Dateline: Deadly Twist - How Todd Winkler's trial resulted in one of the biggest courtroom dramas

The episode of Dateline NBC titled Deadly Twist aired on March 20, 2015. The episode was a retelling of the Todd Winkler murder case and the subsequent trial.

Deadly Twist tells the story of the murder of Rachel Winkler, which took place on February 27, 2012, in Cameron Park, California. Rachel’s husband, Todd, a former fighter pilot, was soon charged with murder.

While Todd argued that the fatal stabbing incident was a result of self-defense, the case attracted national media attention. This was due to the unusual nature of the killing and the psychological elements of his defense. As more layers of the case were unraveled, Todd’s claims and his past raised suspicions.

Winkler’s trial received significant media attention for the emotional and unpredictable nature of the courtroom proceedings, which were also a part of Dateline's coverage.

Dateline: The Todd Winkler trial

Rachel Winkler was fatally stabbed on February 27, 2012, at her home in Cameron Park, California. The evidence revealed fatal damage from a pair of scissors, with prosecutors asserting that Todd caused the injuries.

In his defense, Todd stated that Rachel came at him with the scissors, and he was trying to defend himself. Investigators and the prosecutor did not believe his story when compared with forensic and crime-scene evidence. For example, his own injuries were not severe, the crime scene was cleaned, and Rachel’s wounds were consistent with assault rather than a classic self-defense struggle.

According to Dateline coverage, Rachel Winkler was planning to file for divorce from Todd and was involved with another man. Reportedly, Rachel had informed her friends that she was scared because she had an affair with a man named James White and was struggling in her marriage with Todd.

Detective Jeff Leikauf explained to Dateline:

“James wanted to be with Rachel and her children; they had planned on spending the rest of their lives together.”

Todd Winkler’s narrative of events that resulted in his wife Rachel’s death was at the core of his defense at his 2014 trial. According to him, he had gone to talk to Rachel regarding their relationship. While they were talking, she told him that she would have her lover, James White, harm him if he tried to keep their children.

This, according to Todd, resulted in a fight where Rachel attacked him with a set of open scissors, leading him to wrestle and fatally stab her in self-defense.

However, El Dorado County Deputy District Attorney Lisette Suder explained to Dateline:

“It appears he took time to clean up evidence and did not ask the neighbor to call 911 until six hours later.”

On top of that, Todd behaved strangely throughout proceedings, slapping himself and bellowing phrases such as “You are not Samurai!” His lawyers blamed these fits on dissociative identity disorder (DID) and psychosis, implying he was not entirely responsible for his actions due to mental illness.

Testimony and forensic evidence, however, refuted this account, along with gruesome confessions from Winkler that Rachel begged for her life while she was being attacked.

It was also mentioned that Todd’s ex-wife, Catherine Winkler (or Catherine Carlisle), had passed away in a 1999 car crash in Georgia (Chattahoochee National Forest). According to media releases, Todd received a life-insurance claim following Catherine’s death (approximately $1.2 million), which the prosecution also brought up at his trial.

After a trial lasting 12 days, the jury deliberated for about an hour and returned a guilty verdict on October 22, 2014. Judge Daniel Proud sentenced Todd Winkler to 26 years to life imprisonment on December 8, 2014, for the first-degree murder of his wife, Rachel Winkler. He also received an additional one-year sentence for the deadly weapon enhancement.

The trial was heavily reported in the media, with Dateline NBC airing a special episode, Deadly Twist, on March 20, 2015.

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Also Read: Dateline: How did the police catch Todd Winkler in connection to his wife's murder and where is he now? Details explored

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