Alexander Posted March 24, 2006 Report Posted March 24, 2006 (edited) I don't mean to make light of a serious situation (I mean, a man died here), but this story is just so funny. It has more to do with the way its written than anything else, but some of the things the police and the locals say are just so damn stupid... 'Perfect wife' confesses to preacher's slaying, police say SELMER, Tennessee (CNN) -- To people in the congregation of the Fourth Street Church of Christ, Mary Winkler was "the perfect mother, the perfect wife." She and her husband, preacher Matthew Winkler, were an ideal couple, congregants said. Um...Evidently not... But that image was shattered on Friday, when, according to police, Mary Winkler confessed to killing her husband. Selmer police investigator Roger Rickman said the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, which is taking part in questioning Mary Winkler, informed police of her confession. Winkler said she killed her husband Wednesday, the same day he was found, Rickman said. Winkler, 32, faces a charge of first-degree murder. "First-degree murder is premeditated," Rickman said. "No shit, Sherlock," everybody who has ever watched an episode of "Law and Order" said. But police were still looking for a motive. "Our concern at this point is why the crime took place," Rickman told The Associated Press. "There have been no specific accusations made by Mrs. Winkler." The body of Matthew Winkler, 31, was discovered Wednesday night at the family's home. Mary Winkler, found later with her children in Alabama, was questioned by authorities Thursday night and Friday morning. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said it gathered enough information to charge her after speaking with her and getting search warrants for several locations. Mary Winkler has not made a public statement. When Matthew Winkler failed to show up for a midweek service at the Fourth Street Church of Christ, congregants went looking for him. They went to the church parsonage and entered when no one answered, police said. Congregants found Winkler dead in the bedroom. He had been shot in the back, but there were no signs of a struggle, police said. "We didn't know for more than 28 hours his body was in that home," TBI spokeswoman Jennifer Johnson said. Right...otherwise you would have found it... After the body was found, authorities issued a nationwide Amber Alert for the couple's three children: Patricia, 8, Mary Alice, 6, and Breanna, 1. Children unaware Police in Orange Beach, Alabama -- nearly 350 miles from Selmer -- spotted the family's minivan and stopped it Thursday evening, Assistant Police Chief Greg Duck said. Greg DUCK? Is he related to Donald? Duck said the children were in "very good condition" and were on the way to get something to eat when an officer pulled over their Toyota Sienna. Rickman said Mary Winkler indicated the children did not know what had happened. The slain preacher's parents have requested custody of the three children, who are in the custody of Alabama authorities, the TBI said. Winkler waived extradition rights Friday and will be sent back to Tennessee, authorities said. Investigators have found no evidence of a history of domestic violence, Johnson said. 'Perfect mother, perfect wife' Selmer residents said they were shocked at the preacher's death. "Words cannot describe how we all feel about this," said church member Pam Killingsworth, assistant principal at the elementary school where the two older children went to school. She described Mary Winkler as always seeming like "the perfect mother, the perfect wife," with very loving children. "Everybody is just totally shocked by what has happened." "The kids are just precious, and she was precious," Killingsworth told The AP. "He was the one of the best ministers we've ever had -- just super charisma." Wilburn Ash, an elder at the Fourth Street Church, said Winkler was hired there in February 2005, according to the AP. He preached straight-by-the-Bible sermons, the AP reported, delighting congregants. Church members described Mary Winkler as a quiet, unassuming woman, the AP reported. She was a substitute teacher at the elementary school. "They were a nice family," former Selmer Mayor Jimmy Whittington, who worked with the preacher collecting donations for hurricane victims last year, told the AP. "They just blended in." Church member Sharon Pinckley told The Jackson Sun newspaper that Matthew Winkler "had a really true concern about saving people's souls and inspiring people to rethink their habits." "He was such a great preacher, very uplifting and encouraging," she told the paper. "You felt good when you walked away from his sermons." Pinckley also told The Sun the Winklers seemed an ideal couple. "They were such a good couple - happy," she said. Right. Happy people are always killing one another... Edited March 24, 2006 by Alexander Quote
patricia Posted March 24, 2006 Report Posted March 24, 2006 (edited) Obviously they were not the perfect couple, which we will doubtless find out, in excruciating detail, once this thing goes to trial. Edited March 24, 2006 by patricia Quote
JSngry Posted March 24, 2006 Report Posted March 24, 2006 "Perfect wife" my ass! A perfect wife would have changed the subject as soon as the police started asking questions and within 10 minutes have them convinced that it was all their fault anyway. Quote
Chuck Nessa Posted March 25, 2006 Report Posted March 25, 2006 "Perfect wife" my ass! A perfect wife would have changed the subject as soon as the police started asking questions and within 10 minutes have them convinced that it was all their fault anyway. WORD! Quote
