Winkler enters not-guilty plea
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Mary Winkler has been in custody since March 23 when she and her three young daughters were spotted by police in Alabama the day after her husband was found dead on a bedroom floor of their residence in Selmer, a small town 80 miles east of Memphis.
Winkler answered with a soft ?yes sir? when asked by Judge Weber McCraw if she understood the charge against her. A McNairy County grand jury indicted her on a premeditated murder charge Monday.
Dressed in an orange jumpsuit and wearing an ankle chain, Winkler stood quietly beside two defense lawyers during a brief hearing before McCraw. She was then returned to her jail cell a short walk down an adjoining hallway to the courtroom.
At her lawyers? request, the judge set a bond hearing for June 30. He scheduled a trial for Oct. 30.
The killing shocked members of the Fourth Street Church of Christ who describe the Winklers as a perfect couple ? Matthew, 31, as a beloved, by-the-Bible minister and Mary, 32, as a devoted, unassuming wife and mother.
Defense lawyer Leslie Ballin acknowledged Winkler talked to police about the night of the killing but disagreed that she confessed to murder.
?We?ve seen a copy of the statement. It?s not a confession to me,? Ballin said.
Winkler is being defended by Ballin and Steve Farese, two of the best-known criminal defense lawyers in the Memphis area. They refused details of their expected defense but said it will focus on the history of the Winkler?s 10-year marriage.
?Each of those years, each of those months, each of those days of marriage has a history to it … Things that led up to March 22 need to be told to this jury,? Ballin said.
Farese said he does not expect to argue that someone other than Mary Winkler fired the fatal shot.
?I would think that would probably be a stretch for us,? he said.
Prosecutor Elizabeth Rice refuses to talk about the indictment or why investigators believe the slaying was premeditated. A medical examiner says Matthew Winkler was shot in the back at close range with a shotgun.
Farese said the defense will seek ?a reasonable bond? for Mary Winkler on the grounds she is not a threat to the public or a flight risk.
Jimmie Smith, a member of the Fourth Street Church, said the congregation continues to pray for Mary Winkler and friends want her released from jail to await trial.
?She needs to be where she can see her children,? Smith said. ?She?s not going to run.?
Winkler has not seen the children since her arrest but received notes and drawings from the two older girls Tuesday, Farese said.