Zachery Tims’ cause of death will soon be made known to the world.
Manhattan State Supreme Court Judge Cynthia S. Kern ruled on Monday afternoon that the reason the Orlando megachurch pastor died in a W Hotel room in New York City on Aug. 12 should be revealed.
Despite objections from Tims’ mother, Madeline Tims, Kern decided that no statute prohibits the New York City Medical Examiner from making public both the cause and manner of Tims’ death.
In her ruling, Kerns wrote, “Since information regarding the cause and manner of death is not only within the purview of the [Medical Examiner] but is fundamental to its mission, it is empowered to take actions regarding that mission so long as such actions are not illegal,” the judge wrote. “…This court declares that, upon public inquiry, the [Medical Examiner] may release the cause and manner of death in the cases it handles.”
New York City Police initially ruled there was no foul play in Tims’ death. But news reports indicate Tims, who died at the age of 42, had a plastic bag filled with white powder in his pocket, leading many to believe his death was associated with a drug overdose. By Tims’ own testimony, he was instantly delivered from drug addiction when he was saved.
At Tims’ funeral in August, Bishop T.D. Jakes said, “I thought I was the only one who knew how unhappy Zach was, how broken he was, how afraid he was if anybody was to see any flaw in him. He tried hard to heal himself, to fix himself … I don’t know what happened in that room in New York, but I can only hope that as Zach was dying, Dr. Tims stood up.”
