The Pastor's Wife (13 page)

On July 7, Judge Weber McCraw issued a written ruling setting bail for Mary at $750,000. He imposed several conditions on her release. He required that Mary live with Kathy Thomsen at her McMinnville residence in Warren County, with all weapons being removed from that home; that the defendant be supervised by the state probation department, complying with all their rules; and that she would not leave the county except for meetings with her lawyers or visits with her children. Upon receipt of the ruling, Steve Farese said, “I'm just surprised at the amount. For her, that's tantamount to no bond at all.”

On July 14, the defense filed a motion requesting that the judge reduce bond to $315,000, allowing Clark Freeman to use his home as collateral. Judge McCraw denied that request on July 31.

 

On Wednesday, August 9, when the parties gathered before the bench again, the dynamics of the prosecution shifted. District Attorney General Elizabeth Rice stepped into the background, leaving Walter Freeland in the fore-front. Election Day had come and gone, Rice's days were numbered. Michael Dunavant defeated Ed Neal McDaniel. He'd take over her position in early September.

In a hearing that lasted four-and-a-half hours, the defense presented motions to suppress Mary's statements be
cause they were not voluntary as required under the Fifth Amendment, since police should never have treated her as a suspect in the first place.

In addition, they argued that Mary's Fourth Amendment rights had been violated as well, when law enforcement searched her home and vehicle. “We are alleging that the search and seizure of the defendant herself was without probable cause, [without] articulate facts, without good reason. She was simply the subject of an AMBER Alert,” attorney Steve Farese told the court. “If the safety of the family was the only objective of Tennessee, then Alabama overstepped its authority. Alabama had no right to arrest and seize the person of Mary Winkler. They did so illegally.” He added that there was no arrest warrant and no probable cause for one.

Assistant District Attorney Freeland disputed the defense's allegations. “Officers at every level acted appropriately and went beyond the bounds of what they were required to do.” He insisted that they read Mary her rights, and Mary's statements were voluntary.

“To say there wasn't an arrest warrant for her at that time, really doesn't make that much sense,” he continued. “Mr. Farese well knows you don't have to have a warrant for a felony arrest. There just has to be a reasonable and articulable suspicion.”

And the reason was there, he said. “Almost immediately upon the stop, not Mrs. Winkler, but one of her children, volunteers the information that ‘Mama's got a shotgun in the van.' If Orange Beach police officers hadn't acted exactly as they did act, this would be the grossest case of negligence on the part of police that I can imagine.”

Defense Attorney Leslie Ballin argued, “What we understand happened is that the Alabama authorities—acting on the request of the Tennessee authorities—immediately put her under arrest. That is a violation of her rights.”

In argument, prosecutors presented testimony from Orange Beach police officers Jason Whitlock and Travis
Long, Jr., Alabama Bureau of Investigation Agent Corporal Stan Stabler and a special agent from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Ballin concluded the defense's arguments by reiterating the allegation that the state lacked probable cause.

Judge McCraw deferred his decision to another day. Immediately following the proceedings, the defense thought that all was in order for Mary's release that afternoon. But that day, the court clerk's office was closed—as it was every Wednesday—and the judge wanted the bond agreement reviewed by that office before he signed off on it.

Mary's family stood patiently outside of the courthouse hoping to see Mary walk through the doors. At 6
P.M
., Farese delivered the bad news—Mary would not be released that day.

The next morning at 9:45
A.M
, Tyrone Byrd of Alpha Bail Bonds in Somerville delivered documentation to Circuit Court Clerk Ronnie Brooks. Brooks checked to make sure that that company as well as the other business involved, Williams Bonding Company, had certification to write bonds in McNairy County.

With the paperwork complete, Brooks approved the agreement and faxed it to the judge and the district attorney general for their signatures. Things looked good for Mary's release. She changed out of her prison uniform and into the street clothes her father provided. Then, McCraw talked to a judge in another county and learned that Williams Bail Bonds was suspended from issuing bonds there in 1999. Thursday and Friday passed while Mary remained behind bars and the courts untangled a bureaucratic jumble of outdated records on Williams Bonding Company, and Williams was cleared to issue the bond the following week.

