Mary Winkler–who shot her husband in the back and then refused to aid him or call 911 as he slowly bled to death for 20 minutes–walked away a free woman last year after serving a farcically brief “sentence” for her crimes.
Mary Winkler’s claims of abuse were largely uncorroborated during the trial. According to the testimony from Matthew Winkler’s oldest daughter, Patricia, the dead father–who as he lay dying looked at his wife and asked “why?”–was a good man and did not abuse her mother.
Mary Winkler has been in a custody battle with Matthew Winkler’s parents, who have been raising the three girls since the murder. The Winklers sought to terminate Mary Winkler’s parental rights and adopt the girls, a position I’ve supported.
Mary Winkler was granted supervised visits with her daughters last year. Now, sadly, she has gained back custody of the three girls, which is clearly not in the girls’ best interests.
Last year Dan Winkler said, “These young ladies have not expressed any desire to be with their mother or her family,” but he and wife Diane have now ceded custody, knowing that continuing their legal battle to protect the girls would in the end be unsuccessful. A judge has approved the custody transfer.
Ned Holstein, MD, Fathers & Families and I laid out the case against child custody for Winkler in our co-authored column No child custody for husband-killer Mary Winkler (World Net Daily, 9/14/07).
From Mary Winkler Gets Daughters Back (myfoxmemphis.com, 8/1/08):
FOX13 has learned that Mary Winkler has gotten her three daughters back. Winkler picked up her children Friday afternoon. The girls had been living with their paternal grandparents since Winkler killed her husband Matthew in 2006. Now it appears the bitter custody battle is coming to a close.
As soon as Winkler’s criminal trial ended, the custody battle began. But Friday, in an unexpected turn of events, she regained physical custody of her three children.
A source told FOX13 that Winkler picked the girls up Friday afternoon and brought them to her new home in McMinnville, Tennessee. She will soon enroll them in local schools…
Winkler lost custody in 2006 when she was charged with the murder of her preacher husband Matthew Winkler.
Winkler was convicted of manslaughter in 2007 and has been fighting for custody of her children since her release from a mental facility.
Matthew’s parents, Dan and Diane Winkler, have had custody of the girls since 2006 and have been trying to adopt them.
“These young ladies have not expressed any desire to be with their mother or her family,” said Dan Winkler in 2007.
The Winkler’s filed appeals in an effort to stop Mary Winkler from having supervised visits and phone calls with her daughter.
But now, a source said they have turned over custody to the girls’ mother.
This is being called the first step to full custody, although no official court order has been filed.
Glenn Sacks, www.GlennSacks.com
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8 users commented in " Murderess Mary Winkler Gets Her Kids Back "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackYou sound really bitter. You don’t know what really happened. The girls might have been brainwashed by dad/paternal grandparents. Abusers learn it somewhere, perhaps grandpa? Just because (I’m guessing) you’ve had a negative experience as a father fighting for custody doesn’t mean all women out there who want custody of their own children are evil. And unless you’ve been a battered wife, you have NO CLUE what it’s like. You should thank God for that.
“And unless you’ve been a battered wife, you have NO CLUE what it’s like”
That MAY be the most idiotic thing I have ever read on the internet. You’re a very stupid person Amy, do you know what *REALLY* happened? Do you have any evidence the children were brainwashed by their murdered father or their grandparents? Do you have any evidence Matthew’s father was an abuser?
You sound like a dumbass.
We have no right to judge others when we have no idea of what happened behind closed doors. She must have felt she did not have a choice or that no one would believe her if she told anyone what was going on. You can tell a woman til you are blue in the face…”there are lots of resources” but many still feel afraid & alone. It is also very embarrassing to admit if there are serious problems in the home.
I am very happy to hear she will be able become a family again with her children & start the healing process!
Tomas, you’ve simply highlighted the points I made. I, too, said no one really knows what happened, and then I made *might* statements. I didn’t actually state my thoughts in terms of, “oh yes, that all actually happened…”
Again, no one really knows what happened. Not you, not me, not Glenn Sacks, not even Winklers in-laws. And further, its a proven fact that many abusers LEARN to abuse at the hands of their own parents. If it’s true he was an abuser, well…logic points to the fact he learned it from his dad.
Finally, if that’s REALLY the most idiotic thing you’ve read on the internet, well…it must be your first day on the internet. Oh, and calling me a dumbass? Makes you sound like something less than a reasonable responder, as I used no foul language in my post.
Wow Tomas,
You sound like a really intelligent human being. Attacking someone else like that doesn’t really give credibility to your argument. In fact, it makes you sound ignorant. I could swear and curse at you too, but that would make me sound ignorant. If you have a point to make, how about you do it without pointing fingers. You might get ahead in life somehow.
As for Mary Winkler, I agree with Amy. We don’t KNOW the situation. You see Tomas, I’m not saying I know what happen. Just thought you might need the added instruction. The guy who wrote this article however, has strong opinins about Mary Winkler and doesn’t seem to have factual basis for his arguments. The courts decided she was guilty of manslaughter - she served her dues. The courts decided she could have her children back - they always look at the best interests of the child. So . . . maybe there is something they know, that we don’t. I suggest we say a prayer for the children and their mother - because their situation can’t be easy.
There was no solid evidence whatsoever that Matthew Winkler abused her. The stories she gave in her court testimony and on the Oprah show conflicted (I don’t think Oprah even believed her). No, we weren’t in that house when she shot her husband in the back and allowed him to bleed to death, so we don’t know every detail; all we know for certain is that this woman mercilessly murdered her husband. That is plenty of reason to disqualify her from parenting those children (as well as spend the rest of her life behind bars). There is no evidence whatsoever to justify her actions. The people who do justify the murder committed at her hands show an utter lack of judgment.
Welcome to the 4th Reich. The concentration camp is our society. Women can now exterminate men with impunity and are free to indoctrinate their offspring to do the same.
the only proven abuser in this case is the murderess… may she rot in hell.
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