Matthew Brian Winkler was the victim in a high-profile murder case in 2006.

In the 1990s, Winkler attended college at Freed-Hardeman University

Freed-Hardeman University

Freed-Hardeman University is a primarily undergraduate university in Henderson, Tennessee. The university is located within a short distance of the town's central area. The university traces its heritage to the members of the Churches of Christ who helped build it...

 in Henderson, Tennessee

Henderson, Tennessee

Henderson is an incorporated city in Chester County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 5,670 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Chester County...

. Winkler was the pulpit minister at the Fourth Street Church of Christ in Selmer, Tennessee

Selmer, Tennessee

Selmer is a town in McNairy County, Tennessee, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 4,541 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of McNairy County...

, at the time of his death. Members of his congregation found him dead inside his home after he failed to appear at the church for a Wednesday-night service he was to lead on March 22, 2006. He had been shot in the back.

His wife, Mary Winkler

Mary Winkler

Mary Carol Winkler was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the 2006 shooting death of her husband, Matthew Winkler, the pulpit minister at the Fourth Street Church of Christ in the small town of Selmer, Tennessee...

, and the couple's three small daughters were reported missing along with the family's minivan

Minivan

Minivan is a type of van designed for personal use. Minivans are typically either two-box or one box designs for maximum interior volume – and are taller than a sedan, hatchback, or a station wagon....

. The state of Tennessee issued an Amber Alert

AMBER Alert

An AMBER Alert or a Child Abduction Emergency is a child abduction alert bulletin in several countries throughout the world, issued upon the suspected abduction of a child, since 1996...

, and Mary and the children were located the next day in Orange Beach, Alabama

Orange Beach, Alabama

Orange Beach is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 3,784. It is part of the Daphne–Fairhope–Foley Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

. Mary would confess to killing her husband and be charged with first-degree murder after extradition to Tennessee. She was released on bond, and her trial began on April 9, 2007. On April 19, 2007, she was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter

Voluntary Manslaughter

Voluntary manslaughter is the killing of a human being in which the offender had no prior intent to kill and acted during "the heat of passion," under circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed. In the Uniform Crime Reports prepared by the...

and was subsequently sentenced to 210 days in prison.

External links

• Image of Winkler and family