 

On Sunday, August 13, murder struck McNairy County once again. The community was stunned. One homicide a year was unusual—and now they had two in less than six months. Law enforcement found 22-year-old Ruth Sigrist dead from a shot to the head in a friend's home in the
nearby town of Bethel Springs—the ugly result of a love triangle gone bad. On Monday, they arrested Bonda Cummings and charged her with negligent homicide. Exactly one year later—on August 14, 2007—Bonda was found guilty and sentenced to three years.

 

That same day, Mary's attorneys continued their dance with authorities to gain their client's release from jail. Finally, on Tuesday, all the hurdles were cleared. Family and friends gathered in the lobby of the McNairy County Justice Center. The moment Mary stepped through the door, she was folded in her father's embrace—the first time he hugged his daughter since Christmas. When Dorothy Weatherford, among the crowd of well-wishers, saw her friend in real clothes—a black skirt, striped top and black flats—for the first time in months, she smiled. The two women hugged. “Keep in touch with me, Mary,” Dorothy said. Mary nodded and reached out to grasp the hands of her lawyers.

They took her first into the court clerk's office. The staff there was a bit baffled.
Why did they want her to see us and us to see her?
They plastered awkward smiles on their faces and said, “Hello.” When Mary and her attorneys just stood there, the confusion of the county employees increased.
What do they want? Do they expect us to go up and hug her?

At 11:55
A.M.,
Mary walked out the front doors of the Justice Center flanked by her attorneys Steve Farese and Leslie Ballin. They stopped to speak to reporters. Mary's head remained bowed as the two men spoke for her, explaining the conditions of her release. “We would specifically request of all the press—not just the ones here today, but the magazines, the newspapers, the national press—please respect her privacy as they have respected the privacy of the Winkler family,” Farese asked.

They walked Mary to her father's car and faced the reporters again, answering questions about their client. “Her emotional state is fragile, but it's a new world and a new
day for her today. Certainly, she's apprehensive. But I think as the days go, just as she became acclimated to jail, she'll become acclimated to the free world. She will have to get used to carrying a purse again. She mentioned that today,” Farese said with a rueful smile.

When asked about Mary's visitation with her children, he said, “There has been some disagreement there, which you would understand in any custody arrangements, but we'll try to work through those issues as far as weekly telephone calls and, hopefully, visits as often as possible.”

A reporter asked about Mary's monitoring by Warren County probation officials. “Mary will report to a state probation officer in McMinnville immediately,” Farese answered. “She will make that call tonight. If she gets there after hours, she will leave a message. She will call back tomorrow.”

Another journalist asked, “Will she start work at the dry cleaners immediately or will she have some down time?”

Leslie Ballin fielded that question. “We'll play that by ear. That's not a decision that either Steve or I would be involved in. Whatever she feels is best for her. She's going to have some adjusting to do.”

Follow-up inquiries dealt with Mary's ability to weather negative reactions from folks in McMinnville. Ballin said, “We told her to go forward, keep her head high, although she didn't today.

“She did not come out here and jump for joy that she's out on bond, as you might expect from someone being locked up for almost five months now. But she came out and displayed the calm, meek person that I know her to be. Preparing her for the unknown, we talked about living her life as normally as possible.”

Clark Freeman drove off with his daughter in his '94 Cadillac, taking her straight to her former home on Mollie Drive to pick up clothing and other personal items. It was a strange experience for Mary to enter that empty house.

The sound of children, playing and laughing, squabbling and crying, once filled the four walls. Now, all that remained was a dusty silence. The two dogs who once welcomed her with yips of joy were now living with her sister in Knoxville. In their absence, nothing greeted her but the dark memories of a distant day.

The last time she'd passed over the threshold, her husband of ten years lay dying on the bedroom floor. Now his body was gone and all signs of his blood were washed away by the ardent ministrations of Bio-recovery Solutions. Here and there were pockets of dishevelment, and empty spaces where computers or portraits once stood, all evidence of the law enforcement search.

