Post by hi224 on Nov 8, 2019 6:05:45 GMT
At 7:22pm on September 8, 1985, James Miller was sitting in his living room when he heard a shot coming from the bedroom. He ran to found out what was happening, and found his wife, dead.
There was a long-range rifle in her hand. She had been shot four times. Three times in the chest, and once in the head. The chest wounds were “superficial”, with only one doing any trouble. It broke a rib and punctured a lung. Another shot went through a breast implant. All three shots exited the body. The head wound, however, had killed her instantly. The entrance room was just above the right temple, and the exit wound was just above the left.
Aside from the four bullets that had passed through her body, there was a fifth casing. The bullet from that casing may have ended up in the trailer next door.
The detective in charge was Detective Havercroft. He was highly respected within the department. While the patrol deputy immediately suspected and wanted to arrest Miller for his wife’s death, Havercroft suspected that it might be a suicide.
Looking back at the case in an interview with the Village Voice in 2012, he noted that this kind of suicide was “typical of some women”. Particularly because she was very “obvious” in her intentions, shooting herself first in a very critical area, and leaving two suicides notes behind.
Barnett seemed like a woman at risk of suicide. She and her husband lived in a trailer park in Dominguez Hills. She had two daughters from her first marriage, Camille and Michelle, but she and Michelle frequently argued and did not have a close relationship. For the two years before the murder, Miller had been having trouble finding or keeping a job. They had been forced to declare bankruptcy, and did not have insurance.
Furthermore, she had been having health problems. To recover from a brain aneurysm, she had to have a surgery that caused “poor coordination” and “memory problems”. Though she was expected to make a full recovery, she privately told her daughter that she felt like she would never get better. Her daughter also said that she had seen her mother writing on a piece of paper but she had covered it as soon as the daughter entered the room, saying it was for her doctor. Even more damning, the daughter said that she once found her mother covered with blood, with her mother claiming it was just a nose-bleed.
I haven't seen any mention of this in an article, but at the time of her death she was taking a drug known as Aldomet (its full name is Methyldopa) to control her blood pressure and prevent seizures. Possible side-effects of Aldomet include depression or suicidal ideation. This may have compounded her depression.
She also complained about a pain in her head that would no go away, and that the doctor could not explain a cause for. Others described her as being “very scared of the pain”. She thought that someone was out to get her, and she began “seeing ‘things’”. Her daughter Michelle was not sympathetic, believing that her mother was pretending to be sick for attention.
Besides that, there were two suicide notes by the body. One for her husband and one for her daughter (presumably Camille, but it isn’t noted in the Coroner’s report that is available online). They were marked two days earlier, September 6. The body itself also had slashes on the wrist which appeared to be several days old. They were shallow and superficial, but noted by the coroner as “hesitation marks”. It’s been suggested that they could also have been freshly made.
Still, the number of shots was so suspicious that that night that Havercroft called a coroner to the hospital to take a look at the body. The coroner, Debra Kitchings, arrived at the hospital at 11:15pm, and later went to Barnett’s residence to look at the evidence there. Kitchings noted it as a "questionable suicide, possible homocide". She felt that the shots to the chest would not have kept Barnett from being able to shoot herself in the head.
However, since the initial report was filed, questions have been raised about the angle of the shots. How could a woman, who was only 5'3, shoot herself four times with a long-range rifle? Personally, looking through the report raised questions in my mind. How could a woman that short have held the gun and pulled the trigger in a steady enough fashion with a good enough angle to make an almost horizontal shot between her temples?
The original report also notes Miller hearing "a shot" before running to the other room. How could she had fired five shots, one of which did not hit her body and another one which she would have had to completely re-position a long, heavy gun for, before her husband was able to reach the room?
According to a letter written to the IRS in 1993, an LA medical examiner expressed concern about whether or not it was a homicide based on angle of the wounds, and referred it back to the sheriff’s department for further investigation. I can find no record of this online, though it could be that I don’t know how to find it.