Dan Gould Posted March 25, 2006 Report Posted March 25, 2006 Alex, why are you so harsh on this story and the particular reporting of the article? Everytime something like this happens, there are descriptions of how "perfect" the wife/husband was or how wonderful their relationship was. It was clearly an enormous shock to the people who knew them; are we to simply reject their descriptions because of the final marital act? Something happened; why we may never fully know - but to act all so superior because obviously they weren't the "perfect" couple is just ridiculous. IMO, the only thing you should criticize is the dingleberry cop with the helpful explanation of first degree murder. Quote
7/4 Posted March 25, 2006 Report Posted March 25, 2006 "Perfect wife" my ass! A perfect wife would have changed the subject as soon as the police started asking questions and within 10 minutes have them convinced that it was all their fault anyway. Quote
Chuck Nessa Posted March 25, 2006 Report Posted March 25, 2006 IMO, the only thing you should criticize is the dingleberry cop with the helpful explanation of first degree murder. Sorry to see Dan advocating dumping on a "dingleberry cop" for being one. I have much more sympathy for the state/local cops. They are the real "front line fighters" for the citizenry. Barney Fife is a hero. As soon as I heard this story I thought "this MF has been messing with his wife and she did what she thought she had to do to escape". Guess I'm either a liberal or a fag. We will see how the story develops and Danny boy can come back and beat me up for "whatever". Quote
JSngry Posted March 25, 2006 Report Posted March 25, 2006 IMO, the only thing you should criticize is the dingleberry cop with the helpful explanation of first degree murder. Barney Fife is a hero. Was Barney in Dingleberry or Mayberry? I can never keep that straight... And did you know that Charlene Darling was a jazz singer? Quote
Chuck Nessa Posted March 25, 2006 Report Posted March 25, 2006 IMO, the only thing you should criticize is the dingleberry cop with the helpful explanation of first degree murder. Barney Fife is a hero. Was Barney in Dingleberry or Mayberry? I can never keep that straight... And did you know that Charlene Darling was a jazz singer? YES. Quote
7/4 Posted March 25, 2006 Report Posted March 25, 2006 I wonder what Henry Winkler thinks about all this. Quote
JSngry Posted March 25, 2006 Report Posted March 25, 2006 He's probably glad he never converted... Quote
7/4 Posted March 25, 2006 Report Posted March 25, 2006 He's probably glad he never converted... You're right, I didn't even think of that. Quote
patricia Posted March 25, 2006 Report Posted March 25, 2006 (edited) Alex, why are you so harsh on this story and the particular reporting of the article? Everytime something like this happens, there are descriptions of how "perfect" the wife/husband was or how wonderful their relationship was. It was clearly an enormous shock to the people who knew them; are we to simply reject their descriptions because of the final marital act? Something happened; why we may never fully know - but to act all so superior because obviously they weren't the "perfect" couple is just ridiculous. IMO, the only thing you should criticize is the dingleberry cop with the helpful explanation of first degree murder. NOBODY really knows any of us. There's no such thing as a perfect couple. We have our public face and our private face, all of us. Most of us don't kill our spouse. That's what makes this couple unusual. We certainly don't know these people, just as the congregation of the pastor's church didn't know what was going on. But, how many of us tell our friends about the less than perfect areas of our private lives? The only thing anybody knows for sure is that for some reason the pastor's wife killed him. Edited March 25, 2006 by patricia Quote
rostasi Posted March 25, 2006 Report Posted March 25, 2006 I have a friend who's manic-depressive. I think he's the perfect couple. Quote
Chuck Nessa Posted March 25, 2006 Report Posted March 25, 2006 I have a friend who's manic-depressive. I think he's the perfect couple. You're preaching to the choir. Quote
Randy Twizzle Posted March 25, 2006 Report Posted March 25, 2006 The body's not even cold and I bet there's a Lifetime Channel Movie of the Week in the pipeline. Tentative Title: "Less than Perfect -- The Mary Winkler Story" Quote
JSngry Posted March 25, 2006 Report Posted March 25, 2006 I have a friend who's manic-depressive. I think he's the perfect couple. You're preaching to the choir. So watch out for your wife, preacher. Quote
JSngry Posted March 25, 2006 Report Posted March 25, 2006 Googness, I just noticed the byline on this story: Selmer, Tennessee. Looks like somebody was playing an UnBalanced Action. Quote
Jazzmoose Posted March 25, 2006 Report Posted March 25, 2006 Alex, why are you so harsh on this story and the particular reporting of the article? Everytime something like this happens, there are descriptions of how "perfect" the wife/husband was or how wonderful their relationship was. It was clearly an enormous shock to the people who knew them; are we to simply reject their descriptions because of the final marital act? Something happened; why we may never fully know - but to act all so superior because obviously they weren't the "perfect" couple is just ridiculous. IMO, the only thing you should criticize is the dingleberry cop with the helpful explanation of first degree murder. Well, that and the one named Duck... Quote
