Day 1 testimony in trial of man accused of killing local pastor reveals new details

TYLER, Texas ( KETK ) – The trial for a 25-year-old accused of killing a local pastor is shining new light into the bleak January morning that rippled through a tight-knit congregation.

Starrville Methodist Church was the site of a shooting that resulted in one death and two injuries on January 3, 2021. Pastor Mark McWilliams was fatally shot, his wife Rosemary was grazed by a bullet and parishioner Mike Sellers was shot six times.

Mytrez Woolen , now age 25, was a suspect in a drive-by in Marshall that occurred one day before the Starrville shooting on January 2, 2021. Authorities said he evaded police, crashed his car in the Starrville area and took refuge in the church overnight where he was discovered by the pastor the next morning.

A few church members were informed there was a suspect at large but probably out of the area as of Sunday morning, January 3, 2021.

Mark and his wife, Rosemary, arrived at church a little early that morning to do some copy machine maintenance. From the witness stand, Rosemary remembered hearing her husband find Woolen hiding in the bathroom.

Sellers arrived not long after that, taking an extra precaution in bringing his pistol with him given the chase that ended in the area the night before. He parked his motorcycle roughly 15-feet from the entrance and heard yelling immediately.

The pastor was in the fellowship hall with a gun pointed at Woolen who was kneeling on the ground, Sellers recalled. Mark instructed Woolen to “stay down” when Sellers walked in, then told Sellers to “call 911.”

Sellers went to his motorcycle and called 911, telling an operator they needed to respond quickly. While he was on the phone with 911, shouting was heard in the background and shots rang out.

Rosemary had picked up a hammer to defend herself, and turned around to set it back down when she thought the situation was handled, however a struggle broke out behind her. Rosemary said that when she turned back around, she saw Woolen shoot her husband twice.

Woolen approached another church member and demanded their car keys at gunpoint. After he was given the keys, he reportedly turned and saw Sellers near the doorway and shot at him twice.

Sellers was shot six times, and he said four of those shots were fired while he was running away from Woolen and the church.

Woolen fled the scene in the stolen vehicle, leading authorities on a chase before OnStar disabled the truck. By noon, authorities took him into custody in Harrison County.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KETK.com | FOX51.com.