In fact, the closest I can find to it comes from the Village Voice article that was published 19 years after the letter was sent. In the aforementioned Village Voice article there is also an interview with the original coroner, Debra Kitchings. While Kitchings did note that she thought that it was a suspicious death and could be a homicide, the fact that it was Detective Havercroft who investigated the death convinced her to lean on the side of it being a suicide. This was given in response to questions asked by the interviewer.
A note attached to the coroner’s report by whoever sourced it notes that it might have been a “mercy killing” by her husband, which could have caused the investigators to not probe too deeply. Another theory, which the police did not consider, was that she was murdered by her church. The church of scientology.
Her daughter Michelle, or Shelly, was (and, if she’s alive, still is) married to David Miscavige, the leader of scientology. Famously, Shelly has not been seen in public since 2007. Theories range from Miscavige murdering her to her being locked away in a remote scientology compound.
Barnett and her husband Miller had long been avid followers of scientology. Fifteen years before, Barnett and her first husband had sent their two daughters to live on the scientology flagship with founder L. Ron Hubbard (as part of the Sea Org). At the time, Shelly was twelve. She met David Miscavige on this ship.
During the 80s, scientology was in crisis. L. Ron Hubbard had retired from the organisation at the beginning of the 1980s, and a large rift soon appeared between older members of scientology, such as Barnett, and younger members of scientology, such as Miscavige.
Miscavige and his cohorts took over scientology in a way that was described as “brutally ruthless”. This included, at a 1982 scientology conference, suddenly taking the scientology franchise owners (“mission holders”), and forcing them, with the threat of violent reprisals if they tried to leave, to listen to numerous guest speakers introduce the new theology of scientology. During these lectures they were kept disoriented by bright, flashing lights. Between speakers Miscavige reportedly told them that for someone who left the church, “[Their] future is black. It is so black I can't even describe it right now.”
A transcription of the meeting was released to members of the Sea Org. Barnett confided in her friend Joyce Stephenson, who was also a high ranking and senior member of scientology, her unhappiness with the organisation.
Still, she stayed with the church. However, her resentment continued to grow. She had taken a course with a franchise owner who the church later disowned, and in 1982 it was demanded that she take an additional course that would be led by the new church powers. She refused, and changed her phone number to escape further “harassment”.
In 1983, Stephenson went to a talk given by a former-scientologist, Michael Flynn, who was planning to sue the church (which he did in 1984). He spoke about some of the most morally dubious actions of the G.O. (Guardian’s Office, the investigative arm of the church). This shook Stephenson’s faith in the church, and she called Barnett to confide in her. Barnett, who had earlier worked in the G.O., shared some stories of her time there and why she left.
In 1984, Barnett was “terribly unhappy” about something and asked Stephenson to do some auditing (a religious scientology ceremony, it was like a form that counselling that involved asking questions) for her. Stephenson attempted to help her, but was not able to. Barnett asked the church for help, but she was instructed to continue either self-auditing (which she did not find helpful), or to fly to church headquarters and pay $1000/hour to be audited.
Barnett began going to a woman named Julie Mayo, who worked at a splinter group that her husband ran called the Advanced Ability Center (AAC).
Barnett sued the church for money that she had paid in advance for auditing, as well as money she had paid for auditing that she felt did not help her.
The main church heard about this, and a man named Heber Jentch called Barnett and promised to help her with her mental state. He later sent his wife to convince her to come back to the church, and she agreed.
At first her mental state appeared to improve, but she began to bring up subjects that the auditor did not want her to speak about, and the auditing quickly became hostile and unproductive. She left the church again.
Immediately after this the pain in her head started, and she had the aneurysm that would require the surgery that left her in chronic pain. In her pain she turned back to the AAC for help, and seemed to find some relief again.
Sadly, this was when her husband began to have trouble finding a job, and she quickly ran out of money to pay for auditing at any scientological institution.
In her pain, she confided in another member of the church, Hana Eltringham Whitfield. Whitfield had herself suffered from depression while part of the church, and emphasized strongly with Barnett. Barnett told Whitfield that Shelly visited her a single time during her almost yearlong illness. Most of the visit was cordial, but it ended with Shelly finding an excuse to isolate Barrett. At which point she yelled at her and told her that the only way she would ever recover was if she returned to the church.
