Pastor charged after man dies during paddling pool baptism

Cheryl Bartley, 48, the pastor of Life Changing Ministries has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter following the death of a person during a baptism.

Robert Smith, 61, died in Birmingham in the course of the baptism ceremony, which was going down in a paddling pool a back garden. The incident occurred on 8 October 2023.

Smith, who got here from Jamaica, was pronounced dead on the scene by the emergency services. 

The event was being live-streamed on Facebook, but the published was terminated and the video subsequently removed.

Bartley is because of appear at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on 14 May. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said she had been charged in relation to her role as a pastor in the course of the baptism. 

Malcolm McHaffie, head of the CPS’s special crime division, said, “We remind all concerned that criminal proceedings against this defendant are energetic and that she has the precise to a good trial.

“It is important that there needs to be no reporting, commentary or sharing of knowledge online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”