murder in the cathedral

okay, i guess i'm a little more overtly political today than most, but i couldn't skip over the continuing saga of Winkler murder in Tennessee. for those who don't know, a preacher named Matthew Winkler was found dead in his home, shot in the back and his wife and children missing. they were then found in Alabama, and the wife is being charged with murder.

everyone interviewed for the story has had nothing but glowing things to say about the minister and his wife:

Selmer residents said they were shocked at the preacher's death.

"I can't believe this would happen," Pam Killingsworth, a church member and assistant principal at Selmer Elementary, told The Associated Press.

"The kids are just precious, and she was precious," Killingsworth said. "He was the one of the best ministers we've ever had -- just super charisma."

Wilburn Ash, an elder at the Fourth Street Church, said Winkler was hired there in February 2005, according to the AP. He preached straight-by-the-Bible sermons, the AP reported, delighting congregants.

Church members described Mary Winkler as a quiet, unassuming woman, the AP reported. She was a substitute teacher at the elementary school.

"They were a nice family," former Selmer Mayor Jimmy Whittington, who worked with the preacher collecting donations for hurricane victims last year, told the AP. "They just blended in."

since the preacher did "straight-by-the-Bible" sermons, i'm going to assume that he was a fairly literalist, conservative minister.

anyone want to put down bets on when the allegations of spousal abuse rear their ugly heads? usually when all people have to say is nice things, there's a seamy underbelly waiting to be exposed.