During this time, Barnett was very paranoid. She told both Whitfield and Stephenson that someone was after her, and that someone was out to “do her in”. She explicitly blamed the church for her illness and pain.
Barnett may have lied to both Whitfield and Stephenson about how involved she was with the splinter group AAC. She told Whitfield that she had gone once, and Stephenson that she had gone sporadically over a period of a year and a half. However, as former scientologist member Vicki Aznaran later stated, the church of scientology believed that Barnett was heavily involved with the splinter group and that she had materials for that group’s version of auditing.
Barnett’s involvement with the splinter group could have had real consequences for Miscavige. Barnett created a familial tie between Miscavige and a group opposed to the main church. This would have disqualified Miscavige from having a command position, at a time when he was attempting to position himself as the leader after L. Ron Hubbard.
This explains why there was such a concerted effort to have Barnett rejoin the church. It is possible that after she refused multiple times, Miscavige decided to have her killed so that she would no longer be an obstacle.
According to Aznaran, after her death David and Shelly Miscavige showed no signs of sadness. Shelly saw it from a pragmatic side, believing that it would be a good opportunity to lay hands on the splinter group’s documents for auditing. David Miscavige was more visceral about it, supposedly saying, “the bitch got what she deserved”.
In a strange twist, Aznaran would recant that affidavit just twelve days later. She claimed that parts of it were drafted by counsel in a way that took her words out of context. She also dropped her suit against the church. An internet poster by the name of Bob Minton alleged in 1999 that this was because it was a part of a deal that she signed with the Church of Scientology, which also involved a sizeable amount of money and a non-disclosure agreement.
The affidavits of Stephenson, Whitfield and Aznaran were all submitted as part of a larger affidavit created as part of a case that the church brought against former-members Steven Fishman and Uwe Geetz in 1994. Fishman was also the person who wrote the letter to the IRS in 1993 that alleged Barnett’s case would be re-opened. Fishman’s affidavit can still be found online, and contains other declaration from high-ranking members of scientology, as well as documents on the beliefs of the church.
So, was Barnett’s death a murder or a suicide?
Stephenson believed that it was a suicide, pointing out her poor mental state, her depression, her physical chronic pain, her strained relationship with her daughter, her financial insecurity, and her turmoil with her religion. Another interesting tidbit is that Barnett called Stephenson shortly before she committed suicide and suddenly sounded like she was in better spirits - which is one of the class symptoms of suicidal ideation.
Whitfield believed that it was a murder, using Miscavige’s desperation, the lack of gun powder on the body (how could a little lady hold the fun so far away?), and Shelly’s cold reaction as reasons. There have been ties made in the past between law enforcement of scientology, and Havercroft could have been corrupt. Or he could have overlooked the tie to the church entirely.
The third theory is that it was a mercy killing by her husband. It would explain both the mysterious circumstances, the suicidal ideation, and the laissez-faire attitude of the police. And the fact that, though there’s been so much attention put on her death in various (legal or non) documents, in thirty-five years since not a single ex-scientology member come forward admitting to having an active hand in the crime.
It’s doubtful we’ll ever have a conclusive answer, but the mystery does add an extra chill to the question, “Where is Shelly Miscavige?”
