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In a deliberate effort to not talk about the Virginia Tech murders because everyone else is covering that story I want to bring your attention to Mary Winkler, wife of the killed minister Matthew Winkler.
Mary Winkler has admitted pulling the trigger on the shotgun that killed her husband, but she seems to have some pretty compelling testimony.
Mary Winkler said she just wanted to talk to him when she went into their bedroom at the church parsonage, but she was terrified. He was physically and sexually abusive, she said.
That day, she just wanted to stop him from being so mean, she said.
After the gun fired, she ran from the house, she said. “I thought Matthew would be mad at me, and I didn’t know what he would do to me.”
Earlier Wednesday, Mary Winkler testified her husband punched and kicked her, forced her to have sex she considered unnatural and refused to grant her a divorce.
The defense showed the jury a pair of white platform-heel shoes and a wig she said her husband wanted her to wear during sex.
Mary Winkler, 33, talked quietly, her eyes downcast as she described their sex life. She said her husband wanted her to look at pornography before sex, and photos she identified as coming from her husband’s computer were entered as evidence.
She testified that he once kicked her in the face, and hit her, pushed her down and hit her with a belt. Shortly after they were married, “he just got me down and told me that I was his wife and we were family now, and he just screamed and hollered,” she testified.
“I just wanted out,” she said.
The defense has said Mary Winkler intended to hold her husband at gunpoint only to force him to talk about the incident involving their 1-year-old daughter, Breanna, and that the shooting was accidental. She testified that her husband had put his hand over Breanna’s nose and mouth to make the baby stop crying.
Several witnesses for the prosecution said they never saw any sign that Matthew Winkler was abusive. The couple’s 9-year-old daughter, Patricia, testified that she had a good father and she never saw him mistreat her mother.
If her story is true, this woman lived through hell with her preacher husband.
No one, including their nine-year old daughter knows what went on between the two of them in private.
Like the Andrea Yates case a few years ago, there seem to be extenuating circumstances that would put a reasonable doubt into the minds of the jurors.
If she is found guilty of anything I hope it’s not murder, but involuntary manslaughter. To me, it seems she’s done her time in prison.
Written by ~J~
This story is a heart breaker. Unless I had been through the abuse, that she claims, it would be impossible for me to set in judgment on a jury.
I watched my mother go through it for years. When I turned 16 I put an end to it. Even if it meant killing him to stop the horrible things he was doing, I would have.
This woman has probably gone through hell and my heart goes out to her. Until it is proven otherwise I will believe her.
If I were on the jury I would have made up my mind the day she started testifying that I wasn’t going to convict her of first degree murder. I believe her story and although I didn’t watch the trial her body language should have spoken volumes too.
BS, here we go again. abused wife shoots huband and cries “he abused me”. with as many facilities that women have to seek help, this is not a reasonable reason. Call the cops. If you’re a man, you’re going to jail. Face it, her word is gospel. Oh, I didn’t mean to pull the trigger, More BS, I have owned guns my whole life and have never, ever had one discharge without considerable effort on my part. If you discharge a gun, “it went off unexpectedly” is a lie. This is true for civilians, soldiers, and above all our local and state police. These people have training. It’s just a shame that a good man is dead and his lying wife will get off with the crime. byw, If her weapon discharged accidentaly, why was she found several states away running like a bat outa hell? Sounds like BS to me
Pat,
If you beat a dog enough times you break his spirit. Maybe you need to attend a class or read up on abusive relationships. When you feel there is no hope and you have 3 children what do you do? You keep taking the abuse and hope you can finally please the man.
