Wife confesses to killing minister

Selmer (Tennessee): To people in the congregation of the Fourth Street Church of Christ, Mary Winkler was "the perfect mother, the perfect wife."

She and her husband, preacher Matthew Winkler, were an ideal couple, congregants said.

But that image was shattered on Friday, when, according to police, Mary Winkler confessed to killing her husband.

Selmer police investigator Roger Rickman said the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, which is taking part in questioning Mary Winkler, informed police of her confession.

Winkler said she killed her husband on Wednesday, the same day he was found, Rickman said.

Winkler, 32, faces a charge of first-degree murder.

"First-degree murder is premeditated," Rickman said.

But police were still looking for a motive. "Our concern at this point is why the crime took place," Rickman told The Associated Press. "There have been no specific accusations made by Mrs. Winkler."

The body of Matthew Winkler, 31, was discovered Wednesday night at the family's home.

Mary Winkler, found later with her children in Alabama, was questioned by authorities Thursday night and Friday morning.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said it gathered enough information to charge her after speaking with her and getting search warrants for several locations.

Mary Winkler has not made a public statement.

When Matthew Winkler failed to show up for a midweek service at the Fourth Street Church of Christ, congregants went looking for him. They went to the church parsonage and entered when no one answered, police said.

Congregants found Winkler dead in the bedroom. He had been shot in the back, but there were no signs of a struggle, police said.

"We didn't know for more than 28 hours his body was in that home," TBI spokeswoman Jennifer Johnson said.

After the body was found, authorities issued a nationwide Amber Alert for the couple's three children: Patricia, 8, Mary Alice, 6, and Breanna, 1.