By Beth Rucker
SELMER, Tenn. (AP) — A preacher's wife told authorities she shot her husband after a long buildup of domestic problems, according to an audiotape that prosecutors played Friday at her murder trial.
Mary Winkler, 33, can be heard crying as she is questioned by Alabama officials a day after her husband, Matthew, was found shot dead in the parsonage of his church in this western Tennessee town.
She was arrested on the Alabama coast, about 340 miles away, with their three young daughters.
 |
| Mary Winkler |
Investigators have said she admitted shooting her husband on March 22, 2006, and that it had something to do with his constant criticism. On the tape, she says the couple's domestic problems had reached a boiling point after many years of conflict.
"It's just a lot of stupid stuff," she said. "I love him dearly, but gosh, he just nailed me in the ground. ... The first of our marriage, I just took it like a mouse, didn't think anything different. My mom just took it from my dad _ that stupid scenario."
But Winkler said she got a job at the post office and that experience taught her to stand up for herself. "That's the problem. I have nerve now, and I have self-esteem. My ugly came out."
Next Page
See Full Coverage and Breaking News of Mary Winkler Case
default
increase
decrease
email
print
