Mary Winkler Gets Custody of Daughters
A Tennessee woman who was convicted of shooting her minister husband in the back in 2006 has been granted custody of her three daughters. Mary Winkler picked up the three girls last week at the home of her slain husband's parents with whom they have been living since the shooting.Winkler claimed at her trial that she snapped after years of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her husband Matthew Winkler.
"She is absolutely overjoyed," Winkler's attorney Rachael Putnam told reporters. Putnam said the three girls will live with Winkler at her home in McMinnville, about 60 miles southeast of Nashville.
Winkler was sentenced to three years in prison, but served only 12 days behind bars and two months in a mental health facility before she was released on probation.
Grandparents' Appeals Rejected
Her three daughters, now ages 11, 9 and 3, have been living with Matthew's parents, Dan and Diane Winkler. Winkler was allowed supervised visits with her daughters, but the Winklers tried to block those visits in court.
The Tennessee Court of Appeals and the state's Supreme Court upheld Winkler's court-ordered visits.
"It should be seen as a sign that the family is healing," Putnam said. "It's a good thing for everyone."
See Also:
Woman Convicted in Pastor's Death Gets Custody
Background:
The Trial of Mary Winkler
Forum:
Discuss The Winkler Case
Photo: Mug Shot
Comments
What a terrible example for the children. They will be scarred for life. Healing? I don’t think so.
The child services is insane and so are the courts…but we should expect that as the usual by now.
The woman should be in jail for a long long time and the children safely with their grandparents.
Absolutely appalling!
Returning those children to the murderer of their father is a disgrace and an act that will further damage the mental stability of those children, one of whom witnessed the killing of her father. Winkler should have gotten life in prison for the coldblooded manner in which she murdered her husband. To shoot him in the back while he slept, then pull the phone cord out of the wall so he couldn’t call for help, and tell him she is sorry as she wipes the blood from his mouth is as heartless as one can get. Another disgrace is the fact Rev. Winkler’s parents are now friends again with murdering Mary. That’s a betrayal of their son.
The lawyers portrayed her as a “beaten down” wife, forced to “endure” abuse and humiliation. She didn’t look humiliated and down-trodden in the bar smoking a cigarette while out on bail! She’s sorry, and those girls will never know what kind of man their father was, thanks to her. Lucky for Mary, Matthew cannot return from the grave to defend his character. As for her? She sure spent a long time in jail, didn’t she?