Selmer, Tennessee
Selmer is a city in and the county seat of McNairy County, Tennessee,[8] in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 4,396 at the 2010 census and estimated at 4,400 at the 2018 census. It is named after Selma, Alabama.
Buford Pusser served as the sheriff of McNairy County from 1964 to 1970.
National media attention[edit]
Matthew Winkler homicide, 2006[edit]
Selmer became a focus of national news media in late March 2006. A local minister, Matthew Brian Winkler, was shot to death by his wife Mary Carol Winkler at their Selmer home. After Mary was said to have fled Selmer with the couple's three daughters, she was apprehended in Orange Beach, Alabama, and was returned to Selmer for trial. She has confessed to the authorities concerning the shooting of her husband with a shotgun. In trial she stated that her husband both physically and emotionally abused her. This murder/trial can be seen on the television show 'Snapped' Season 6 Episode 1, aired in 2007.
Drag racing catastrophe, 2007[edit]
On June 16, 2007, a high-power Pro Modified drag racing car driven by Troy Warren Critchley lost control and killed six young people while performing a burnout routine during a car show charity parade on Mulberry Avenue. Critchley's car left the road and struck part of the crowd attending a charity parade for America Can! Cars For Kids™️[18] (not affiliated with Kars4Kids). Six young people were killed. Two died at the scene of the accident, and four died later at hospitals in Selmer, Jackson and Memphis. A total of 20 others were injured and were transported to various hospitals throughout western and middle Tennessee. Results of a Tennessee Highway Patrol inquiry into the accident have not been announced. Pending lawsuits filed against the city and event organizers ask for more than $US 85 million in damages.[19][20][21]
On March 4, 2008, the McNairy County grand jury returned an indictment against Critchley on six counts of vehicular homicide due to recklessness, a Class C felony, and 22 counts of reckless aggravated assault, a Class D felony. Neither Cars for Kids™️ nor the City of Selmer were named in the indictment.[22][23]
On March 20, 2008, Troy Critchley surrendered to authorities and was booked on the charges, with bond set at $35,000. The trial was set for November 3, 2008.[23]
Troy Critchley pleaded guilty to 28 charges of reckless assault and was sentenced to 18 months' probation.[24]
Selmer is served by:
