Rhetorical Outbursts

According to this article, Mary Winkler sent a message to her local congregation from jail, where she is under arrest for the murder of her preacher-husband, Matthew Winkler:

Pam Killingsworth, a member of the Fourth Street Church of Christ, visited Winkler yesterday for about a half hour.

* * *

Winkler asked Killingsworth to deliver a message to the congregation last night: that she apologizes for everything she’s done and if she were at the Fourth Street church, she would walk right down that aisle and repent her sins.

* * *

Winkler gave no explanation of why she shot her husband, whose body was discovered Wednesday at the church parsonage where the family lived. Killingsworth said she didn’t ask for a reason.

* * *

Investigators said Winkler told them during a confession why she shot her husband, but no information has been released about her motive. Friends of the couple say there was no sign that they had any marital problems.

Meanwhile, her “dream team” lawyer Steve Farese Sr. is hinting that the shooting may have been an accident. I guess handling a firearm negligently might be a sin that would cause one to respond to the invitation and repent. More likely though, he meant to imply that he will defend her on the grounds that she didn’t know what she was doing: “Farese also told People magazine there are ‘indicators’ that Winkler was suffering from postpartum depression when Matthew Winkler was shot.”

However, if it is true that she told investigators what her motive was during her confession, then that suggests a more intentional act. So does an early indication of remorse, such as asking for forgiveness from the congregation. The question people seem to want answered the most is not whether she did it on purpose, but rather why she did it. It has spawned tons of pointless speculation, and even accusations that our movement is a cult.

Given the reactions to Nancy disGrace’s comments, and those of her guests on that subject, I have an embarrassing confession to make. I once liked Nancy Grace. Yes, she exploits tragedy for ratings, but, that’s no different the Greta Van Susteren, Dan Abrams, or any of the other “legal commentators” who found new careers talking endlessly about O.J. Simpson. The difference with Nancy Grace was her emphasis on victim’s rights and the entertaining way she tweaked the sensibilities of shysters who never met a criminal they wouldn’t defend. In the Winkler case, however, she seems to be uncharacteristically pro-defense. Her instinct seems to be to assume, with no evidence whatsoever, that Matthew Winkler deserved to die. Since she’s not known for blaming the victim, I’m puzzled. Lots of the speculation about motive has centered on male/female issues. Perhaps Nancy decided she is a woman first and a prosecutor second.

We still don’t have any real information about motive yet, but we know now that Mary Winkler has spoken on that subject. Her defense attorneys may try to keep us and the jury from hearing what she said in her confession, but we will know sooner or later.

BACKGROUND: Preacher’s Wife Commits Murder