BALTIMORE - The leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland said a bishop-elect charged in a drunken-driving death may also have been inebriated at a dinner months earlier, just days before her consecration as a bishop, according to a timeline released by the diocese.
The diocese leader relayed his concerns to the head of the national church, according to the timeline released Monday, which is the first indication church officials had concerns about alcohol misuse occurring after a 2010 drunken-driving conviction.
Bishop Heather Cook is facing manslaughter, drunken-driving and texting while driving charges after she fatally struck bicyclist Thomas Palermo in December in Baltimore while legally drunk. Palermo was a native of Riverton, N.J.
Prosecutors say Cook left the scene before returning and recording a breathalyzer reading of .22. The blood-alcohol content limit for driving in Maryland is .08.
Cook was convicted of drunken driving in 2010 on Maryland's Eastern Shore. That conviction was known to Diocesan Bishop Eugene Sutton and leaders of a search committee that vetted Cook and other candidates for the position of bishop suffragan.
The timeline initially reported Sutton suspected "Cook is inebriated during pre-consecration dinner" Sept. 4, and that Sutton conveyed "concern to presiding bishop." However, the diocese changed its description Tuesday of the event to a "private dinner" and reposted the timeline to its website. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori then "indicates she will discuss with Cook" the concern raised by Sutton, the timeline said. Jefferts Schori presided over Cook's consecration the morning of Sept. 6.
Neva Rae Fox, a spokeswoman for Jefferts Schori, declined to comment Tuesday because of a confidential church investigation.
The timeline said Bishop Clay Matthews of the church's Office of Pastoral Development met in October with Cook, but noted the details of that meeting are known only to Jefferts Schori's office.
Sutton acted correctly, said Sharon Tillman, a spokeswoman for the diocese, in bringing his concerns to Jefferts Schori, noting that Cook is under the authority of the presiding bishop.
Cook is free on $2.5 million bail and undergoing inpatient treatment. A hearing is scheduled for Friday in her criminal case.