Memphis pastor is second UMC clergy killed this year

‘We’re broken. We’re grief-stricken. We have questions. We have doubts as we remember the life of a dear precious friend, a wonderful servant of our God, of this community,’ said Memphis Theological Seminary President Jody Hill.

By Adrian Sainz

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A second 15-year-old boy has been charged with murder in the carjacking and shooting of a United Methodist Church leader in Memphis, Tennessee, police said (Monday, July 25).

The teenager was charged with first-degree murder, carjacking and other offenses after meeting with investigators Friday to discuss the killing of the Rev. Autura Eason-Williams, Memphis police told The Associated Press late Monday.

Another 15-year-old boy was charged with first-degree murder, carjacking and other charges the day after the July 18 killing, which shook United Methodist Church members in Memphis and elsewhere. A 16-year-old boy has been charged with theft of property between $2,500 and $10,000.

Eason-Williams was found in her driveway with multiple gunshot wounds. She was taken to a hospital, where she died.

Video footage showed that the pastor was approached by two males while she was in her Chevrolet Malibu. The teens pointed a gun at her and ordered her from the car, police said.

Eason-Williams was shot and a teen drove away in her vehicle, police said, citing the footage.

Shelby County district attorney Amy Weirich said Monday that she is pursuing adult charges against the two teens charged with murder. Juveniles between ages 14 and 17 who are charged with serious crimes are eligible for transfer to adult court, Weirich said in a news release.

A Juvenile Court hearing has been set for Aug. 1 for both teens.

RNS’ Alejandra Molina reported the initial announcement of Eason-Williams’ death. 

The death of Eason-William, who was the superintendent for the Metro District in the denomination’s Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference as well as pastor of Memphis’ Capleville United Methodist Church, marks the second killing of United Methodist Church clergy this year. The Rev. Marita Harrell, senior pastor at Connections at Metropolitan United Methodist Church in Atlanta, was fatally stabbed in May while ministering to a man who is now a suspect in the crime.

During a chapel prayer service Tuesday at Memphis Theological Seminary, Eason-Williams was remembered for her hospitality and humility and described as someone who motivated and pushed her friends. Eason-Williams, an alum of the seminary, led formation classes at the school. 

“We’re broken. We’re grief-stricken. We have questions. We have doubts as we remember the life of a dear precious friend, a wonderful servant of our God, of this community,” said the school’s president, the Rev. Jody Hill.

“She was a wife, mother, and a devoted friend to many,” Hill said in a statement.

“Autura was eager to embrace all of God’s children with a warm smile, gentle hug, or encouraging word.” 

Bishop LaTrelle Easterling, of the Baltimore-Washington Conference, called the shooting a “senseless, tragic act” in a Facebook post that asked for prayers for Eason-Williams’ family and for “a district and conference in deep pain as they come to grips with this devastating loss.”

“May God’s grace, comfort and strengthen all who grieve this servant leader’s death,” Easterling said.

Eason-Williams led her conference’s Signposts Seminars, which strive to address systemic racism, and worked on a campaign to highlight positive aspects of the church as the denomination is experiencing theological divides and rising church disaffiliations, according to UM News.

Eason-William’s death comes just about two months after police said Harrell was stabbed by a 27-year-old man she was ministering to at his home, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Police allege that he abandoned Harrell’s body in a vehicle several miles from his home after setting it on fire, the newspaper reported.

A native of Chicago, Harrell moved to Atlanta more than 30 years ago, according to her biography on her church website. A wife and mother of two, Harrell also worked at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for more than 20 years in the advertising department as the inbound call center manager and a diversity training facilitator.

Harrell graduated from Candler School of Theology at Emory University and earned her Master of Divinity degree in May 2014. She received her preaching certification in 2015 and was commissioned as a provisional elder in June 2019.

“She was passionate about what she did, which was helping those who are lost and left out,” the Rev. Michael T. McQueen, UMC’s district superintendent over its Fulton and Clayton County churches, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “She was doing what she loved to do. That’s what makes this so tragic.”

First published July 19, 2022