The wife of Pastor Brodes Perry was shot trying to shield him from his killer – but it turned out he’d been having an affair. Then things took a truly dark turn…
Pastor Brodes Perry was a respected executive pastor at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, in Tennessee, Memphis. Brodes, 36, was a man the church community looked to for religious and moral guidance.
Before coming to Memphis, Brodes had spent four years as a pastor of assimilation at Saint Mark Baptist Church in Little Rock, in Arkansas, around three hours away. That role involved him welcoming new members into the church, helping them to settle in and offering guidance through counselling when they needed it.
Brodes was married to Tabatha, 42, and they lived together in Collierville, Tennessee. They had both devoted their life to the church and had been in the new community for around six months.
On April 4, 2019, just after 10pm, there were reports of gunfire from their apartment and the emergency services rushed to the scene. When the police arrived, Brodes was seriously injured on the floor in a pool of blood. Tabatha was also wounded and a woman was reloading the gun in her hand.
An officer shot her with a non-lethal firearm, which fires a beanbag missile to incapacitate an attacker. The woman dropped the gun and was taken into custody. All three were taken to hospital. Brodes had been shot five times in the head and torso, and he died the next day in hospital.
Tabatha had been shot in the left shoulder but survived. The female attacker didn’t need further treatment.
The community was devastated by the death of their pastor, but the shooting would quickly unveil a scandal that would rock the church. Investigators discovered the shooter was Latoshia Daniels, 39, from Arkansas and she knew Brodes and Tabatha. Daniels had attended the church in Little Rock where Brodes was working. The mum-of-two had been struggling with her second marriage and had been counselled by Brodes. Daniels was a social worker and specialised in anger management.
Tabatha told the police what happened that night and it revealed that Brodes and Daniels had been having an affair. But Brodes had ended things. The police pieced together statements and evidence. They determined that Daniels had bought a gun that day and driven from Arkansas to Brodes’ apartment, where she knocked on the door and found Tabatha alone. Tabatha knew Daniels from church activities and from playing tennis. While she was surprised by the unexpected visit, she invited her in. Daniels said she was in town for a work conference.
DAILY MIRROR
