Murdered preacher’s wife goes on trial

Murdered preacher’s wife goes on trial

Freeland talked about a financial motive for the shooting in his opening statement. He told the 12 women and four men on the jury that Mary Winkler had deposited several checks from a Nigerian lottery scam, and was several thousand dollars overdrawn at the bank. He said that Regions Bank was ready to turn the matter over to security. “They were one day away from the bank requiring that Matthew Winkler come in with her to try and straighten it out,” Freeland said.

Spousal abuse, Nigerian check scams, prescription drugs and paranoia. In no way were Mary or Matthew Winkler fit to lead their own family, let alone a church congregation. This helps make the case for a professional licensing requirement for religious leaders.