Mary Winkler’s first-degree murder trial is slated to resume at 8:15 a.m. Monday at the McNairy County Circuit Court in Selmer.
The prosecution expects to finish presenting its case Monday, according to Assistant District Attorney General Walter Freeland.
Winkler, 33, is accused of the March 22, 2006, slaying of her minister husband, 31-year-old Matthew Winkler. He’d been a pulpit preacher at Selmer’s Fourth Street Church of Christ. He died from a single gunshot blast to the middle of his back.
Mary Winkler was arrested a day after the shooting in Orange Beach, Ala., where she had taken the couple’s three young daughters: Patricia, now 9, Mary Alice or “Allie,” now 7, and Brianna, now 2.
The children are now in the custody of their grandparents, Dan and Diane Winkler of Huntingdon, who are suing Mary for wrongful death on behalf of the children.
The prosecution is arguing that an argument over financial problems led to the homicide. Bankers testified Saturday about bounced checks on the Winklers’ account.
The defense is expected to argue that the Winklers’ marriage was abusive, and attorneys have said that she shot her husband accidentally when holding a gun she meant to use to scare him.