A Killer with Kids

by Diane Fanning

Many Americans were upset when O. J. Simpson retained custody of his children after his trial for the killing of his wife, Nicole Brown and waiter Ron Goldman. Many believed, as I did, that O.J. got away with murder. The child custody issue increased our outrage. But the bottom line was that, in the eyes of the law, O.J. was found not guilty. That finding made it difficult for the courts to remove the children from his care.

That was not the case with Mary Winkler. You remember Mary, don't you? She was the preacher's wife in Selmer, Tennessee, who shot her husband in the back while he was sleeping, then took her little girls to the beach.

The jury did not find her guilty of first or second degree murder, but instead opted to convict her of a lesser felony, voluntary manslaughter. That verdict called for a sentence of three to six years. The jury ended their deliberations believing that Mary's time behind bars would be measured in years, not days.

But that's not exactly what happened. The judge went for the lower end of the sentencing guidelines, giving Mary three years--but only 210 days of that had to be served in lock-up--she was given probation for the rest. Then the judge subtracted the days she served in jail after her arrest before her family could raise bail. When he finished the math, there was a balance of 67 days to serve. He then granted the defense request to allow her to spend up to sixty days of that time in an approved mental health facility.

After her conviction for shooting an unarmed, sleeping man in the back, Mary only had to stay in jail for seven days. How did that happen?

The jurors believed her claims of domestic abuse--some of which were grossly exaggerated, others were blatantly false. But the jury believed every word she said because Mary was a sympathetic witness. And her persuasive and savvy defense team led by Mississippi attorney Steve Farese used innuendo, emotional appeals and shocking, but phony, props to back up her testimony.

Mary didn't get her children as soon as her sentenced was served. It took her more than a year after her release to gain custody of her three girls--but she did do it. I was appalled.

Here was a woman, who by her own expert witness' testimony, experienced disassociative episodes that made her lose control of her actions. A woman who claimed to have been abused and then herself committed the ultimate act of domestic abuse. And she didn't kill him at a time when she felt the threat of imminent danger. No, by her own words, she wanted to talk to him and he didn't listen. For that reason, she shot him and then left him bleeding on the floor, unplugging the phone on her way out to make sure he could not call for help.

So what happens when her obedient little girls become teenagers and refuse to pay attention to her when she speaks? Will she lose it again?

And, now, in their early years, as they try to make sense of the world, how can they succeed? The person who killed their father--a man they loved--is now the person that have to depend on for survival and their sense of security.

The oldest girl, Patricia, who was eight years old at the time of the murder, told her psychologist: "My mommy killed my daddy. I'm afraid she'll kill me, too."

Perhaps Patricia has learned to conciously suppress that worry. But deep in her mind, the doubt about her mother will linger. She waill grow up in fear of her life. No court should ever allow that to happen to any child.

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Mystery Man - Russell Ingle

by Russell Ingle

For my household, and for most other families in McNairy County, Tennessee, Tuesday, March 22, 2006, was an ordinary day. But in the Selmer home of Matthew and Mary Winkler, an extraordinary day began. Mary held the shotgun that blasted a hole in Matthew’s back. The Church of Christ Pastor was dead. His wife was on the run with their three little girls.

Now more than two years later, one question still remains: Did Mary Winkler get away with murder?

On April 19, 2007, after an eight-hour deliberation, the jury found Mary guilty of voluntary manslaughter. On June 8, she was sentenced to 210 days in prison, with credit given for 143 days she had spent in jail the previous year before making bail. The judge allowed her to spend 60 of the remaining 67 days of her sentence in a mental health facility.

Was this verdict just? It’s a question that will be debated around her for years to come.

Since we’ll never hear Matthew's account of the years, months, weeks, and days leading up to the shooting, we may never know what caused Mary to pull the trigger.

During her trial, Mary (pictured above during testimony and below with her father and attorney) contended she’d been forced into uncomfortable and unwanted sexual liaisons with her pastor husband including dressing up in a wig, “slutty skirts” and “hooker shoes,” and performing oral and anal sex. Of course, there’s a fine line between what one person believes is normal and another sees as healthy fantasy. When a husband and wife are in agreement, fulfilling each other's fantasies is a healthy component of marriage. Were Matthew Winkler's sexual desires normal? To paraphrase Bill Clinton, it depends on what the meaning of “normal” is.

In recent months, the initial sympathy Mary's super star legal team managed to generate has waned. Reputation is not made or lost in a day’s time. It is something that plays out when the curtain is pulled and we catch a glimpse of the real person behind the headlines. It’s true that in the months following the shooting, Mary attempted to portray a stable and dependable person. She gained employment and lived with friends in McMinnville. Still, although we may never know who Matthew Winkler truly was behind that closed bedroom door, there are hints that at the very least Mary was not the team player in her marriage that her defense portrayed.

Red flags appeared in the months leading up to and following the trial. On New Year's Eve 2006, for instance, Mary was seen in a McMinnville bar smoking a cigarette and surrounded by drinks. Is there anything immoral with having the occasional smoke or sip of an adult beverage? For most people, no. But as a member of the Church of Christ and a minister's wife, Mary was breaking a moral code of conduct.

A few months later, just 10 months after her husband’s death, the public learned that Mary was dating Darrell Pillow, brother to Paul Pillow, the owner of the dry cleaning business where she worked (pictured right). Is there anything wrong with seeking the companionship of another? Again, it depends on who you ask. For some it seemed entirely out of line that Mary would date another man when she had not fully faced the outcome of the legal process, not to mention while she was still attempting to regain custody of her three daughters.

Since her release from a mental health facility, Mary has lost her job and no longer lives with her friend Rudy Thomsen. In a recent interview, Cleaner's Express owner Paul Pillow said Mary Winkler was "forced on him," and he never really had the finances to justify hiring her in the first place.

Though no real light has been shed on this case, unresolved questions linger as new ones arise. What will the end of this tragic tale be? Is there a happily ever after, at least for the children? Only time will tell if this heartbreaking case has an ending satisfactory to not only the Winkler family but to the folks who have followed it in McNairy County and across the world. Maybe one day, the book will close on this horrible tragedy that has captured the imagination and passion of a nation.

Maybe.

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