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Winger murder case to be featured on Court TV

Posted December 06, 2007 10:00 pm

Sarah Antonacci

The story of the 1995 murders of Donnah Winger and Roger Harrington will be recounted Monday, Dec. 17, on Court TV in a series called "Murder By The Book."

The series features mystery fiction writers hosting episodes that, according to Court TV, "have inspired them to write, or simply shocked them to their core."

The Winger case is being presented by writer Harlan Coben of New Jersey, author of seven mystery novels, including "Promise Me," "The Innocent" and "Just One Look."

The show will air at 9 p.m.

Mark Winger was convicted in June 2002 of murdering Donnah, his wife, and Harrington, a shuttle-van driver, in an intricate plot. The murders happened at the Winger home in the 2300 block of Westview Drive in August 1995, and Winger escaped prosecution for several years.

Then, Donnah's best friend came forward and said she'd been having an affair with Mark at the time of Donnah's death, and she suspected he had something to do with it.

Donnah was bludgeoned to death with a hammer. Harrington was shot. Initially, Mark told police that Harrington had hassled Donnah while driving her home from the St. Louis airport several days earlier and then showed up at their home and attacked her with the hammer.

He said he was in the basement, heard what was happening, came upstairs, retrieved a gun and shot Harrington.

As new evidence eventually came to light, Winger was charged with both murders, convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

In June, he was convicted of trying to plot from prison the murders of the former mistress who came forward in his case and a childhood friend he felt had slighted him. He was sentenced to an additional 35 years in prison in that case.

According to the Court TV Web site, the authors on the "Murder By The Book" series use "documentary footage, first-person accounts and the author's own insights." Several people involved in the case have been interviewed for the show, including Donnah Winger's mother and stepfather, Sara Jane and Ira Drescher, of Boynton Beach, Fla.

The program's producer, according to the Dreschers, made a "very generous" contribution to Donnah's Fund, which is administered by Women in Distress of Broward County Inc. Donations can be made to the fund at P.O. Box 676, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33302, or via the Web site www.womenindistress.org.

"This story is a classic example of domestic abuse and the deadly violence that can occur from it, of which we had absolutely no prior indications of," Ira wrote in an e-mail.

He said this program, in particular, appealed to the family, which is why they agreed to be interviewed for it.

"Sara Jane and I were interested in this program because the people involved (in putting Mark Winger behind bars) never got the credit they surely deserved," he wrote.

Sarah Antonacci can be reached at (217) 788-1529 or sarah.antonacci@sj-r.com.

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