Todd Winkler
Todd Carl Winkler is a former U.S. Air Force pilot and pharmaceutical sales representative from Cameron Park, California, convicted of first-degree murder for stabbing his third wife, Rachel Winkler, to death with scissors in 2012 during a violent confrontation at their home. The case drew national attention due to its brutality, Winkler’s history of mental illness, and a prior suspicious death of his second wife. In 2014, he received a sentence of 26 years to life and is imprisoned at San Quentin, with parole eligibility around mid-2031.
The case has been featured in multiple true crime programs, including NBC’s Dateline, and Accident, Suicide or Murder on the Oxygen network.
Early life and education
Todd Carl Winkler was born around 1967 and grew up on a farm in rural Iowa, surrounded by a close community. He was valedictorian of his high school class and served as student body president, showing early academic and leadership skills.After high school, Winkler was accepted into the United States [Air Force Academy] in 1990, where he trained as a pilot. After graduating, he served as an F-16 fighter pilot with the 14th Fighter Squadron, known as the “Fighting Samurai,” while stationed in Japan.
During his military service, Winkler faced ongoing mental health challenges. He was hospitalized for psychiatric evaluation twice, once in Japan and again in Amsterdam while employed at Abbott Laboratories, which later became part of his defense in the murder trial. Winkler eventually left the U.S. Air Force with a 50 percent disability rating, linked to his mental health conditions.
Todd Winkler married Rachel Hatfield the daughter of contemporary artist Don Hatfield. She was an airport manager at Cameron Park Airport, in 2005 after a short courtship. The couple initially seemed to establish a stable family life in the upscale pilots’ community of Cameron Park, California. Over the next few years, they had three children: Alex, Ariel, and Eva, who were between infancy and about seven years old by early 2012. Neighbors described a typical routine involving parenting, socializing, and their shared connection to the small airplane hangar/home compound at Cameron Airpark, where Rachel managed operations.
Despite this, problems emerged. By June 2010, Rachel began an affair with James White, a former Marine and handyman at the airpark, and shared that she felt neglected in the marriage. She mentioned Todd’s financial stress, erratic behavior—including alleged attempts to stage accidents—and his habit of keeping ashes from his previous wife’s fatal Georgia car crash in a box under the bed. As Rachel finalized divorce proceedings in February 2012, marital tension escalated, leading to the tragic events days later.
Previous marriages
Before marrying Rachel Hatfield in 2005, Winkler had two prior marriages. His second wife, Catherine “Kathy” Winkler, died in a 1999 car crash under unclear circumstances while they lived in Georgia. Her vehicle veered off the road and caught fire; Todd said he swerved to avoid a deer and escaped but could not save her. The crash was officially ruled an accident, and Todd received about $1.2 million in life insurance benefits after her death.Murder of Rachel Winkler
The incident occurred amid growing marital tension. Rachel had recently told friends and family she planned to divorce Todd and seek full custody of their children. She had started a relationship with a former Marine and sheriff's deputy, James White, and intended to move in with him. Rachel expressed fears for her safety, noting Todd’s increasing control, emotional instability, and financial unreliability. Rachel’s father and close friends said she believed Todd had staged past accidents and manipulated her psychologically. She had uncovered suspicious details about his past, including the 1999 death of his second wife in a questionable car fire. In the days before her death, Rachel began divorce proceedings and explored legal options for separation and custody.On February 27, 2012, a violent domestic homicide took place in the upscale aviation community of Cameron Park, California, where Todd and Rachel Winkler lived with their three young children. That morning, emergency responders were called to the Winkler home after a neighbor, alerted by screams or signs of disturbance, dialed 911. Upon arrival, authorities found Rachel Winkler, 37, dead inside the house with multiple stab wounds and evidence of a brutal struggle.
The attack occurred in the nursery, near the couple’s infant child, which surprised investigators. The weapon, a pair of scissors, was used with such force that one blade broke off and lodged in her skull, penetrating her head and neck. Blood patterns and damaged furniture indicated a frenzied, prolonged assault, with Rachel sustaining numerous defensive wounds, suggesting she tried to protect herself.
Todd Winkler, then 44, was found at the scene with minor injuries to his hand and neck. He claimed he killed Rachel in self-defense, alleging she attacked him with the scissors during an argument, and that he wrestled it away and stabbed her in panic. However, law enforcement and paramedics found his injuries inconsistent with an attack, suspecting they were self-inflicted. Investigators concluded the crime scene contradicted Winkler’s account. There was no evidence Rachel held or used the scissors, and most blood evidence pointed to Todd as the aggressor. The excessive violence, especially the severe neck wound and embedded blade, suggested rage or intentional harm rather than spontaneous self-defense, with the attack being focused and sustained.
Trial and sentencing
Todd Winkler was formally charged with first-degree murder with a deadly weapon enhancement shortly after the February 2012 killing of his wife, Rachel Winkler. Prosecutors claimed the act was intentional and premeditated, driven by jealousy, rage, and a desire to avoid divorce and losing custody of his three children, rather than being spontaneous or defensive.The case was handled by the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office, with the trial starting in late 2014. The prosecution presented detailed forensic evidence, including the broken scissors blade lodged in Rachel's skull, arguing her injuries pointed to an execution-style attack rather than self-defense. They also suggested Todd waited for a moment when Rachel was vulnerable to strike.
Winkler’s defense claimed he had dissociative identity disorder and was in a “fugue-like” mental state during the killing. They cited his past psychiatric hospitalizations during military service and employment at Abbott Laboratories, including suicide attempts and delusional behavior. The jury, however, was not persuaded. On October 22, 2014, after several days of deliberation, Todd Winkler was found guilty of first-degree murder, with jurors dismissing the diminished capacity defense.
Judge Daniel Proud sentenced Winkler to 26 years to life for the murder, plus one year for the deadly weapon enhancement involving the scissors. Winkler was moved to San Quentin State Prison, where he remains. California [Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation|California Department of Corrections] records indicate he will be eligible for parole in June 2031.