On the way home from work this afternoon, I heard on the news that the infamous Mary Winkler got out of jail today on bond. She will be working in a dry cleaners - and I’ll bet the business at that dry cleaners picks up for at least a few days while people satisfy their curiosity about her. I can just see the people coming in to drop off dry cleaning while straining their necks to look around and see if they can spot her. Unfortunately, she has become a “person of interest” to many people.Â
The radio news report also stated that Mary Winkler had rescinded her earlier testimony.Â
Here’s the online version:
Winkler walked out of the jail between two of her defense attorneys, keeping her head down and refusing to answer questions. Her father, Clark Freeman of Knoxville, drove her away from the jail.
As part of her bond, Winkler is required to live with friends in McMinnville, 65 miles southeast of Nashville, where she will work at a dry cleaners and be supervised by the state probation office.
Defense attorneys Steve Farese said Winkler is eager to see her three young daughters, who are living with their paternal grandparents, but no arrangements have been made for visits.
“Her emotional state is fragile. Certainly she’s apprehensive,” Farese said.
In a statement to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Winkler said she shot her husband after a night of arguing over finances and other family problems.
The couple had gotten tangled up along with her husband in a swindle known as an advance-fee fraud, or the “Nigerian scam,” in which victims are told that a sweepstakes prize or some other riches are waiting for them if they send in money to cover the processing expenses, her lawyers have said.
No one has said how much money the Winklers may have lost, or what role the financial strain might have played in the shooting.
Defense lawyers have implied that Mary Winkler was emotionally abused by her husband.
Maybe we’ll learn more soon - maybe not. It’s a sad, sad case, though.Â
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