By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Thursday, November 06, 2025

LaToshia Daniels, a woman on trial for the 2019 murder of Brodes Perry, who served as associate pastor at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis, Tennessee, claims he seduced her during a counseling session at a previous church and told her that he and his wife were in an open marriage.

Daniels, 46, is on trial for first-degree murder and attempted murder in the April 4, 2019, shooting at the Perrys’ apartment in Collierville, Tennessee. The late pastor’s widow, Tabatha Archie, testified in court on Tuesday that she met Daniels through a church in Little Rock, Arkansas. At the time, Perry, who blogged about his work, was serving as pastor of assimilation at Saint Mark Baptist Church in Little Rock.

“I am a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. I placed my faith, trust, and hope in Him at an early age, realizing that I was a sinner who deserved death, hell, and the grave. But by His amazing grace, and His finished worked [sic] on Calvary’s cross and in a Jerusalem cemetery has purchased my salvation,” Perry declared on his blog.

According to Court TV, Archie testified that prior to the shooting, she had considered Daniels a friend. Daniels’ attorney contended that the late pastor, who was 36 at the time of his death, seduced her during a counseling session for her divorce, then engaged her in a two-year affair. During the affair, he allegedly promised Daniels that his wife had given him her blessing to have relationships with other women because they were in an open marriage.

The pastor’s widow denies Daniels’ claim, but her defense attorney, Lauren Fuchs, played multiple video recordings of Perry discussing “ethical non-monogamy” with his mistress and stating that Archie had agreed to an open marriage.

“With Tabby being perfectly fine with how I’ve handled it… [being] honest and transparent … and trusting my judgment,” Perry told Daniels in one video recording where he explained the rules that governed his open marriage.

The late pastor further claimed in another recording that his wife had made an “exception” to their agreement for Daniels because they were not supposed to be involved with people from their hometown or Jacksonville.

According to Daniels’ attorney, Perry also recommended a book called The Ethical Slut about open marriages to her and shared that he was part of an “ethical non-monogamy” book club where he communicated with women via an app, Court TV reported.

Archie, however, insisted that she had made no such agreement with her late husband.

“To my knowledge, there was no relationship,” Archie told the court.

When asked about her late husband’s claims on the videos, Archie admitted they were compelling but said he was lying.

“He’s very convincing, would you agree?” Fuchs asked Archie about the video statements made by Perry.

“Yes,” she said. “None of it was true.”

Daniels was a licensed social worker and owned The Root Behavioral Health, specializing in anger management prior to the shooting.

Perry’s widow told the court that they were living in Tennessee for about six months when Daniels unexpectedly showed up at their home at around 9 or 10 p.m. on the night of the shooting.

She said even though she was surprised, she let her inside her home after she told her she was in town for a conference. Daniels' attorney argued that it was Perry who instructed her to lie to his wife about being in town for a conference. The defense also noted that Perry had told Daniels to meet him at his home so they could reveal their relationship to Archie.

About 10 minutes after Daniels arrived at the apartment, Perry showed up, but he immediately became “agitated,” according to Archie’s testimony. She said her late husband questioned Daniels’ visit, and after about 10 minutes of tense conversation, she said she would leave.

Archie said she led the way toward their door with Daniels and Perry following. When she got to the apartment stairs, however, she realized Daniels and her husband were not behind her.

“I see her pull out a gun and start shooting,” Archie recalled.

She said Perry fell to the floor and she tried shielding him with her body but Daniels ordered her to get out of the way. When she didn’t, Archie said Daniels shot her in the shoulder.

The pastor’s widow testified that his mistress repeatedly said, “You broke my heart.” She also said after the shooting that, “I didn’t mean to.”