He preached the Bible, while allegedly harboring an evil secret.
Rev. James D. Burrus evangelized from the By Divine Purpose Christian Center on Staten Island for years, and by all appearances was a “man of God” who loved gospel music and his two daughters, always had a smile on his face, and never asked any of his followers for a dime.
He often hobnobbed with community leaders and cops, clergy of all denominations, and occasionally celebrities — once even meeting President George H.W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush, according to his own Facebook photos and friends’ accounts.
Burrus, 64, who founded the West Brighton ministry, built a life filled with prayer and scripture, surrounded by a small but loyal flock that met in a tiny garage-turned-church and referred to him as “bishop.”
So they were stunned when he was charged two weeks ago in the 1980 cold case murder of Brooklyn teenager Lorraine Snell.
In fact, some are still in disbelief.
“When I heard about this accusation, I knew it was bogus,” said Burrus’ longtime friend Robert Goins. “He knows a lot of people. A lot of political people and people know him.
“This man never says nothing negative, zero,” he continued. “It’s always character building, uplifting praise, worship, ‘serve the Lord,’ and spirit and truth.”
Goins, whose nephew is engaged to one of Burrus’ daughters, said he was a regular figure at anti-violence and youth outreach events across the city. The divorced Burrus is close to his daughters Krissy and Sasha, who are in their 30s, sources said. Neither could be reached for comment.
Less than two weeks before his arrest, the accused minister gave a motivational speech to students at PS 186 in the Bronx as part of a talent show, according to Goins. “He spoke to the kids about character building — obey your parents, keep good grades.”
Days later, the old friends were reunited at the Queens Casino Hotel for the Return of the Mack gala for rappers, musicians, producers and comedians. A Facebook photo shows the pair clad in smart suits and ties while posing with a group of well-dressed young people.
It would be the last time Goins saw his friend.
At 7:30 a.m. on March 12, three NYPD detectives knocked on the door of Burrus’ Staten Island church and asked him to come with them to Brooklyn’s 67th Precinct to discuss Snell’s murder, according to Trina Carollo, a worshipper who cleans the church.
Cops had questioned Burrus about Snell in the wake of her killing almost 40 years ago.
“He was like, ‘Not this again.’ And they were like, ‘Yes, we just need you to come down, you’ll be right back,’” Carollo recalled.
But he wouldn’t be back. When Burrus opened the door and stepped outside, 10 to 15 more cops were waiting, and he was cuffed and led away, Carollo said.
Even as he was being taken into custody, Burrus was oddly calm.
“I have never seen my bishop so at peace. I’m over here hysterical, and he was like, ‘Trina it’s going to be OK,’” she said.
Cops first eyed the minister in 1980 when he admitted he was the last to see 19-year-old Snell on Sept. 25, after the two left a party for her boyfriend at an East Flatbush catering hall together. Burrus told police he walked Snell part of the way home.
The teen’s strangled corpse was found the next day in the back of a station wagon owned by Burrus’ former boss and parked at a grocery store where he once worked.
Burrus, who was married to Snell’s cousin at the time, later confessed to robbing a cab stand on the night of the murder, and served four years in state prison for the crime.
But DNA evidence indicates he was up to more that night, police say. A recently-tested sample from underneath one of Snell’s fingernails apparently produced a match to Burrus.
Despite his checkered past, Burrus didn’t hide in the shadows.
He found religion in the slammer, he told PIX11 in 2014, “and now it’s just my life.”
On his Facebook page, he proudly advertised his ministry, and showed off photos of himself with public figures, from reality TV stars to the former president.
“That picture was taken at the Omni Hotel in Washington DC. Oh yeah that was a day to remember,” he captioned one undated image showing him sharing a laugh with President Bush and the the First Lady.
In another, he is pictured posing next to the late Staten Island “Mob Wives” star Angela “Big Ang” Raiola.
Despite his fresh incarceration, Burrus hasn’t stopped preaching.
“I heard his spirits are so high,” said Carollo, who spoke to one of Burrus’ daughters. “He’s still doing what he does in the street in the prison: he’s still ministering. His faith is unshakable, because he knows he is coming home because he didn’t do this.”