Unbelievable anti-male bigotry and hatred is expressed here. No one with an IQ over 50 could believe that crap. its just women doing what they love to do– dehumanize, degrade men and basically conclude their lives are worthless and deserve no protection in our judicial system . These comments are beneath contempt– reflecting anti-male bigotry and represent the zenith of sexism– that cover of abuse is bogus– women imply it whether it exists or not, because “women tell the truth” and “‘If a woman is bad, a man must have made her do it”.Women have a long, long way to go to achieve the minimum level of rationality and morality that is expected of decent human beings. No person unmotivated by ideology or beset by emotional disturbance or intellectual handicap can possibly justify this sentence. Having a vagina is not the universal solvent of all duties, responsibilities and normal expectations held by all deserving members of a civililized society. She deserved the death penalty for her heinous, brutal , cold-bloodied murder of a sleeping human being. Her actions were that of a sociopath. Imagine reversing the genders !! To women, men are not human beings and they can be killed and/or mutiliated — if a woman does it. My analysis could continue for pages. I just saw this and was repulsed. Women continue to behave in a manner unacceptable to any rational and moral human being. Women who utter nonsense like this , entirley based on the dehumanization of men as men, should be shunned. Yes women have a long way to go indeed before they can join civilized discourse. Just give you guys a mike or a pencil and you will spew out your anti-male bs. — Degradation is the common element of all atrocities. Thats what was done to this man. Its “The V Defense”– women use it to dehumanize the men they murder/mutiliate in their sleep, so other women will say “He deserved it” on no evidence at all. Its all just hatred of men. I am one guy who stopped tolerating the presence of women like you 25 years ago. Seek help– learn what it means to value all human life– even a man’s- and enter the community of rational and moral people who work for the betterment of humanity, beyond the puny little biases of the female gender. Do you gals actually mean this stuff– and to think, this is all we men have on this eaarth !
Jay,
Thank you for your opinion. Now, if you are still here or care to come back I will point out the first post in this thread, which was written by Tonto, a man.
i feel so sorry for mary winkler. when does in the name of religion stop. he was an absolute nut and it is obvious from her comments she needed to protect herself and her child. she put up with abuse for herself but when it came to her child she could not continue. what is so hard to understand here!!!!!!!!!!!! not guilty should have been the verdict.
You’ll get no argument from me, Frances.
Perhaps a man could concieve that Ms. Winkler would or did “get off easy” because of her gender. I believe this distinction could be made in most trials if we base our feelings on gender, race or religion.
A prime example is the OJ Simpson trial where many believed he was guilty well beyond a reasonable doubt and many professed his lack of responsibility for the crime.
In any criminal case (especially one which involves murder) none of us knows the absolute truth. It all comes down to the believeability of the defendant. If Ms. Winkler was abused for a number of years and if the Pastor attempted to harm their child, as a member of a jury I would have to show her compassion. And if the Pastor were in her chair and she was no longer with us, I like to believe I would think no differently.
Unbelievable how the female mind works. She said it so it has to be true. What it is about is this– “women always tell the truth”.. women therefore always believe women, no matter how absurd it is… and then “women never do anything wrong and if they do, it is because a man made them”. Every post women make who support this monster make those two assumptions. These are two grossly sexist assumptions/beliefs– women lie all the time, as do men. Up to 50% of all rape allegations are false– guess you gals swallowed the Duke rape Hoax line and sinker– most women did ! Women just assume they are better than men and can kill them without punishment. They really believe it . Just ask a woman– she will tell you…
It is absolutely unbelievable that women actually will ignore a man blown out of his bed while sleeping by a point-blank blast by a shotgun in the back, yielded with deadly accuracy and intent by the sadistic , sociopath, Mary Winkler. Damn– “Why?” he asks, as he drowns in his own blood–and women– SO What? — He’s a man- He must have deserved to die. This is the moral equivalent of Nazism– degrading another human being to the point that his suffering and death mean nothing to you.
The dehumanization of men is an absolute obscenity– think on that image, gals. But you ignore it, preferring to focus on SELF-SERVING allegations of abuse. Of course she alleges abuse– why do you thimk she has an attorney. Women who murder/maim sleeping men normally would be expected to be in legal difficulty– hence, the need to allege abuse– its the only way to get off. If a woman murdered Christ in his sleep, she would smear him as an abuser. Why isn’t that obvious to the female mind?
Because of anti-male bigotry. Women want a woman who kills/maims a man to get off. They actually revel in his murder or mutiliation. Thats why they accept the most irrational, absurd defenses that no sane person could believe. If they don’t enjoy his killing they ignore it. Point made– men don’t matter.
