Just one day after Columbia pastor David Baker, Sr., was charged with aggravated sexual assault by the Maury County Sheriff’s Office, he died an apparent suicide, according to Columbia Police Chief Jeremy Alsup.

Baker was senior pastor of Family Baptist Church in Columbia and ran for mayor of Maury County in 2022.

According to Alsup, Baker “entered the emergency room at Maury Regional Medical Center, went directly to the restroom, and was soon found dead in the bathroom.”

Alsup said a video shows Baker entering the hospital emergency room.

Bail was set at $200,000 on Tuesday, and the court date had already been scheduled for October 9.

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Baker, a native of Santa Fe, founded the Independent Baptist Online Bible College, a facility of the Family Baptist Church, ran a life coaching business and authored several books.

Together with Pastor David Hyles from Indiana, he also led the Fallen in Grace congregation, which, however, faced numerous controversies.

Previously, Baker served as chaplain of the Maury County Jail for 28 years.

Kerri Bartlett is editor of the Daily Herald.

This article originally appeared in the Daily Herald: Columbia pastor apparently commits suicide after sexual assault charges