GUILTY TN - Rev. Matthew Winkler, 31, shot to death, Selmer, 23 March 2006

[HeartofTexas]

I agree 100% EnglishLeigh. It's sad that our minds travel that direction but unfortunately our suspicions are often correct. Not a week goes by that I don't read in my newspaper about some minister or person "of faith" being charged with molesting a child. Sometimes I think the louder they scream about "hellfire and damnation", the more we better keep our eye on them. Sorry if I've offended anyone's religion or religious beliefs. I'm not angry at religion... I'm just angry at the sex offenders who hide behind it.

 

[inquiz1]

Lacy,

I don't mean to offend anyone's religion but...
My husband grew up Church of Christ and the Pastors at both C of C's he attended here where we live had this same "It's our way or you'll burn in Hell" attitude that you mention. Hubby's parents made him go to church until he was 18 then he quit going. Both C of C's he attended also viewed women the way you mentioned in your previous post.

Just my opinion.

 

[stormonster]

Are those funeral sprays that they are standing in front of? not that it has any bearing on the case, hence the title "curious".

There are flowers and a little card, if so, odd place for a photo op huh? Maybe that's why the little girl isn't smiling.

And another thought, she could have just gotten reprimanded for messing up her dress, or told to come away from something she was doing to take a picture. I don't see this a professional picture so there is no telling what was going on right up to the "click".

 

[kellideister]

"the congregation loved his straight-by-the-Bible sermons and his quiet wife, Mary."
There is a lot to be said about that short statement. So much of their story is probably in that one statement above. My thoughts are that he was the true "Spiritual Head of the House," the "KIng of the Castle," the one with the final say in the home. She was more than likely the submissive Christian wife -- even to the point of whatever abuse she may have endured. If this is the case, don't be so surprised, folks. There are so many Christian homes that live like this and so many that are being abused and the church knows nothing about it. I had a pastor once that was arrested for domestic violence, after his wife finally reported him. It's not unusual. It's more common than we like to think. The only thing is...they use the Bible to perpetrate their abuse.

 

[reb]

i know all too well how common this is,, i came from a home like this. my father was a well-liked minister who could do no wrong on the outside, but turned into a monster behind closed doors. a real dr. jekyll & mr. hyde.
and he counselled OTHER people with THEIR marriage problems!
when my mom & i left him no one could understand it, they just assumed we were the crazy ones.

the problem with churches is that they are usually in denial about these things, and most ministers encourage wives to stay with their abusive husbands. of course, maybe more 'modern' churches are a bit more with-it these days, and in touch with reality, who knows? i just got out of the whole mess altogether.
it's funny, there's a good reason most PK's i've met in life are really messed up, or at least 'eccentric'... lol

(long story short-- it's almost 30 years later, he's got a new wife who hen-pecks him to death, and we're great friends now!)

 

[Hbgchick]

I'll go out on a limb and say that this man was molesting one or more of his daughters. And, like a few others of you, I would bet the daughter not standing in front of him in the picture is a good candidate. I saw the picture referenced above BEFORE I read this thread and thought the same thing. It's not just that she's not smiling... look at her eyes... they are dead. The wife probably knew she could never win in court against this "charismatic minister", so did the unthinkable. Obviously, this is JMHO.

Hate to say it, but I'm with you. I had a visceal reaction when I first saw that picture too - BEFORE I read the thread...I thought "my God - he was molesting those girls". I see that others feel the same so I'm glad I'm not crazy, but sad that it could be true.

 

[IdahoMom]

The wife chose to marry him. I'm sure she knew he had aspirations to be a pastor. That said, I wonder if she felt "trapped" in her life as a pastor's wife, and murdered him as a result of that. :waitasec:

I think it's way too early to call him a child molester or wife beater or anything of that kind. I guess, now that he's dead, and can't speak for himself, she can claim anyting she wants about him in an effort to save her hide. She should have just left him if she didn't want to be with him anymore. Now, she gets to spend a big portion of her life in prison. Murder didn't solve anything.

 

[Hbgchick]

Well, she's been charged with murder, so apparently she confessed.


Notice all of the news reports now have cropped the picture so that the children are not visible?

