Milton pastor awaiting jury verdict in child sex trial found dead in parking garage
A Milton pastor facing a rape trial in Rutherford County, Tennessee, was found dead Thursday morning, the Murfreesboro Police Department confirmed.
Murfreesboro Police Department spokesman Larry Flowers said a preliminary investigation showed David Rowan died from an "apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound."
Rowan was arrested at his Milton home in February 2018 by the U.S. Marshals Service after an investigation that began in 2017.
Arrest: Milton pastor indicted for 2014 rape of teenage sisters in Tennessee
Rowan, 66, was on trial this week in Murfreesboro for multiple sex crimes against two teenage girls, related to a 2014 visit as a guest speaker at a Tennessee church.
Two sisters, aged 14 and 15, came forward with “compelling and credible disclosures” about Rowan’s actions during that visit, according to a police report.
The girls where staying on church grounds with their parents. Rowan had allegedly known the family for many years, and the girls said they looked up to Rowan and "counted on him for spiritual guidance."
Rowan was awaiting a jury’s verdict when the incident occurred.
Officers responded to the Rutherford County Justice Center parking garage in downtown Murfreesboro about 11:43 a.m. Thursday. Officers found Rowan deceased from a single gunshot wound. He was in his car on the second floor of the garage. No foul play is suspected, Flowers said.
At the time of his arrest, Rowan was listed as the pastor at Faith Baptist Church in Milton, according to the church's website.
His church bio said that he served in the Navy and turned to the church in 1980 due to "deteriorating circumstances in our home." He wrote that he then continued Bible study and began his first pastorate.
"After 10 years of church and ministry, I was truly 'born again' and have never doubted or questioned the sufficiency of the suffering of Jesus Christ on my behalf," he writes in the piece on the church website.
Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips through email at sbroden@dnj.com or phone, 615-278-5158. Follow him on Twitter @ScottBroden.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Milton pastor awaiting jury verdict in Tennessee child sex trial dead