Probably you have not read a man as aggressive as I am.. I am just fed up with women and have been since I have been following these type of crimes for 25 years. The story never changes and the woman always gets off or gets effectively no time.. try this, Ms Bobbitt, the heroine of women ( what does that say about women?– ever met a normal man who laughed at female genital mutiliation or applauded the sick man who would do such a thing. No problem for the female mind though– just use the two assumptions above and , like magic– women are always innocent . No need to have a trial. A WOMAN HAS SPOKEN !..)… do you know what one penalty if Ms Bobbitt had been found guilty of “unlawful wounding” ? “Not more than a $2500 fine”… pretty shocking if you are a man… Think there might be a problem somewhere ?
I think the opinions, attitudes, and actions of most women against men are the last outposts of fashionably acceptable bigotry. I light a woman up if she says this anti-male stuff around me. Believe me, I don’t tolerate this anti-male sexism. Women shouldn’t tolerate it from men– why should we tolerate it from you. However women don’t see it at all. Like another post I made. The Southern Sheriff asked about the influx of Northerners to help blacks register to vote, said ” I don’t think they should come down here and upset our n*****s” He is openly racist because he isn’t aware there is a problem. That is where most women are at. For 25 years I have hoped women would advance. they have not. Same old bigotry, same OLD rationalization for murdering/maiming men–
Well– I think it was not appropriate to post here– I thought it was a big board when I was flying through. It seems to be a personal web site, so I do apologize for posting here… -
It was very generous of you to thank me for posting — what must have been very difficult for a woman to read– and it was , as I re-read it, over-heated …
I was just at a board– over and over women defending/supporting the verdict and this woman. If this woman can get away with such a cold-blooded murder against a man with a sterling reputation, a 6th generation minister– what chance does your average man have ? This is the ultimate achivement of the misandrist feminist movement– blowing a sleeping man apart with a shotgun is OK — just say he abused you. You don’t need to prove it– just say he did. Try killing a sleeping woman, or any woman, if you are a man– you are an abuser– men are bad–men lie– women are good– women tell the truth– and women convict the man before the evidence comes in…
He that disturbeth his own home shall inherit the wind– you make things bad for one gender, it inevitably affects the other.
As far as Simpson– I think, and I am white male from MS– that he was a guilty man who was framed by the police.I saw a lot of the trial and I have little doubt that the police planted evidence because they “knew” he did it.( the bloody sock in the middle of the bedroom in a neat freak’s house, the glove that Fuhrman “found” etc, ). For instance, Fuhrman and Van adder driving over to OJs and jumping the fence. That was illegal as heck. All evidence from that “search’ should have been barred. You cannot jump someone’s fence onto his private property because you think he may be there washing up. Remember– the cops said they feared for OJ’s safety– Ha– What a joke…
When they put those shoes on him at the civil trial, I knew he was indeed guilty…
The prosecution was incompetent, strange things went on with evidence, Ito lost control, the defense was great, Fuhrman perjured himself, and no matter what anyone says– those gloves did not fit !
Simpson is a strange case– how does he live with himself after a brutal double-killing, the mother of his children and a nice young man who was a bystander? He was such a “nice man” before that. Was it a “rage killing” as the detective said ? “It was overkill”–… and what the heck happened to the weapon and the bloody clothes ?…. Hmmmm…
First I must say that yes your posts are heated but having commented and read at many blogs, we have all seen that before. Sometimes certain issues drive us all to react in a manner we would ordinarily not.
I certainly did not pre-judge the Duke case and by the second week began to feel that those fellows were being set up for the sake of an election. It is a travesty when anyone is charged or convicted with a crime they did not convict.
I think you will notice the writers here tend to preface things which may have various opinions or outcomes with words such as If or possibly. Diverse thinking is encouraged and welcomed here which is why I know I as a commentor feels comfortable.
You have a lot to offer as you make some very valid points in the OJ case. It is one that will stay with many of us forever for many of the reasons you point out, but again I say, no matter what our personal beilefs we will never know the truth.
