Mary Wireman’s recent murder — allegedly at the hands of her estranged husband Ernest — and the critical shooting of her son, Jeremy, didn’t generate the national news attention that the July 4 murder/suicide of former Tennessee Titans MVP quarterback Steve McNair, but it will likely leave a much deeper scar on the community.
McNair shared MVP honors with the Colts’ Peyton Manning in 2003; but was shot and killed by a 20-year-old girlfriend of six months at a downtown Nashville apartment. She then turned the weapon on herself. The true motive in the shooting may never been known. That hasn’t stopped Nashville residents from speculating.

Initial scuttlebutt was that a jealous ex-boyfriend committed the crime, or that perhaps it was a mob-ordered hit due to unpaid gambling debts, or maybe an attempt by the girl’s family to punish McNair and their daughter for their extramarital affair.
Forensic evidence proved the speculation false. Gunpowder residue was found on her hands, and the trajectory of the bullets was proven consistent with her shooting position.
The McNair story was major news in Nashville for a week. CNN and ESPN were both on hand for a packed-house funeral service at a church big enough to hold all of North Judson. Now that the story is over, it has faded from the front page, and will become a footnote in McNair’s decade with the franchise.
That won’t be the case with the Wireman murder. It has already touched too many lives and hit way too close to home for a lot of people.
On June 14, Ernest Wireman allegedly stabbed his wife repeatedly in the head with a screwdriver and large knife before setting her rural North Judson trailer on fire. Her sister-in-law, who lives next door, tried to intervene when she heard her screams, only to be told to butt out or she would be next. She went home and called 911.
Police say Wireman then drove about six miles to the Knox home of his stepson, Jeremy Risner, and shot him multiple times. Risner managed to stagger next door and tell a neighbor that he had been shot. He was hospitalized in South Bend for several weeks and underwent surgery there. According to family members, he’s been moved to an Indianapolis hospital where more surgery is scheduled. His chances for survival are uncertain.
Wireman turned himself in to authorities a couple of hours after his alleged crime spree. He refused legal counsel and attempted to enter a guilty plea at his initial arraignment. Judge Kim Hall refused his plea and ordered that an attorney be appointed. This is standard in any high-stakes case. Prosecutors and judges don’t dare risk having a conviction turned over on appeal because protocol wasn’t followed.
Wireman has since entered a plea of not guilty at the advice of his court-appointed counsel.
Security was tight at the Starke County Courthouse when Wireman was escorted across the street from the jail for both of his court appearances. He wore a bulletproof vest under his jail clothes. At least eight law enforcement officers packed the courtroom, with more patrolling outside. Death threats have allegedly been made against him, and he’s sequestered in the jail. He will remain there without bond until his case is decided.
So far authorities haven’t offered a motive in the Wireman murder/Risner shooting, which has again led to considerable speculation. It would be irresponsible and potentially libelous to print any unconfirmed rumors, but they are definitely a topic of conversation at kitchen tables and coffee shops across Starke County.
There’s also the human element to the crimes. Unlike McNair, who was famous for his football heroics and community contributions but not known personally by most of his fans, both affected families have deep roots here and members of both are personally very well-known.
Nashville has moved beyond the murder of a once-heroic football star.  Tennessee traded McNair to the Baltimore Ravens after drafting Texas quarterback Vince Young in the first round of the 2006 draft. Young was benched last year in favor of veteran quarterback Kerry Collins, who led the team to its best regular-season record in franchise history.
Time has marched on for the Titans, and McNair’s murder will soon fade from memory. The Titans will probably memorialize him at their first regular season home game, and probably retire his number nine jersey. That will be the end of the story, unless McNair’s wife eventually breaks her silence. That’s not likely to happen.
The wounds wrought by the shooting in Starke County are still too raw to begin healing. That process will also largely be affected by how the case is decided in court. Wireman’s only hope seems to be a plea of guilty by reason of insanity, therefore sparing himself the death penalty should prosecutors decide to pursue a capital murder charge.
Eventually the Wireman murder and Risner shooting will fade into the background of Starke County history, but the people touched by it will never forget. Here’s hoping they will eventually find it in their hearts to forgive.