Mary went straight to the laundry hamper and lifted the lid. She dug through the dirty clothes and pulled out a shirt belonging to Matthew. She held it to her face. She inhaled deeply. She remembered his presence, his touch, the love they once shared. Now it was gone. But even the pull of the trigger could not take those memories away.

 

As if she were rewinding the hands of time, Mary followed the same roads, in reverse, that she'd journeyed with
Matthew a year-and-a-half before, when they moved to Selmer for a new and better life. Now she returned to McMinnville to begin again—but this time, she was alone.

Mary did, however, have someone keeping an eye on her—her new probation officer Donna Dunlap. She would meet with Donna every week until the commencement of the trial.

She moved in with Kathy and Rudy Thomsen and their son in a home on Fairview Road perched atop a hill on the outskirts of a congested downtown. At first, she kept to herself, coming out of her room for meals, but little more. In a short while, though, she integrated into their family life. She developed a playful relationship with the Thomsens' teenaged son. She called him her “big little brother.” He called her his “shorter older sister.”

Mary entered Cleaners Express, where she once was a customer. She now was an employee of owners Paul Pillow and Matt Hash. She had a great manner with customers, and even many who didn't know her loved catching a glimpse of her timid smile. She still had many friends in town, and they came in to greet her, often bringing their dry-cleaning business there. Some friends brought gifts to Mary. Others gave her cash. Occasionally, Mary encountered hostility from a customer, but Paul watched over her and was always ready to jump in and shield her from harsh words and ugly glares.

She didn't talk at work about what happened to Matthew. But every now and then, she'd mention his name in conversation. If they were talking about a particular food, she might say, “Matthew really likes that.” Or if a television show was mentioned, she might say, “That was one of Matthew's favorites.”

Mary resumed attendance at Central Church of Christ. On the first Sunday, people lined up outside to hug Mary when she arrived. Tears glistened on her cheeks as she made her way into the sanctuary.

It was a large congregation, though, with nearly 600 members. With the addition of Mary, it became a divided
one. Not everyone was pleased to have her in their midst—even people in the same family were on opposite sides when it came to the question of Mary. Some welcomed her with open arms. Others struggled with Christ's admonition to forgive and to judge not. The latter were looking for a demonstration of remorse or an act of contrition from Mary, and found none.

The problem was magnified because so many church members had known Matthew, had great respect for his work as youth minister and remembered him fondly. Mary quietly left the dissension there behind, attending services at the smaller Arlington Church of Christ.

She socialized a bit, going to lunch with friends and having dinner at the home of former neighbor Evon Dennis, across from where Mary and Matthew lived on Franklin Street. She returned to the chair of her beautician, Stephanie Fann, who regularly cut the hair of Mary and the girls—and occasionally Matthew—when they used to live in McMinnville.

Mary's sister drove to the Thomsen home to re unite Mary with Lady and Lucy Lou. The dogs filled a tiny piece of the emptiness in Mary's heart. But a family visit raised a new dilemma. There was no extra room in the Thomsen home—where could her family stay when they visited?

JoAn and Dewey Cantrell came to the rescue. When JoAn's mother passed on, she'd inherited her house, complete with furniture. Occasionally, they had one of their grown children in the home for a short period of time, or visitors from out of town stayed there for a weekend, but for the most part, it sat vacant and neglected. Nothing had been done to it in years. They offered it to Mary.

The court mandate required that Mary live with Kathy Thomsen, so she couldn't move into the Cantrell house, but it would be the perfect place for visiting family to stay. Mary spent her free time there, keeping busy, fixing it up for company. She cleaned every room, scrubbing the woodwork, scouring the sinks, chasing away dust bunnies and
cobwebs. She picked out colors, painted every room and added personal decorating touches.

When she was finished, the transformation surprised and delighted JoAn. There was one thing, though, that made JoAn uneasy. Scattered about the home were Mary's family pictures, including many photographs of Matthew. She averted her eyes from his image. After all that had happened, the presence of Matthew's face in Mary's home “just seemed too weird.”