Wife confesses to shooting minister
Woody Baird
Associated Press
Detroit Free Press
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Selmer, Tennessee (US):
Members of the Fourth Street Church of Christ enjoyed a brief moment of relief when they learned that the wife and three daughters of their slain minister had been found safe in coastal Alabama.
Their relief dissolved into shock and confusion Friday when authorities charged Mary Winkler with shooting her husband in the parsonage and said she had confessed to the slaying. Winkler, a 32-year-old substitute teacher, has been charged with first-degree murder in a crime that shattered the happy, loving image church members had of her and her husband of 10 years, Matthew.
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See Also:
Tenn. Parishioners Mystified by Slaying
Friends, neighbors saw no hint of discord
Motive Not Disclosed in Pastor's Murder
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"Everything we saw belies what has happened," church member Janet Sparks said. "Something is amiss, and we don't know what it is."Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agent John Mehr said authorities know the motive for the killing, but he would not disclose it. He said police did not believe it was infidelity, but he would not comment on whether Mary Winkler had accused her husband of abuse.
Court papers offered no hint of a motive.Matthew Winkler, a popular and charismatic 31-year-old preacher at his fundamentalist Christian church, was found dead in a bedroom at the couple's home Wednesday night in Selmer, a town of about 4,600.
Mar 25, 2005
Woody Baird
Associated Press
Detroit Free Press
_____________
Selmer, Tennessee (US):
Members of the Fourth Street Church of Christ enjoyed a brief moment of relief when they learned that the wife and three daughters of their slain minister had been found safe in coastal Alabama.
Their relief dissolved into shock and confusion Friday when authorities charged Mary Winkler with shooting her husband in the parsonage and said she had confessed to the slaying. Winkler, a 32-year-old substitute teacher, has been charged with first-degree murder in a crime that shattered the happy, loving image church members had of her and her husband of 10 years, Matthew.
_________________
See Also:
Tenn. Parishioners Mystified by Slaying
Friends, neighbors saw no hint of discord
Motive Not Disclosed in Pastor's Murder
_________________
"Everything we saw belies what has happened," church member Janet Sparks said. "Something is amiss, and we don't know what it is."Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agent John Mehr said authorities know the motive for the killing, but he would not disclose it. He said police did not believe it was infidelity, but he would not comment on whether Mary Winkler had accused her husband of abuse.
Court papers offered no hint of a motive.Matthew Winkler, a popular and charismatic 31-year-old preacher at his fundamentalist Christian church, was found dead in a bedroom at the couple's home Wednesday night in Selmer, a town of about 4,600.
Mar 25, 2005