 

[IdahoMom]

The charge is first degree murder. Leaving the state shows a consciousness of guilt.

She arranged the rental of a beach house. I wonder if she did that beforehand.:waitasec: Premeditation?:waitasec:

She shot him in the back.

Now their three young children will lose both parents. :slap:

 

[englishleigh]

Hate to say it, but I'm with you. I had a visceal reaction when I first saw that picture too - BEFORE I read the thread...I thought "my God - he was molesting those girls". I see that others feel the same so I'm glad I'm not crazy, but sad that it could be true.

The older daughter that he has his hand on the shoulder of is leaning away from him, too, and her smile looks a little pained to me, like she's biting her lip.

The wife CAN claim anything she likes but if he was messing with those little girls, child psychologists will get it out of them and medical exams can prove it.
If he wasn't doing anything and she just killed him out of meanness, that will be found out, too.

 

[kato]

Those poor little girls is all I can say.

 

[cammy-g]

Society in general has this double standard just like seen in the Debra Lefave case. Women are forgiven all the time, even get second trials after killing five of their children like Andrea Yates and then Rusty Yates gets critisized for re-marrying.

I have never seen a case where someone says maybe she was not a good cook or didn't clean the house when a woman is killed. I am betting in this case that Mrs. Winkler was the nut case and had a few screws loose, of course we know that all kinds of defenses will be offered up from post-partum depression to abuse of her daughters. I have three children of my own and we do go through changes during and after pregnancy, I am just tired of seeing lame excuses offered up as reasons to kill a human being.

 

[englishleigh]

Society in general has this double standard just like seen in the Debra Lefave case. Women are forgiven all the time, even get second trials after killing five of their children like Andrea Yates and then Rusty Yates gets critisized for re-marrying.

I have never seen a case where someone says maybe she was not a good cook or didn't clean the house when a woman is killed. I am betting in this case that Mrs. Winkler was the nut case and had a few screws loose, of course we know that all kinds of defenses will be offered up from post-partum depression to abuse of her daughters. I have three children of my own and we do go through changes during and after pregnancy, I am just tired of seeing lame excuses offered up as reasons to kill a human being.

There's no real excuse for what she did...no one is saying that. We are talking motivation, not excuses. It will be interesting to see what does come out of this, as to her motivation.

 

[i.b.nora]

News Channel 5 in Nashville is reporting that the wife confessed.

CNN is currently waiting on a news conference that is running late.

Wife Confesses To Killing Husband, Preacher

 

[SewingDeb]

Both the minister and his wife were the children of ministers. I'm really curious about what she has said to the police.

 

[englishleigh]

I don't know why they have these news conferences when they can't say anything anyway. I didn't learn a thing other than Matthew Winkler's father is in Orange Beach (which would be Baldwin County), AL, trying to secure temporary custody of the little girls.

Such a sad, sad situation.

 

[Garnan]

Women can also be two different people. Nice lady to everyone, docile and sweet, and an absolute tyrant behind closed doors to the family. The oldest child will be able to tell the real story. She is old enough to tell about the family dynamic without placing blame which would cause her guilt.

 

[englishleigh]

Women can also be two different people. Nice lady to everyone, docile and sweet, and an absolute tyrant behind closed doors to the family. The oldest child will be able to tell the real story. She is old enough to tell about the family dynamic without placing blame which would cause her guilt.

This is very true. It will be interesting to see this story unfold. Prayers for those little girls.

 

[blueclouds]

There's no real excuse for what she did...no one is saying that. We are talking motivation, not excuses. It will be interesting to see what does come out of this, as to her motivation.

If and only IF theres a possibility that this PASTOR did something terrible with his girls - THEN there's reason enough. Sorry English.

If theres any person out there that will ever mess with my kids - Lord help them.

 

[englishleigh]

If and only IF theres a possibility that this PASTOR did something terrible with his girls - THEN there's reason enough. Sorry English.

If theres any person out there that will ever mess with my kids - Lord help them.

Well, I would agree with that, God help anyone who messed with MINE, too. I would think this would be plenty of motivation...but still not an excuse under the law, unfortunately. One of the talking heads on Fox said for her to shoot him in the back showed great rage on her part.