Terrell father, Mesquite pastor arrested for alleged sexual assault, found dead in jail
CHARLESTON, WV – Matthew Jarrell, the Terrell father and pastor of the Open Door Baptist Church in Mesquite who was arrested Thursday for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in West Virginia, was found dead in jail late Saturday night.
According to officials at the South Central Regional Jail and West Virginia State Police, jail officials found him May 21, between 11 and 11:30 pm, after he had apparently tried to hang himself. After trying to revive him, he was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead early Sunday morning. The minister had been separated from the jail population and held in protective custody.
Jarrell, 41, was married with four children. Family members had told law enforcement officials Thursday that he was supposed to be in Pennsylvania.
According to HuntingtonNews.net, Jarrell was part of the Randy Taylor Revival ministries. He came from one of two “sending churches” for Siegfred de Guzman Evangelistic Ministries, which partnered with churches in the Philippines to spread the gospel. He had been a featured speaker at the national God Save America Revival Conference in Boyne City, MI, November 8-11, 2010.
The church he pastored had a significant Spanish ministry and, based on a Facebook posting, is filled every Sunday.
Two individuals had posted favorable experiences online about the church, which also operates Mesquite Baptist Academy.
“Open Door has been such a blessing to my family,” said the first. “They are truly a family centered church. Pastor Jarrell is an up and coming Preacher. He preaches God’s word with no apologies. I am honored to be part of such a God centered Church where they go out to reach people that need Christ to fulfill the Great Commission.”
Another church-goer wrote, “They open their doors to other churches in need … which they have proven in their response to Hurricane Katrina.”
Following their discovery of Jarrell’s death, the church posted the following on its website: “Thank you for visiting and we covet your prayers during this difficult time. We will update this site as more information is available. However, during this time, we will continue to serve the Lord as we have for the past 46 years. Hope to see you Sunday, The Entire Church Membership.”
Prior to Dr. Jarrell’s death , associate pastor Rik Parcell told WFAA-TV, “Let the courts prosecute him. We love him; we want to help in every way. We want to help the family in every way, but we are not sweeping anything under the carpet.”
Kanawha County Deputy Sheriff Sean Crosier told the Texas station that Dr. Jarrell had been scheduled to go to trial last month on an indictment for an alleged sexual assault in San Antonio that occurred in 2007.
By J.J. Smith, Publisher
I agree I think that Guy Beaumont is just as much of a disgrace by telling Matt to kill himself, he shows right there that he isn’t a true representative of God also because God has love for all people no matter what they do. Guy Beaumont to be a pastor you have to have a Godly heart and Godly love which obviously you don’t have so maybe you should try to find a new profession.
I am astonished at the way so many Pastors, including Guy Beaumont, somehow believe that they are above others. They have no problem putting other down, criticizing others, complaining – I could go on forever. TERRIBLE examples of Godly leaders.
This is a tragic story all the way around. The man left a wife and children. You would think a pastor such as Guy Beaumont would have more maturity and compassion but obviously not.
I understand Matt Jarrell being distressed, and he should have been prosecuted for what he did, but I found this Twitter post the day before Jarrell died by an associate of his on the 21st.
http://twitter.com/#!/guybeaumont
The tweet tells Jarrell to just kill himself because Christianity would be better off without him. Aren’t there cyber-bullying laws out there?