Donnah and Mark Winger - Part 2

In January 1897, a young bride, Zona Shue, was found dead on the floor of her home in the mountains of West Virginia. The doctor called it an everlasting faint — an old fashioned term for a sudden, unexplained death from natural causes. Days later, Zona’s mother woke in the cold, dark night to find an apparition standing at the foot of the bed. It was Zona, back to tell the story of how she really died. But would a jury buy it?

On paper, they looked like the perfect couple — a Harvard-educated law professor and a passionate immigration attorney, both brilliant, driven, and devoted to their two little boys. But behind closed doors, their differences were driving them apart. Throw in a mother-in-law who needed to control everything, and a protective older brother with a tough-guy image, and it was a recipe for things to get very ugly. Eventually, it would end with murder. But would there ever be justice?

On paper, they looked like the perfect couple — a Harvard-educated law professor and a passionate immigration attorney, both brilliant, driven, and devoted to their two little boys. But behind closed doors, their differences were driving them apart. Throw in a mother-in-law who needed to control everything, and a protective older brother with a tough-guy image, and it was a recipe for things to get very ugly. Eventually, it would end with murder. But would there ever be justice?

In August 1995, Mark Winger called 911 from his Springfield, Illinois home. His wife, Donnah, had been brutally attacked by an intruder brandishing a hammer. Mark intervened, shooting the man dead. Police ruled the shooting a justifiable homicide. The case was closed, and Mark was labeled a hero. There was little reason to question what had happened inside that house. But years later, the thoroughness and credibility of that investigation would be called into question.

In February 2007, NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak made headlines around the world after driving nearly 900 miles from Houston, Texas, to Orlando, Florida, to confront another woman, allegedly wearing a diaper so she wouldn’t have to stop along the way. Until that pivotal point, Lisa had been known for her remarkable accomplishments. She was a Naval Academy graduate, a decorated naval officer, test pilot, mother of three, and an astronaut who had traveled more than five million miles aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. But just months after returning from space, Lisa was arrested at Orlando International Airport for stalking and attempted kidnapping.