14 DAY TRIAL // The Pentecostal preacher Jamie Coots, made famous by the National Geographic reality series “Snake Salvation,” has died on Saturday following a snake bite from one of the snakes he was handling in his service.
The news comes via WBIR Kentucky which says that Coots died after an incident occurred at his Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name Church in Middlesboro, Kentucky.
The incident took place on Saturday evening and police and ambulance services did arrive on the scene some time later, but they were told the pastor had gone home. Local authorities are now saying that Coots initially refused medical treatment and when emergency workers got to his home later that night, he had already died from the venom.
Koot's son, Cody, said that this wasn't the first time his dad had been bitten in the snake-involved rituals. It turns out the reality star had been bitten eight times before and managed to survive them all without medical attention. This time, it turns out he had a far more severe reaction.
“Jamie went across the floor. He had one of the rattlers in his hand, he came over and he was standing beside me. It was plain view, it just turned its head and bit him in the back of the hand ... within a second,” says Cody Winn, another preacher present in the sermon.
Jamie Coots was part of a religious movement that claims the Bible states no man can come to harm from a poisonous snake bite as long as they are anointed by God's power. That is why the pastors handle live venomous snakes during their sermons to show their faith in God.
Cody Coots, Jamie's 21-year-old son, has promised to take up his father's parish and continue his snake-handling sermons in front of the entire congregation.
A representative for the “Snake Salvation” TV show said that they finished filming last year and National Geographic had no intention of returning for a second season.