A church pastor has appeared in court following the death of a man who drowned during a baptism ceremony at a house in Birmingham.
Forty-eight-year-old Cheryl Bartley, of Life Changing Ministries, has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter after 61-year-old Robert Smith died after being submerged in a children’s pool for four minutes. The baptism, in October 2023, was being streamed live on the church’s Facebook page, but the feed was cut short and the video later removed. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Amreena Begum, prosecuting, told Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on Thursday that Mr Smith, a grandfather of seven, had Parkinson’s disease and “clearly had physical disabilities, which we see in terms of his difficulties walking, his tremors and his stiffness.”
“He very sadly died. That's the seriousness of the offence that this defendant is charged with,” she said.
According to BBC News, Mr Smith moved to the UK from Jamaica more than 25 years ago and worked as a barber in Brixton, London. Although he had been baptised as a teenager, his family said he wanted a second ceremony to become a “born-again believer”.
Pastor Bartley, who did not enter a plea, was granted bail on condition that she does not leave the UK. She was ordered to appear at Birmingham Crown Court on 11th June.