Alexander Posted March 27, 2006 Author Report Posted March 27, 2006 (edited) Again, I'm sorry to make light of a man's death, but this story continues to have some funny elements... Minister's widow 'sorry for everything' Friend says suspect offers no explanation for slaying Monday, March 27, 2006; Posted: 8:22 a.m. EST (13:22 GMT) SELMER, Tennessee (AP) -- The preacher's wife charged with murder in the death of her husband wanted his congregation to know "she was sorry for everything she has done," said a friend who visited her in jail Sunday. Well, thank goodness she's sorry! Now we can all go to the church basement and eat flavorless white cake, right? Church member Pam Killingsworth visited Mary Winkler after Sunday services and said the preacher's wife gave no indication why her husband of 10 years was shot. These names just keep getting better and better! It's like a Dickens novel! "She just said she was sorry and for me to write a note to the church saying that she was sorry for everything she had done," said Killingsworth as she walked away from the jail in tears. Winkler, 32, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of her husband, Matthew Winkler, the preacher at the Fourth Street Church of Christ in this small town 80 miles east of Memphis. Her initial court appearance is scheduled for Monday. The congregation held its first Sunday services since the shooting death and were warned by elder Robert Shackelford not to speculate about why their popular, young minister was killed. Friends have described the Winklers as a happy couple with no outward signs of discord, and authorities have refused to talk about a motive for the murder. "Perhaps over time we will better understand why this has happened," Shackelford said at an adult Sunday school class. "Be very cautious about what you say or even what you think." Yes! Goodness knows we don't want anybody thinking in a church... Mary Winkler was locked up at the McNairy County jail after being returned Saturday from the coast of Alabama, where she and her three young daughters were found by police following a multistate search. Church members found 31-year-old Matthew Winkler dead in a bedroom of the couple's parsonage Wednesday night after his family missed a church service. Mary Winkler and the children were nowhere to be found. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has refused to discuss a motive, but said investigators did not believe it was because of infidelity. The agency refused comment on whether Winkler had been accused of domestic abuse. Court papers offered no hint on a motive. After Mary Winkler's arrest, an Alabama judge released her children -- Breanna, 1; Mary Alice, 6; and Patricia, 8 -- to the custody of their paternal grandparents in Henderson. Neither the grandparents nor the Winkler children attended the church services Sunday. No relatives of Mary Winkler attended either. What?! Skipping church?! And the Minister's family no less! Shackelford urged the congregation to pray for the children, their grandparents and Mary Winkler. "Mary is a member of this church family," he said, adding that forgiveness is a cornerstone of their faith. She was a member of her husband's family too and we all saw how well that worked out! "If we don't have forgiveness, then we don't have anything," Shackelford said. Church elder Wilburn Ashe reminded members that only a few facts about the killing were known for sure -- Matthew Winkler is dead, his wife is in jail, and their children are without their parents. And the part where Matthew Winkler's wife confessed to his murder. Forgot that fact. "Those children have got a good home that they're in, but it's not mama and daddy," Ashe said. The church must hold together, he said, and not be torn by speculation and loose talk about the slaying. "We've got to do two things," Ashe said. "We've got to remain close to God and we've got to remain close to one another." God does such a good job of looking out for his followers too... Members put up a large bulletin board in a church hallway covered with snapshots of the Winkler family. Photos showed the older Winkler children playing basketball, posing with kittens and rolling in the snow with their father. Matthew Winkler flashed a big smile in one photo taken at a church social while balancing plates of food in each hand. Other snapshots showed Mary Winkler laughing and holding her youngest daughter up for the camera. The snapshots of Mary Winkler laughing and holding a .44 Magnum were wisely left in the box... Mary and Matthew Winkler were married in 1996. They met at Freed-Hardeman University, a Church of Christ-affiliated school in Henderson where Matthew's father was an adjunct professor. Matthew Winkler's funeral is scheduled for Tuesday in Selmer. Edited March 27, 2006 by Alexander Quote
Noj Posted March 27, 2006 Report Posted March 27, 2006 (edited) Definitely not cool, says this Winkler. Any relation? Edited March 27, 2006 by Noj Quote
Chuck Nessa Posted March 28, 2006 Report Posted March 28, 2006 Keep your day job, Alexander.... Too late. Quote
Epithet Posted March 28, 2006 Report Posted March 28, 2006 But meta-funny is a high-growth market these days. Quote
Alexander Posted March 28, 2006 Author Report Posted March 28, 2006 Keep your day job, Alexander.... Too late. Yeah. Don't have one. Although I have been substitute teaching lately. That's a lot of fun (not joking). You get to hang out with the kids all day (and mostly watch movies!) and there's no grading or messy clean-up afterwards! Quote
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