‘Take the damn filter off.’ Former Remnant leader says church needs to admit role in child’s death
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It’s time for Remnant Fellowship to come clean about its role in the 2003 child abuse death of a young Remnant boy, says a former leader in the controversial Brentwood, Tennessee, church.
In the final installment of our interview with Michael Shamblin, the son of controversial religious figure Gwen Shamblin told NewsChannel 5 Investigates that Remnant Fellowship needs to acknowledge what he now realizes: that 8-year-old Josef Smith did not have to die.
“I feel my life has been a life of discovery,” said Shamblin, who now views Remnant Fellowship as “a cult.”
“I didn’t know at the time. We were going along with it. But, over time, the more I learned, the more I realized: ‘Why is she not showing the autopsy photos? Why the coverup?'”
NewsChannel 5 Investigates aired its first report in February 2004 questioning Remnant’s role in Josef’s October 2003 death in Atlanta.
His parents, Joseph and Sonya Smith, were charged with his murder, with investigators noting the child had “extensive bruising” over his “entire body.” But the Smiths “showed no remorse,” detectives wrote in their report. The Smiths felt it was “just a part of discipline” and were “very defensive” about their religion.
Content retrieved from: https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/take-the-damn-filter-off-former-remnant-leader-says-church-needs-to-admit-role-in-childs-death.
