He Went Into Pool for Baptism, Drowned in Front of Crowd

A British pastor has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter after authorities say a man died during a live-streamed baptism. Prosecutors say Cheryl Bartley, 48, acted as pastor during the October 2023 ceremony in a Birmingham garden, where 61-year-old Robert Smith drowned in a paddling pool as a dozen people watched in person, per the Guardian. Smith, a Brixton barber and grandfather of seven with Parkinson's, was pronounced dead at the scene after emergency crews were called. Malcolm McHaffie, head of the Crown Prosecution Service's special crime division, said there was "sufficient evidence to bring this case to court," without going into specifics.

The incident was organized by Life Changing Ministries, an apostolic church with a mostly online presence, and took place on its property, per the BBC and Telegraph. A livestream of the event, posted to the church's Facebook page, was ultimately cut and the video removed. Smith, originally from Jamaica, had reportedly been a member of the church for four years. Though already baptized, he wanted a fresh ceremony to become a "born-again believer," the Telegraph reports, adding Bartley later claimed to have seen a vision of Smith "dancing with Jesus." She is due in court on May 14.