A jury found Mary Winkler guilty of voluntary manslaughter this afternoon in the 2006 shooting death of her husband, Matthew, minister of the Fourth Street church in Selmer, Tenn.

Jury members ranged in age from 20 to 62. Eight said they were Christians, four listed no religious affiliation. The women listed occupations such as housewife, secretary, teacher's aide and computer designer. The two men are a machinist and a factory worker. All are white.

Some wept earlier in the week when the Winklers' oldest daughter, 9-year-old Patricia, testified for the prosecution. She said she heard a loud "boom" and then a thud, as if someone had fallen. She said when she ran into the bedroom, she saw her father lying on the floor and heard him groaning. The child said she had never seen her father mistreat her mother.

Defense attorney Steve Farese hinted during his closing testimony that his client might be guilty of a lesser charge.

"Have they proven any crime? Well — and this is hard for me to say — maybe," Farese said. "Maybe she was negligent."

Prosecutors had depicted a financially desperate woman characterized by thousands of dollars in overdrafts, fraudulent deposits and check-kiting scams at multiple banks. Mary Winkler was so desperate to hide her money problems, prosecuting attorney Walt Freeland said, that she shot her 31-year-old husband. The day of the shooting, the Winklers were to appear at a bank meeting to discuss her financial schemes, bank officials testified.

Defense attorneys painted a different portrait of their client. Mary Winkler was physically, mentally, emotionally, verbally and sexually abused, they claimed. Still reeling from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder caused by the loss of her handicapped sister 20 years earlier, she internalized this abuse until she could stand it no more, the defense said. Provoked by Matthew Winkler placing his hand over the mouth and nose of the couple's toddler, they argued, she confronted him with a gun in hopes it would force him to talk. Instead, the 12-gauge shotgun accidentally misfired, killng him within minutes, the defense begged the jury to believe.

Six days of testimony gave those in the courtroom — and around the globe, thanks to live, streaming video — a glimpse into the family life of the Winklers.

Matthew Winkler grew up attending Churches of Christ from birth. So did Mary Freeman Winkler.

The case was tried in the town where Matthew Winkler died, a community of about 4,600 in McNairy County that serves as the county seat. The church building sits just around the corner from the courthouse, in fact.

In the weeks leading up to the trial, Dan and Diane Winkler filed a $2 million wrongful death lawsuit against Mary Winkler, which legal experts say was a pre-emptive move to keep Mary Winkler from profiting from book or movie deals. The timing was likely because of a one-year statute of limitations.

Winkler responded by retaining a custody attorney and filing a petition for guardianship of the girls, who have been in the custody of Dan and Diane Winkler since their mother’s arrest.

Dan Winkler, pulpit minister of the Huntingdon church, has repeatedly declined to comment to the Chronicle about the trial or the lawsuit. Both parents testified for the prosecution in the case, saying they saw no evidence of physical abuse in their son's marriage.

The Winklers were among at least 10 witnesses in the case who identified themselves as members of a Church of Christ. Six of those were prosecution witnesses. The other four — including Mary Winkler — were called by the defense.

Witnesses' personal beliefs about their faith became the subject of questioning and commentary at times. Women were often asked by defense attorneys about gender-assigned roles or responsibilities within Churches of Christ. Men were asked about their roles as head of the household, and whether that meant they were the "boss" of a family.

April 19, 2007