Major Family Fight After Bishop Roy E. Brown's Death: Daughter Accused Stepmother of Mistreating Brown
A family scandal surrounding the death of a New York pastor continues unfolding, with revelations that his widow and his daughter fought over his dead body.
Paula Scarlett-Brown, the widow of Pilgrim Assemblies International founder Archbishop Roy E. Brown, told the New York Post on Sunday that she and Brown's daughter, Tiwana Brown, had a major fight over the minister's body just hours after his death on June 2. He was 75.
"She was yelling, 'You killed my father! I want an autopsy!'" said Scarlett-Brown, who called the police. "He's not even dead an hour and she's screaming at me over his dead body."
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The two also reportedly argued over possessions, with Tiwana demanding her father's jewelry, while her stepmother refused.
A feud within the family had been going on for years. Tiwana stirred up talk that her stepmother was not taking proper care and was even mistreating the pastor, the New York Post reported.
Pastor Brown suffered from prostate cancer, diabetes, and had had lost both legs.
"There was a lot of abuse going on in the home," the stepdaughter has claimed. At one point, Tiwana called adult protective services on her stepmother, while Scarlett-Brown in turn attempted to obtain an order of protection against Tiwana.
Along with the dispute with her step-daughter, Scarlett-Brown vowed to continue fighting the church board as well.
Scarlett-Brown said in August that she was left "traumatized" by an eviction notice asking her to leave the $2.5 million home in Brooklyn she shared with the pastor. Pilgrim Baptist Church, which owns the home, insists that the pastor made the decision himself, however.
Monte Malik Chandler, the church's attorney, told The Christian Post that Scarlett-Brown knew well in advance that she would be required to leave the house.
"The church recognizes wholeheartedly their duty to widows and orphans, recognizes their duty to do justice to love mercy and walk humbly with their God. But they also need to balance that with the notion of being good stewards of their time, their treasure and their talents. And I think at the end of the day, the reality of the circumstances are that the church has been extremely magnanimous and kind to both Bishop Roy Brown and deservingly so and they also have been extremely kind to his wife," Chandler told CP last month.
The 55-year-old widow was still shocked by the notice. She told the New York Post that she "couldn't believe" what she saw when she found the eviction notice on Aug. 17, stating that she "broke down crying."
"The church never had any conversation with me about this," she claimed. "He always said, 'Paula, you're going to be taken care of. You don't have to worry."
Chandler repeated in the latest interview that the church's actions are "in compliance with her husband's wish."
The pastor had been retired for 13 years.
"The church paid $1,700 a week for home health aides, maintaining the house to the tune of almost $7,000 a month for years ... it's not like the church has not been kind," Chandler said.
"The church has a duty to be good stewards over their financial responsibility," he added, noting that Scarlett-Brown also received a $100,000 check as beneficiary of a church-provided life-insurance policy.
