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Mary Winkler gets her kids back

Categories: Divorce & Custody, In The News

If the name Mary Winkler doesn't ring a bell, perhaps her crime will. In 2006, Winkler was convicted of manslaughter after shooting and killing her husband, Rev. Michael Winkler. She avoided a murder charge by convincing a jury that she had suffered years of emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of her husband. She was sentenced to three years in prison, but in the end served only a small fraction of that time, some of it in a mental health facility.

Upon her release last year, Winkler immediately set about trying to get her three children back. While she had been allowed visitation rights since her release, the kids, ages 11, 9 and 3, remained in the temporary custody of her slain husband's parents. Dan and Diane Winkler had initially hoped to end their former daughter-in-law's visitation rights and gain permanent custody of their grandchildren, but it seems they have changed their minds. On Friday, Diane Winkler got her kids back, apparently through an agreement with her former in-laws.

While this move doesn't give Winkler permanent custody of her children, it certainly looks like that is what the future holds. Rachael Putnam, a custody attorney, sees this development as a positive thing for all involved. "It should be seen as a sign that the family is healing," she said. "It's a good thing for everyone."

I sincerely hope it is a good thing for those children. After the nightmare inflicted upon them by the gruesome murder of their father, these children deserve a shot at normalcy.

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