Minister's Wife Jailed Near Home

Authorities Say Mary Winkler Admitted To Killing Husband, Fleeing

(CBS/AP)  The wife of a slain small-town minister has been brought back to her home state.

Mary Winkler was slumped over in the back seat of an unmarked police car as it pulled into a rear entrance of the McNairy County jail in West Tennessee this afternoon. She was brought from a jail in south Alabama.

Police say Mary Winkler, 32, confessed to shooting her husband to death in the parsonage in a crime that shocked the congregation and shattered the couple's happy and loving image.

Winkler was arrested on murder charges and confessed to the slaying after fleeing to Alabama in the family's minivan with the couple's three young daughters, authorities said.

Police found and her daughters late Thursday about 340 miles from home in Orange Beach, Ala., where she had rented a condo.

Matthew Winkler's body was discovered in his bedroom by members of his church when he failed to show up for a service. Police then started a search for Mary Winkler and the couple's three young daughters. They were found in Orange Beach, Alabama, on Thursday. She did not resist extradition.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agent John Mehr said authorities know the motive for the killing, but he would not disclose it. He said police did not believe it was infidelity.

He would not comment on whether Mary Winkler had accused her husband of abuse, but TBI spokeswoman Jennifer Johnson said. “When something like this happens, you look at the history, the domestic violence, anything at all to give you a clue as to what happened or how it happened. We found nothing, no history of domestic violence," reports CBS affiliate WTVF-TV.

Meanwhile Saturday, members of the congregation planted flowers Saturday outside the Fourth Street Church of Christ as they waited for their minister's wife to be brought home to face first-degree murder charges in the death of her husband.

The gardening project and a spring cleanup had been planned weeks ago by Matthew Winkler.

"We're doing this because Matthew wanted us to," church member James Turner said as he dug a spade into the dark soil of a flower bed. "It keeps us busy," said Jimmie Smith, a retired counselor.

She did not resist extradition, and Saturday afternoon McNairy County sheriff's deputies brought her to jail in Selmer, a west Tennessee town about 80 miles east of Memphis.

Mary Winkler said nothing and kept her head down as she was taken from an unmarked police car into the building.

Police said she confessed to the killing and she was charged Friday with first-degree murder, a crime that requires premeditation.

Authorities refused to disclose a motive.