Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service
NEW YORK (ANS) -- The New York Police Department (NYPD) has confirmed that Megachurch pastor Zachery Tims died on August 12 in a New York City hotel room. He was 42.
Charisma News reports that a NYPD representative says "criminality is not suspected." Tims was found alone in the W Hotel by hotel security.
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Pastor Zachery Tims (Charisma News photo) |
Charisma has confirmed with the New York Medical Examiner's Office that a man by that same name was brought in on Friday night at 6 p.m.
As of Sunday night, Ellen Borakove, director of public affairs at the New York Chief Medical Examiner's office could not confirm that it was the same Zachery Tims. She said the family was en route to identify the body.
"A man by that name was brought in Friday, August 12 from The W Hotel in Times Square," Borakove said. "I cannot confirm that it is the same Zachery Tims from Orlando until the body has been identified."
The cause of death is unknown. Borakove said an autopsy has been ordered.
Tims pastored New Destiny Christian Center in the Orlando area since 1996. The church has grown to more than 7,500 members. He was survived by his four children.
The Huffington Post (www.huffingtonpost.com ) reports that New York Police are investigating if drugs were involved in Tims' death.
The website reported there was an envelope filled with white powder allegedly inside the shorts of the Rev. Tims Jr, according to the New York Daily News.
Tims, who leads the 8,000-member New Destiny Christian Center near Orlando was found lying face up on the floor of his room in the W Hotel by workers on Friday, according to The Wall Street Journal.
New York Police Department officials don't suspect foul play, according to reports, because his room was locked from the inside and none of his valuable belongings appeared to be missing. Police said his body showed no evidence of trauma, the HuffPost website reported.
Tims was in town for a meeting, and was scheduled to fly next to Texas, the Daily News said.
An autopsy performed over the weekend was inconclusive while toxicology tests will take weeks to complete, The Christian Post said, according to the website.
Drugs have had a role in Tims' life before he founded the church with his then-wife Riva in 1996.
His biography on the New Destiny website said: "After Dr. Tims was miraculously saved, instantly delivered from drug addiction, and called into ministry, he determined to make his young life count by simultaneously earning two Bachelor's degrees."
Tims has four children from his marriage with Riva that ended in 2009 after he admitted to having an affair with a stripper, The Wall Street Journal said.
A prayer service on Monday at New Destiny Christian Center drew 2,000 people, according to The Orlando Sentinel. Tims' ex-wife Riva spoke and told the audience that he'd vacationed in Puerto Rico with his family a week before he died.
"We lost one of our leaders," said the Rev. Willie Barnes, a Baptist pastor who spoke at the service.
"His ministry was very, very powerful, especially to young people. He brought a different style of ministry, and it reached a lot of the younger generation because it wasn't so traditional," Barnes said, according to the Sentinel.
| ** Michael Ireland is Senior Correspondent for ANS. He is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London (United Kingdom) newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB UK, a British Christian radio station. While in the UK, Michael traveled to Canada and the United States, Albania,Yugoslavia, Holland, Germany,and Czechoslovakia. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China,and Russia. Michael's volunteer involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' (MIMM) -- of A.C.T. International of P.O.Box 1649, Brentwood, TN 37024-1649, at: Artists in Christian Testimony (A.C.T.) International where you can make a donation online under 'Donate' tab, then look for 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' under 'Donation Category' to support his stated mission of 'Truth Through Christian Journalism.' Michael is a member in good standing of th e National Writers Union, Society of Professional Journalists, Religion Newswriters Association, Evangelical Press Association and International Press Association. If you have a news or feature story idea for Michael, please contact him at: ANS Senior Reporter |
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