ARCHIVES:

Posts in this section were archived prior to February 2010. For more recent posts, go to the HOME PAGE.

Friday, August 24, 2007                                                                                       View Comments

Preacher Wife Attacked By Preacher Husband

Television Evangelist Juanita Bynum, the hair stylist turned preacher, known for her inspiring and candid sermons about sexuality and marital responsibility, is recovering after allegedly being attacked by her estranged husband.

Atlanta Police say Bishop Thomas Weeks III, founder of Global Destiny churches, will be charged with aggravated assault and terroristic threats, WXIA-TV in Atlanta reports.

Around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, the couple got together for dinner at Concorde Grill in the Renaissance Concourse Hotel in Atlanta to talk about making their marriage work, Bynum's sister, Tina Culpepper told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

But that conversation,which led into the early morning hours, turned into a heated argument, and things got ugly, an eye witness told police.

"They were talking about a reconciliation. They got into an argument. In the process of the argument, her husband walked out to the parking lot area, turned back around and started to choke Miss Bynum," Atlanta Police Officer Robert Campbell said.

"As he choked her, he pushed her down to the ground and started to kick her and also stomp on her," he said, adding that a hotel bellman had to pull Weeks off Bynum.

At the end of it all, Bynum,48, was the one “bruised up and battered” and “had purple bruising around her neck and torso,” The Associated Press reports.

Weeks, 54, who allegedly threatened to kill Bynum, left the scene before police arrived. Bynum met with authorities Thursday evening to press charges, according to AP.

Bynum wrote on her MySpace.com page, "I am currently recovering from my injuries and resting well. There are so many great things happening for me in my future, and so much to look forward to concerning my destiny, this too shall pass."

Bynum and Weeks made headlines with their 2002 wedding that, according to Ebony, had an 80-person wedding party, 1,000 guests, an orchestra and a 7.76 carat diamond ring to top it off.

The million-dollar nuptials, which Bynum called a “once-in-a-lifetime wedding,” were televised.

Bynum’s hard-knock life included a failed marriage, a battle with anorexia and being on welfare, according to answers.com.

LINK