This thing is unbelievable. I am sickened by this lady being allowed to murder her husband and get off with basically a slap on the wrist. And what did he do that was so bad. Try to spice up their boring sex life. How dare a husband ask his wife to play a little dress up in the privacy of their bedroom to spice up their sex life with a little role play!! How dare a husband to ask his wife to experiment with some unnatural sex. How dare him ask her to wear high heals, a mini skirt and a wig. That’s so very abusive. What a load of crap. That lady never said anything about abuse the night she was interviewed by detectives concerning the murder. Didn’t mention it at all. Her 9 year old daughter said she never heard/saw her Dad do anything to her Mom. I grew up in a home where my Mom was abused physically and mentally by my Dad. There is no way this man could have been so abusive to this women and the children not be aware of it. There is absolutely no way he can kick her slap her scream at her and all the other excuses without the children hearing or seeing it. I can remember hearing my Dad beat the crap out of my Mom froman extremely young age. I just pray somebody beats that women to a piece of pulp when she gets to jail. It’s just so crazy, maybe that guy who killed all those innocent college students should not have taken his life but instead should have taken a chance with this judicial system. With all the crap being dug up maybe he would have made up enough lies/excuses to get off the hook. Our judicial system is a complete joke. And OJ walking around instead of serving time for double murder is a shining example of how screwed up it is.Now this lady murders a minister, a man of God and practically gets off. What a complete joke?
and what the heck happened to the weapon and the bloody clothes ?…. Hmmmm
Jay I believe OJ took the bloody clothes and the knife to Chicago and got rid of them. The Limo driver testified that OJ had a bag that he wouldn’t allow him to touch. OJ cut those people up no doubt and this is coming from an African American male.
I believe that justice worked this time. Although she didn’t get what some people would like, she is being punished. She did kill her husband and even if he did deserved it, and I have no way of knowing that, we can’t be taking the law into our own hands.
I totally agree she lived her life in prison and I believe it started the day she was born. She had no self esteem, no money, sounds like an old time fundamental Christian world out of the 1800’s. The reason she did not leave is because that world is the only one she knew….and finally one night she snapped. Now Matthew’s parents are filing a wrongful death suit against her. Gee what they take? It must be the clothes off her back so she can look like Eve in the Garden of Eden. These are the same parents that raised that monster husband of hers and now have custody of her precious children…..who most likely have been brainwashed into hating their mother. I hope she serves a short sentence and gets the therapy she needs to move forward and gets custody of her three children so they can be a family again. My heart is out to you Mary Winkler. True love, which Jesus taught by example, conquers all and you must love yourself, before you can truly love another.
God help you “B” response #13. Are you human? That’s all I have to say about your response.
I was raised in liberal CT, did college in liberal NYC and thought I saw it all…After graduation I relocated to New Orleans working for a large architectural firm. With in 6 months I began to meet Bible Beaters, Southern wife beaters and socially elite families that could not air their dirty laundry for fear of being 86′d from the local social registry… Off the beloved party list! With ten years under my belt I moved my business to Atlanta, GA. I have never net more sick twisted relegious freaks as here. Most of the country would not believe the abuse that the religious leader get away with, their secret double lives, sex with men and womem, while putting on the sunny God fearing face on Sunday… The culture of the South is highly conservative and has a templated moral expectations. If a Preacher’s wife (God, I hate the term Preacher”
tried to leave the community would black-ball her, shy treating her as “the misfit”. I for one was taught never to abuse another human being, nor accecpt it. Ask yoursef this question… What would you tell your mother if she were in Mary’s shoes (and not the whorish one’s that SOB, bought and forced her to wear). I would cut my father’s piece off if I ever learned he was sodomizing my mother against her will. I thought I saw it all in NYC in college, the South takes the cake. I am delighted that Mary will be out in a few years. I hope she can pick herself up, regain her children and move forward with her life. Regarding her husband Mathew, let’s all say a prayer for the SOB.
