Real Crime/Paranormal/Conspiracy Theories Book III

Murder of Donnah Winger

Mark Winger (born November 26,1962) is a former nuclear-power-plant technician from Springfield,Illinois who was convicted in 2002 of the 1995 murder of his wifeDonnah Winger, an operating room technician, and Roger Harrington(born 1967). Winger had married Donnah Winger (nee Brown, born 1963)in 1988.

Murder of Donnah Winger

On August 23, 1995, Donnah Winger wasdriven from St. Louis International Airport to her home inSpringfield by shuttle driver Roger Harrington. The Wingerscomplained to Harrington's employer, saying that Harrington gaveDonnah a "hard time" during the ride by talkingabout getting high and having orgies. Some days later, Mark Wingercalled 911, saying that he had shot Harrington to death afterHarrington attacked Donnah with a hammer. The police initiallybelieved that Harrington had broken into the Wingers' home andattacked Donnah in retaliation for their complaint, but becamesuspicious of Winger because he continued to ask about the case evenafter it had been initially closed. "He kept coming in. Ikept feeling like he was trying to find out if we were checking intoanything," said a detective. Winger's remarriage to hissmall daughter's new nanny, hired five months after Donnah died,increased suspicion. Winger had three children with his new wife.

After 4 years, with more forensic help,police eventually concluded that the positions of Donnah's andHarrington's bodies were inconsistent with Winger's account of astruggle with Harrington. They also found evidence in Harrington'scar that Winger had invited Harrington to the Winger home. The newtheory was that Donnah's upsetting ride with Harrington inspiredWinger to plan to kill Donnah with the hammer and then shootHarrington, using the story of an attack by Harrington as a cover. Hewas arraigned in 2001.

Evidence introduced at trial includedrecorded conversations between Winger and Harrington arranging ameeting on the day of the murders. Testimony from paramedics thatthey found Donnah face down contradicted Winger's statement that hehad held his wife before they arrived. A close friend of Donnahtestified that she (the friend) had been having an affair with Wingerat the time of the murder, that Winger had tried to involve her inhis plot, and that Winger had told her "It would be better ifshe [i.e. Donnah] died." I n May 2002, a jury convictedWinger of the first-degree murders of Donnah and Harrington, and hewas sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Solicitation of murder from prison

In 2006, Winger was indicted for askinga fellow prison inmate to arrange the murders of DeAnn Schultz, hisgirlfriend at the time of the murders, and Jeffrey Gelman, achildhood friend, whom Winger resented for refusing to post his $1million bail. Winger initially wanted Gelman kidnapped for ransom andwanted Gelman and Schultz killed. In June 2007, Winger was convictedof solicitation of murder, and a 35-year sentence was added to hisexisting life-without-parole sentence. Winger's second wife neverremarried and raised all the Winger children on her own.