Scam said at root of preacher's slaying

Accused wife may have lost money

July 20, 2006|Associated Press

SELMER, Tenn. -- A woman accused of shooting her preacher husband to death after they argued over money may have been taken in by a remarkably common scam that strained their finances and their marriage.

Mary Winkler, who is charged with murder, had gotten tangled up along with her husband, Matthew, in a swindle known as an advance-fee fraud, in which victims are told that a sweepstakes prize or other riches are waiting for them if they send in money to cover the processing expenses, her lawyers say.

``They were always kind of living on the edge of their budget," defense attorney Steve Farese said, ``so I'm sure this would have just wrecked their budget."

No one has said how much money the Winklers may have lost, or what role the financial strain might have played in the slaying of Matthew Winkler, the popular minister at the Fourth Street Church of Christ in this town 80 miles east of Memphis.

He was shot in the back with a 12-gauge shotgun as he lay in bed March 22 and was found dead by church members.

After the shooting, Mary Winkler loaded her three young daughters into the family van and went to the Gulf Coast for what she described as a final beach vacation. She was arrested March 23 in Orange Beach, Ala.

Investigators said last month that Winkler confessed to shooting her husband after a night of arguing about money. She has pleaded not guilty.

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