After a man died during a baptism ceremony, a woman has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. The victim was aged in his 60s and died at a private address in Erdington, according to emergency services. The incident happened on Sunday and a 46-year-old woman was arrested on Tuesday before being released on bail. The victim had been taking part in the ceremony carried out by Life Changing Ministries in a small pool in the garden of the property, the BBC reported.
The baptism ceremony was being streamed live on the church’s Facebook page, but the stream was cut during the event and the video was later removed. The founder of the group, Cheryl Reid-Bartley, said on Monday that a man named Robert Yap had died during the baptism. The victim had travelled to Birmingham to be baptised and had been living with Parkinson’s disease while being a member of the church for four years. Reid-Bartley urged followers to fast and pray “for the ministry, for apostle [Cheryl Reid-Bartley] herself and for our faithful members”.
The West Midlands Ambulance Service confirmed they had been called to a medical emergency involving a man at a private address on Slade Road. They had arrived at around 13:40 BST on Sunday and administered advanced life support but unfortunately could not save the man. West Midlands Police said the post-mortem examination would be carried out while detectives continued inquiries.
The death is concerning, with many questioning what went wrong during the baptism ceremony. Life Changing Ministries is under scrutiny and will have to answer these questions as they arise. The power of social media also highlights the challenges of managing information that is spread online. There was clearly some public interest in the tragedy at Slade Road, but this must be managed carefully and responsibly
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More