Travel Guides – Florida pastor facing sex crime charges in Tennessee found dead in parking garage
A Florida pastor facing a rape trial in Rutherford County was found dead Thursday morning, the Murfreesboro Police Department confirmed.
MPD spokesman Larry Flowers said a preliminary investigation showed David Rowan died from an “apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
The 66-year-old, a Milton, Florida pastor, 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 local 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 filed during Rowan’s arrest in February 2018.
Murfreesboro Police officers investigated the death of a man who took his own life at the Rutherford County Judicial Center while he was facing a trial accusing him of raping two teen girls.
Officers responded to the Rutherford County Justice Center parking garage in downtown Murfreesboro around 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.
He was awaiting a jury’s verdict when the incident occurred.
The case is still under investigation by police.
Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips through email at [email protected] or phone, 615-278-5158. Follow him on Twitter @ScottBroden.
This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Florida pastor facing sex crime charges in Tennessee found dead