m. Mary Winkler released from jail on bond. She moves to live with Rudie and Kathy Thomsen in McMinnville, Tenn.

Friday, August 25, 2006
4 p.m. Judge Weber McCraw denies motion to suppress evidence and statements made by Mary Winkler in Alabama. She has a job at Express Cleaners waiting for her.

Sunday, August 27, 2006
10:30 a.m. Jeremy Weekley takes over as pulpit minister at Fourth St. Church of Christ.

Friday, September 22, 2006
11 a.m. Mary Winkler defense team asks for a delay in start of trial.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006
4 p.m. Judge McCraw issues a delay in trial from Oct. 30 to spring session.

Monday, November 20, 2006
7 a.m. On Good Morning America, Mary Winkler’s family accuse Matthew Winkler of physical and mental abuse of Mary Winkler.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007
10 a.m. Photographer Robert King is indicted by McNairy County Grad Jury for impersonating a licensed professional. His images of Mary Winkler were published in People magazine.

Thursday, February 22, 2007
4 p.m. Judge McCraw sets trial date for Monday, April 9.

Friday, March 2, 2007
3 p.m. Judge McCraw denied motion by defense to suppress evidence taken without a search warrant.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007
11 a.m. District Attorney Michael Dunavant makes decision to not seek death penalty against Mary Winkler.

Monday, March 19, 2007
10 a.m. Dan and Diane Winkler file wrongful death lawsuit against Mary Winkler.

Thursday, March 29, 2007
10 a.m. Mary Winkler files a motion to seek custody of her three children.

Monday, April 9, 2007
9:30 a.m. Jury selection begins.

Thursday, April 12, 2007
9 a.m. Mary Winkler’s trial begins.

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