Dallas Minister Gives Up Pastorate : Wife Is in Coma After Attack; He Is Under Investigation

After surrendering his church credentials, a minister whose wife was beaten into a coma says he looks forward to serving God, “however that may be.”

Walker Railey said this week that increasing stress stemming from the attack on his wife and the subsequent investigation led him to voluntarily give up his credentials as an ordained minister.

“For the last four months, the burdens upon me have been tremendous as have the complexities and confusion of the situation surrounding my life,” he said in a prepared statement.

Refused to Cooperate

Railey has refused to cooperate with police but has denied knowledge of the April 22 attack that has left his wife, Margaret, in a coma. Police have filed no charges, but have questioned Railey’s account of his whereabouts on the night his wife was attacked at the couple’s Dallas home.

Bishop John Russell, who accepted Railey’s resignation, said he hoped the minister would find fulfillment in his future plans.

“I am deeply saddened concerning all the tragic events surrounding the Railey family,” he said.

The Rev. Erving Gathings, Russell’s administrative assistant, said the resignation was accepted with relief because of the growing controversy.

“He is apparently the only suspect there is that the police have for the strangling of his wife,” Gathings said. “There have been other allegations made, of course, that we haven’t any evidence on and we haven’t any signed accusations or anything like that. But the press, the papers, the television have been full of it.”

Officials of the First United Methodist Church, where Railey had been on leave of absence as senior minister, expressed sadness at the decision.

‘Great Loss to Church’

“It was something that was in the back of people’s minds as a possibility, but was not expected,” said Ralph Shannon, chairman of the church’s pastor-parish relations committee. “It’s a great loss to the church. It’s a very sad occasion--a very sad day.”

Shannon said he did not know what Railey planned to do. Railey was to have received his last salary payment last Monday.

Railey has said he was working late the night of the April 22 attack and returned to find his wife near death. Eight days later, he took an overdose of pills on the morning that police wanted to question him. He then entered a Dallas psychiatric hospital.

A Dallas County Grand Jury investigating the attack learned in July that Railey had been meeting with Dallas psychologist Lucy Papillon and had talked of marrying her, sources familiar with Papillon’s testimony have said.

Methodist clergymen recently asked Russell to order an investigation into Railey’s morals, but the bishop declined.

“The public in general could never understand that we had no proof, no evidence, no nothing,” Gathings said.