David M. Baker
David M. Baker was a pastor who led Family Baptist Church in Columbia and served as president of Independent Baptist Online College. He ran for mayor of Maury County in 2022 and, according to one source, had served as chaplain of the Maury County Sheriff's Office. He was released from the Maury County Jail on September 10, 2024. On September 11, sources told WSMV he went into a public restroom at Maury Regional Medical Center's emergency department and shot himself twice in the chest, and he died there. Authorities confirmed the death as a suicide.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide. Authorities confirmed to NewsChannel 5 that he shot himself twice in the chest in a public restroom at Maury Regional Medical Center, hours after his release on bond from the Maury County Jail.
Reported by: Maury Regional Health officials (the agency that held him); NewsChannel 5 reporting, citing authorities (reporters).