By Associate Editor Joe May
HUNTINGDON, Tenn. (BNc)- Mary Winkler has been authorized to see information about a trust fund set up for her three daughters.
Winkler, who was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in a sensational trial in April 2007, shot her husband Matthew Winkler in the back in March 2006 as he lay in bed. At the time of his murder, he was the minister for the Fourth Street congregation in Selmer, Tenn.
Matthew Winkler’s parents, Dan and Diane Winkler, have been raising the couple’s children since their father’s murder. They are suing to terminate Mary Winkler’s parental rights so they can adopt the children.
Carroll County Chancery Judge Ron Harmon ordered trust fund executors to provide information to Mary Winkler’s defense team within 14 days. Among the items Winkler’s attorneys are asking for is information on the fund’s value, what expenses have been paid out of the fund and to whom and the reason for the expenditures.
In another development, Harmon agreed to take into consideration the Winklers’ request for a gag order on all proceedings that would ban video cameras and possibly attendance at any hearings.
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