But even members of Matthew Winkler's congregation sloughed off the issue of motive.

Winkler had been pastor of Fourth Street for 13 months, and congregants said they seemed to have a "perfect" relationship — he a Bible-thumping extrovert, she a doting mother and seemingly supportive wife. No one has stepped forward with evidence of earlier marital discord.

Yet one fact seemed beyond dispute: She shot him to death in a bedroom at the couple's parsonage home. In one peculiar peccadillo about the murder, Mary Winkler killed her husband sometime Tuesday night, after she had completed her very first day as a substitute teacher in Selmer public schools. She had undergone hours of training to qualify as a substitute.

Mary Winkler

Mrs. Winkler apologized to the congregation through a friend who visited her in jail Sunday in Selmer. But she apparently didn't share her motivation with that woman, church member Pam Killingsworth.

"She just said she was sorry and for me to write a note to the church saying that she was sorry for everything she had done," Killingsworth told reporters.

On Sunday, elder Robert Shackelford went so far as to warn church members not to speculate about why the woman had killed their beloved minister, according to the Associated Press.

"Perhaps over time we will better understand why this has happened," Shackelford said. "Be very cautious about what you say or even what you think."

In Orange Beach, Chief Duck acknowledged that the secret-keeping verged on bizarre.

"It would be handled differently if it had happened here," he said. "But I guess it shows we can still keep some secrets."

Mrs. Winkler was scheduled to be be arraigned today at the McNairy County Criminal Justice Center in Selmer (pop. 4,600).

Hours later, funeral visitation was to begin at Shackleford Funeral Home in Selmer. The funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Fourth Street Church of Christ, with burial at Carroll County Memorial Gardens in Huntingdon.

The Winkler family

The Winkler asked that well-wishers contribute to a counseling and college trust fund for the Winkler children, Patricia, 8; Mary Alice, 6, and Breanna, 1. Donations can be sent to Winkler Family Fund, 229 Ward Circle, Suite A-23, Brentwood, TN 37027.