“B”….COMMENT #13…….”SPICE UP AN OTHERWISE BORING SEX LIFE????” SICK, TWISTED AND PERVERTED ATTITUDES LIKE YOURS ARE PRECISELY WHY MEN ARE OFTEN SEEN AS LESS THAN ANIMALS. IF A WOMAN NEEDS TO DISGUISE HERSELF AS A WHORE AND ENJOY PORN (WHICH DEGRADES AND DEHUMANIZES WOMEN) IN ORDER FOR A MAN TO GET HIS “JOLLIES”…..THAT MAN HAS VERY SERIOUS MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL ISSUES…AND NO RIGHT TO HAVE A WIFE. GO GET YOUR KIND OF FILTHY SEX IN THE STREETS AND A DOSE OF VD WHILE YOU’RE AT IT. DO NOT FORCE YOUR WIFE, THE MOTHER OF YOUR CHILDREN TO BEHAVE IN A WAY THAT OFFENDS AND HUMILIATES HER. YOU ARE DISGUSTING. YOU ARE SICK. MURDER IS NOT JUSTIFIED. SHE SHOULD HAVE EXPOSED HIM PUBLICLY AND THEN LEFT HIM INSTANTLY, THE FIRST TIME HE DRAGGED HER TO THE COMPUTER TO VIEW HIS FILTH. THERE ARE GOOD MEN WHO HONOR WOMEN AND TREAT THEM WITH LOVE AND RESPECT. NO, MURDER IS NOT JUSTIFIED…AND NEITHER IS WHAT THE “PREACHER” DID TO HIS WIFE. DO NOT DEFEND HIS ACTIONS BY MINIMIZING THEM OR ATTEMPTING TO MAKE HIM SEEM “NORMAL.” HE DID NOT DESERVE TO DIE…..HE DESERVED TO LIVE IN AN ALLEY WITH A PIG.
PMJM Right on
Bill,
I was born and raised in liberal Maine, my husband was born and raised in liberal Connecticut.
We live in the South now by choice. Not all Southerners are what you portray them to be.
Yes, we are born-again Christians with no facades and we were before we moved to the South.
Yes, there are fake Christians and they are the ones who give real Christians a bad name.
Bill that was a powerful and beautiful reply. We are not all insensitive and afraid to face reality. Thank you
This is unbelievable!
Hell has no furry as the furry of a woman scorn!
Abuse is wrong and murder is the ultimate form of abuse.
99% of divorce attorneys know the best way to start a divorce proceeding is to file a PFA, (Protection from abuse order).
The anti-male form of bigotry and discrimination has now reached a level that has allowed a woman to walk away from a life sentence for cold blooded murder. Keep in mind he was in bed sleeping when she shot him in the back.
This same anti-male bias is played out around the country everyday in divorce courts and child custody cases.
It’s now open season on the American male. All you need to do is accuse a man of abuse and you can get away with murder. This man couldn’t defend himself from the grave and the prosecution didn’t convince the jury he was not abusive in spite of his profession as a man of God and no previous accusations of abuse.
What chance do you have for a fair trail in America today?
No burden of proof was needed to accuse this man of abuse, only one accusation from a woman trying to stay out of jail.
There is no burden of proof required for the PFA only an accusation!
I will write this again, there is no burden of proof required for the PFA only an accusation!
Most judges want to be viewed as sympathetic to the plight of an abused women during a
re-election campaign so they issue PFA’s like traffic tickets only based on one accusation.
We have enough wisdom to not allow women to testify against there husband in a criminal court of law because we know they are biased, but we don’t make the connection when it comes to accusations of abuse??
Attacking the victim is an old trick used by defense attorneys to derive sympathy for their client and gain a lighter sentence.
Gentleman…It’s the system ..It’s bad, biased and we get to pay for it with our blood and wealth! The message is clear, Sleep alone & lock your door or move to a country that’s legal system is not filled with politics and anti-male bigotry.
Better yet vote these political animals out of office ASAP!
What do you think the organizers of the Boston Tea party would think of our legal system??
I am so tired of hearing some critics saying “oh she shot him in his back” he wasn’t doing anything at the time. Why didn’t she just walk out? Well ladies and gentleman, walking out is a reasonable suggestion when you’re dealing with a rational person, but not when you find yourself married and or involved with an abuser!! The intimidation a person feels is converted to intense fear and sometimes as in this case the victim occassionally takes his or her chances and rebels against the perpetrator. Sorry to tell some of you that life is not a rose garden for everybody. I’m glad that the verdict was not so severe that she would be imprisoned for a longer period of time. I think she’s been punished enough. She needs counseling and healing as do her children so that they don’t fall into the same situation again.
Until you have lived with a wife/child abuser you cannot guess about what you would do. Years ago I passed up an opportunity to shoot my husband when I found him partying with other women in a motel. I had a gun in my hand. Now that I am an old woman and life has finally caught up with the abuser who is in jail for other offenses, I’m glad I didn’t shoot when I had the chance. Mary Winkler lost control of herself and this mindless act will follow her the rest of her days. It affects everyone in her family for the rest of their lives. Murder is a selfish act. May God forgive her. May she forgive herself.