Pastor Found Dead, Son Covered in Blood After Someone Screamed I 'Don't Want to Die'
It is unclear who begged for life in the violent fracas but when police got to the San Leandro, California, apartment of Bishop Teman L. Bostic Sr. on Friday morning, the pastor was found dead and his son, Isaiah Bostic, 21, was covered in blood.
"On behalf of the Bostic family, the Mt. Olive A.O. H. Church of God family, and the Apostolic Original Holy Church of God, [it is] with heavy hearts we announce the untimely passing of our father, and pastor, Bishop Teman L. Bostic Sr., on Friday, Feb. 12," the preacher's church announced in a haunting Facebook post on Saturday morning.
Bishop Bostic was the leader of Mt. Olive Apostolic Original Holy Church of God in Menlo Park.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
San Leandro Police Lt. Robert McManus told the San Jose Mercury News that police were called to the preacher's apartment at 5:30 a.m. on Friday. A neighbor reported hearing screaming and someone "saying he did not want to die."
When police arrived at the scene, Isaiah was covered in blood inside the apartment located in the 900 block of Juana Avenue and his father's body was found in a search of the residence. Isaiah was detained and detectives are expected to present a case against him to the Alameda County District Attorney's Office on Tuesday.
The Christian Post reached out to San Leandro police for further details on Monday but was told records would not be available until Tuesday.
At Mt. Olive Apostolic Original Holy Church of God on Sunday, congregants and leaders alike tried to make sense of what happened.
"We don't know what goes on in the complexity of the soul," said visiting apostle Ross Garrison Jr. of the Oakland-based church Judah The Gathering Place.
"Anger will not bring any resolve," he said, urging parishioners to seek solace through the Scripture.
A longtime friend of Bishop Bostic, he remembered the preacher as a warm and "real disciple of Jesus Christ."
"He was warmhearted and warm-spirited, a joy to be around. …You couldn't get none better than this real disciple of Jesus Christ," said Garrison.
Mt. Olive Apostolic Original Holy Church of God was founded in 1963 in the living room of the East Menlo Park neighborhood of Belle Haven by Bostic's mother, Hattie Bostic. Hattie was one of eight children of a poor and struggling single mother in Mobile, Alabama, but she went on to earn two degrees — one, a doctorate of divinity and the other in theology. She dedicated her life to tackling issues of crime, education, affordable housing, homelessness, and substance abuse in her community.
Bishop Bostic, who was her eldest son, followed in her footsteps. He earned his B.A. in theology from Dr. Hardy Academy of Theology in Seattle and helped the growing congregation expand to a new church on Hamilton Avenue in 1992. Along with being a pastor, he also served on the board of directors of Crime Prevention Narcotics Drugs Educational Center in Menlo Park. In addition, he was Chaplain of the Tri-City Village and Second Chance homeless shelters in Fremont, and was a former chaplain at Stanford and Kaiser Hospitals inpatient programs.
"The late Bishop Teman Bostic Sr., pastor of the Mt. Olive AOH Church of God and president of Crime Prevention Narcotics Drug Education Center was a pillar in the community of Menlo Park. Bishop Bostic Sr., was the presiding prelate of the Apostolic Original Holy Church of God, a nationwide affiliation of churches. He evangelized nationally and internationally. He will be greatly missed. We are soliciting your prayers during our time of great loss," said the church in the statement on their departed leader.
