Assault and kidnapping retrial for Word of Faith religious group leader
set in North Carolina
[September 28, 2026]
By JEFFREY COLLINS
An assault and kidnapping case against a leader of a secretive North
Carolina religious group appears to be finally returning to the
courtroom more than nine years after her first trial ended without a
verdict.
Word of Faith Fellowship leader Brooke Covington was first tried in 2017
on second-degree kidnapping and simple assault charges. Prosecutors said
she held down and beat a one-time member of the group more than 13 years
ago.
That case ended in a mistrial after the jury foreman brought his own
research into deliberations. Covington has maintained she is innocent.
In the meantime, the COVID-19 outbreak, a move to remove the original
prosecutor that ended with the suspension of the law license of the
attorney making the request, deaths or retirements of lawyers on both
sides and handing the trial to a new prosecutor in a new jurisdiction
have all delayed a new trial.
Covington's trial is set to begin Monday in Buncombe County, according
to court records. Both the new prosecutor and Covington's lawyer didn't
respond to messages seeking details about the trial.
Teen says church leaders held him down and beat him
Matthew Fenner joined Word of Faith as a teenager in 2010 with his
mother. He was at a service on the church’s compound in Spindale, North
Carolina, when members including Covington started what the church
called a “blasting” session on him, according to Fenner. Members held
him down and choked and beat him for two hours while others prayed to
expel “homosexual demons,” Fenner said.
Word of Faith is a nondenominational Protestant church that was founded
in 1979 by Sam and Jane Whaley in the foothills of the Blue Ridge
Mountains between Charlotte and Asheville. Members consider Jane Whaley
a prophet.
In 2017, The Associated Press published a series of stories about Word
of Faith that detailed former church members’ allegations of abuse. The
AP spoke to dozens of former congregants around the world, listened to
hours of secretly recorded conversations with church leaders, and
reviewed hundreds of pages of law enforcement, court and child welfare
documents.
Church denies abuse and says it is targeted by former members
Whaley has denied that she or other church leaders ever abused Word of
Faith members. She has also said that any discipline would be protected
by the Constitution’s freedom of religion tenet.
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Brooke Covington, a member of the Word of Faith Fellowship church in
Spindle, N.C., leaves a hearing at Rutherford County Courthouse in
Rutherfordton, N.C., May 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek, File)
The church said the allegations made to the AP were false and made
by “certain former members” out to target the church and that it
does not condone abuse.
The case was turned over to a special prosecutor after Fenner’s
lawyer accused District Attorney Ted Bell of siding with Word of
Faith in his handling of the case.
Allegations against prosecutor lead to suspension of law license
Attorney Andrew LaBreche said Bell didn’t investigate new evidence
or witnesses and made a deal to drop the felony kidnapping charge
against Covington.
Bell provided text messages and other evidence he refused to talk to
Word of Faith members when they tried to steer conversations toward
the assault cases.
Superior Court Judge William Stetzer not only denied LaBreche’s
request to remove the prosecutor, but in his order said LaBreche’s
“repeated acts of dishonesty and the significant harm to the legal
profession” led the judge to suspend his law license for three
years. He also awarded Bell legal fees.
LaBreche is appealing the ruling, and his suspension has been
delayed until his case can be heard.
Associated Press covered Word of Faith extensively
Word of Faith had about 700 members in North Carolina a decade ago,
but a sworn statement from a former church leader said membership
had now dwindled to about 300 to 400 people.
The AP reported that the church controlled almost every aspect of
their members’ lives, including who they married, what subjects they
studied in school and whether they could go to college. Members were
regularly slapped, choked and thrown to the floor during
high-decibel group prayer.
The AP investigation also found that the church and its hundreds of
followers controlled law enforcement and social services, preventing
fair investigations.
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