To the congregants of the Fourth Street Church of Christ in Selmer, Tenn., Pastor Matthew Winkler and his schoolteacher wife, Mary, represented the model Christian family.

That image was shattered on March 22, 2006, when church elders found Matthew Winkler lying face-up in his parsonage bedroom, dead from a gunshot to the back. His wife and their three young daughters were gone.

The following day, authorities announced they had arrested Mary Winkler in Alabama after she allegedly confessed to shooting her husband, a third-generation minister who had moved his family to Selmer the year before.

According to court documents, Winkler told agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations that she "snapped" under the pressure of her husband's constant criticism of "the way she walked, what she ate, everything."

In the months that followed, Mary Winkler's relatives spoke out on her behalf on national television, accusing her husband of emotional, physical and sexual abuse during their 10-year marriage.

Story continues

But prosecutors claim Mary Winkler shot her husband in cold blood as he lay in bed, after he confronted her over a check-kiting scheme in which she had allegedly become entangled.

Beginning Monday, a 12-person jury from McNairy County will be selected and tasked with deciding whether Mary Winkler intentionally shot her husband after careful premeditation, as prosecutors allege. She faces 51 years in prison if convicted of first-degree murder.

Lawyers for Mary Winkler, who is out on bond, would not comment on their trial strategy. But court records indicate they intend to call at least three mental health experts to testify about issues arising from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

The defense has filed a motion asking the judge to allow the jury to consider the lesser charges of second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter or reckless homicide, which indicate a lesser degree of culpability and could mean a reduced sentence.

A proposed defense jury questionnaire, which was subsequently rejected by the judge, also provides some insight into issues Winkler's defense will likely raise during the short trial.

Questions such as, "Have you known anyone who stayed in an abusive relationship?" and "Have you ever personally known someone accused of spousal abuse?" specifically address abusive marriage. Another question asks potential panelists if they believe that a personal who suffers from battered wife syndrome, "Can use the syndrome to establish they were forced to use self-defense?"