Links:
The coroners report: www.xenu-directory.net/mirrors/www.whyaretheydead.net/flo_barnett/coroner.html
The 1982 “Mission holders” meeting: www.xenu.net/archive/audit/missions.html
Sections of the Fishman Affidavit and related documents: www.xenu-directory.net/mirrors/www.whyaretheydead.net/krasel/aff_js86.html (Stephenson) www.xenu-directory.net/documents/whitfield19940308.html#165 (Whitfield) www.xenu-directory.net/documents/aznaran19940307.html#11 (Aznaran) www.xenu-directory.net/mirrors/www.whyaretheydead.net/krasel/aff_va94b.html (Aznaran’s recantment) groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.religion.scientology/_PXSIVeAS90 (Bob Minton on the recantment)
Village Voice Article: www.villagevoice.com/2012/01/25/the-strange-death-of-flo-barnett-mother-in-law-to-scientology-leader-david-miscavige/
Other sources/further reading: www.xenu-directory.net/mirrors/www.whyaretheydead.net/misc/Factnet/IRS1.TXT (1993 IRS Letter) www.xenu-directory.net/mirrors/www.whyaretheydead.net/flo_barnett/background.html (General overview) I CANNOT VERIFY THIS SOURCE AND THUS DID NOT INCLUDE IT IN THE MAIN WRITE-UP: exscn.net/forum/threads/tonyo-strange-death-of-flo-barnett.26066/page-2 (A woman on a forum claims to be Karen, the woman who convinced Barnett to rejoin scientology. She claims that she saw Barnett living in a gated community with a man who was not her husband (who was supposedly later questioned by police). This contradicts Stephenson, Whitfield, Camille Barnett, James Miller and Detective HavercrOft. Karen also claims that she had already chosen to kill herself, and it had nothing to do with Miscavige. There is no way to confirm her identity, but if it’s somehow true it adds a few layers) web.archive.org/web/20090703092228/http://www.sptimes.com/TampaBay/102598/scientologypart3.html (Further information on Miscavige) scientologymoneyproject.com/2018/08/31/lapd-hollywood-division-busted-caught-red-handed-with-scientology-kiosk-installed-in-its-premises/ (Link between LAPD and sociology, though the sheriff’s department is a separate organisation)
There was a long-range rifle in her hand. She had been shot four times. Three times in the chest, and once in the head. The chest wounds were “superficial”, with only one doing any trouble. It broke a rib and punctured a lung. Another shot went through a breast implant. All three shots exited the body. The head wound, however, had killed her instantly. The entrance room was just above the right temple, and the exit wound was just above the left.
Aside from the four bullets that had passed through her body, there was a fifth casing. The bullet from that casing may have ended up in the trailer next door.
The detective in charge was Detective Havercroft. He was highly respected within the department. While the patrol deputy immediately suspected and wanted to arrest Miller for his wife’s death, Havercroft suspected that it might be a suicide.
Looking back at the case in an interview with the Village Voice in 2012, he noted that this kind of suicide was “typical of some women”. Particularly because she was very “obvious” in her intentions, shooting herself first in a very critical area, and leaving two suicides notes behind.
Barnett seemed like a woman at risk of suicide. She and her husband lived in a trailer park in Dominguez Hills. She had two daughters from her first marriage, Camille and Michelle, but she and Michelle frequently argued and did not have a close relationship. For the two years before the murder, Miller had been having trouble finding or keeping a job. They had been forced to declare bankruptcy, and did not have insurance.
Furthermore, she had been having health problems. To recover from a brain aneurysm, she had to have a surgery that caused “poor coordination” and “memory problems”. Though she was expected to make a full recovery, she privately told her daughter that she felt like she would never get better. Her daughter also said that she had seen her mother writing on a piece of paper but she had covered it as soon as the daughter entered the room, saying it was for her doctor. Even more damning, the daughter said that she once found her mother covered with blood, with her mother claiming it was just a nose-bleed.
I haven't seen any mention of this in an article, but at the time of her death she was taking a drug known as Aldomet (its full name is Methyldopa) to control her blood pressure and prevent seizures. Possible side-effects of Aldomet include depression or suicidal ideation. This may have compounded her depression.
She also complained about a pain in her head that would no go away, and that the doctor could not explain a cause for. Others described her as being “very scared of the pain”. She thought that someone was out to get her, and she began “seeing ‘things’”. Her daughter Michelle was not sympathetic, believing that her mother was pretending to be sick for attention.
Besides that, there were two suicide notes by the body. One for her husband and one for her daughter (presumably Camille, but it isn’t noted in the Coroner’s report that is available online). They were marked two days earlier, September 6. The body itself also had slashes on the wrist which appeared to be several days old. They were shallow and superficial, but noted by the coroner as “hesitation marks”. It’s been suggested that they could also have been freshly made.
