On the morning of May 21, 2006, a small church service at the Ministry of Jesus Christ on Dallas Drive in Baton Rouge became the scene of a domestic-violence shooting. Gloria Howard, 72, and her husband Leonard Howard were attending when Anthony Bell entered, sought reconciliation with his estranged wife Erica Bell, left, then returned armed with a revolver. Shots were fired at close range. Gloria and Leonard Howard were among the relatives targeted; two other family members were also killed and Pastor Claudia Brown was shot but survived.

Bell abducted Erica and their three children and drove away. At an apartment complex not far from the church, Erica Bell was found shot and died. Bell called 911 claiming his wife had taken her own life, but investigators say the scene and evidence did not support that account. Bell was arrested the same day; a grand jury later indicted him on multiple counts of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder for the pastor. The jury convicted him on all counts and imposed a death sentence with additional prison time for the attempted murder, with those rulings later moving into the appellate process.