Mary Winkler, who is the wife of a murdered preachers Matthew Winkler is sentenced to 210 days in jail time, reports WBIR-TV Knoxville. A judge is sentencing Mary Winkler who was convicted of murdering her minister husband.
Mary Winkler's late husband Matthew was shot to death in their family home last year in 2006. According to WBIR-TV Knoxville, Mary Winkler told the investigators that she had received mental and physical abuse at the hands of her late husband and that she shot him accidentally after a night of arguing over money and other family matters.
The following information is about the case and the verdict from Wikipedia
Mary Winkler Case
According to police, Mary Winkler had confessed to the March 22, 2006 fatal shooting of her husband, whose body was discovered in their home by church members after he missed that night's services. He had been shot in the back with a 12 gauge shotgun.
The couple had been married since 1996 and -- according to friends and church members -- were seemingly the perfect family, though one neighborhood family reported that Matthew Winkler had repeatedly threatened to shoot that family's dog after it strayed onto the Winklers' lawn. After police issued an Amber Alert due to fears of kidnapping, Mary Winkler and the children (Patricia, 8; Mary Alice, 6; Breanna, 1) were discovered in Orange Beach, Alabama, where she was placed into custody and later extradited to Tennessee to stand trial.
The police did not release motive, leading to rampant speculation in the media as to what could have gone wrong with this apparently perfect couple.
A grand jury decided to indict Mary Winkler on Monday, June 12, 2006, accusing her of first-degree murder.
Mary Winkler Verdict
On April 19, 2007, the jury came back with a verdict: guilty of voluntary manslaughter. Winkler showed no emotion as the verdict was read. Prosecutors had asked that Winkler be convicted of first-degree murder, but the jury settled on the lesser charge after deliberating for eight hours.
The sentencing phase was set to begin on May 18, 2007, but was delayed due to a scheduling conflict by one of the attorneys. The sentencing is now scheduled for June 8, 2007. A voluntary manslaughter verdict in Tennessee carries a standard three to six years in prison, but Winkler may have to serve no more time behind bars. She will receive credit for the five months served in the McNairy County jail, and could possibly receive a sentence suspension and probation. If she does go to prison, she will be eligible for parole after serving thirty percent of her sentence.
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