Pastor charged with manslaughter after man drowned during baptism.

A pastor has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter following the death of a man during a paddling pool baptism.

Robert Smith, 61, from Brixton, London, died during the ceremony held in the back garden of an address in Erdington, Birmingham, on October 8 2023.

Cheryl Bartley, 48, who is the pastor for the Life Changing Ministries church, has since been charged with one count of gross negligence manslaughter in relation to her role in the baptism, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

Emergency services were called to the address shortly after 1.30pm, but Mr Smith was pronounced dead at the scene.

It was reported at the time that Mr Smith was originally from Jamaica, had seven grandchildren and worked as a barber.

He is said to have suffered from Parkinson’s and had already been baptised, but wanted a second ceremony to become a “born-again believer”.

Following Mr Smith’s death, the pastor is said to have recorded a video in which she claimed to have seen the grandfather in heaven “dancing with Jesus”.

The ceremony was live-streamed on the church’s Facebook page, but the feed was cut short during the event, and the post has since been removed.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/pastor-charged-manslaughter-man-drowned-172208827.html

Only a handful of years ago, that would have seemed odd.