Still, the number of shots was so suspicious that that night that Havercroft called a coroner to the hospital to take a look at the body. The coroner, Debra Kitchings, arrived at the hospital at 11:15pm, and later went to Barnett’s residence to look at the evidence there. Kitchings noted it as a "questionable suicide, possible homocide". She felt that the shots to the chest would not have kept Barnett from being able to shoot herself in the head.
However, since the initial report was filed, questions have been raised about the angle of the shots. How could a woman, who was only 5'3, shoot herself four times with a long-range rifle? Personally, looking through the report raised questions in my mind. How could a woman that short have held the gun and pulled the trigger in a steady enough fashion with a good enough angle to make an almost horizontal shot between her temples?
The original report also notes Miller hearing "a shot" before running to the other room. How could she had fired five shots, one of which did not hit her body and another one which she would have had to completely re-position a long, heavy gun for, before her husband was able to reach the room?
According to a letter written to the IRS in 1993, an LA medical examiner expressed concern about whether or not it was a homicide based on angle of the wounds, and referred it back to the sheriff’s department for further investigation. I can find no record of this online, though it could be that I don’t know how to find it.
In fact, the closest I can find to it comes from the Village Voice article that was published 19 years after the letter was sent. In the aforementioned Village Voice article there is also an interview with the original coroner, Debra Kitchings. While Kitchings did note that she thought that it was a suspicious death and could be a homicide, the fact that it was Detective Havercroft who investigated the death convinced her to lean on the side of it being a suicide. This was given in response to questions asked by the interviewer.
A note attached to the coroner’s report by whoever sourced it notes that it might have been a “mercy killing” by her husband, which could have caused the investigators to not probe too deeply. Another theory, which the police did not consider, was that she was murdered by her church. The church of scientology.
Her daughter Michelle, or Shelly, was (and, if she’s alive, still is) married to David Miscavige, the leader of scientology. Famously, Shelly has not been seen in public since 2007. Theories range from Miscavige murdering her to her being locked away in a remote scientology compound.
Barnett and her husband Miller had long been avid followers of scientology. Fifteen years before, Barnett and her first husband had sent their two daughters to live on the scientology flagship with founder L. Ron Hubbard (as part of the Sea Org). At the time, Shelly was twelve. She met David Miscavige on this ship.
During the 80s, scientology was in crisis. L. Ron Hubbard had retired from the organisation at the beginning of the 1980s, and a large rift soon appeared between older members of scientology, such as Barnett, and younger members of scientology, such as Miscavige.
Miscavige and his cohorts took over scientology in a way that was described as “brutally ruthless”. This included, at a 1982 scientology conference, suddenly taking the scientology franchise owners (“mission holders”), and forcing them, with the threat of violent reprisals if they tried to leave, to listen to numerous guest speakers introduce the new theology of scientology. During these lectures they were kept disoriented by bright, flashing lights. Between speakers Miscavige reportedly told them that for someone who left the church, “[Their] future is black. It is so black I can't even describe it right now.”
A transcription of the meeting was released to members of the Sea Org. Barnett confided in her friend Joyce Stephenson, who was also a high ranking and senior member of scientology, her unhappiness with the organisation.
Still, she stayed with the church. However, her resentment continued to grow. She had taken a course with a franchise owner who the church later disowned, and in 1982 it was demanded that she take an additional course that would be led by the new church powers. She refused, and changed her phone number to escape further “harassment”.
In 1983, Stephenson went to a talk given by a former-scientologist, Michael Flynn, who was planning to sue the church (which he did in 1984). He spoke about some of the most morally dubious actions of the G.O. (Guardian’s Office, the investigative arm of the church). This shook Stephenson’s faith in the church, and she called Barnett to confide in her. Barnett, who had earlier worked in the G.O., shared some stories of her time there and why she left.
In 1984, Barnett was “terribly unhappy” about something and asked Stephenson to do some auditing (a religious scientology ceremony, it was like a form that counselling that involved asking questions) for her. Stephenson attempted to help her, but was not able to. Barnett asked the church for help, but she was instructed to continue either self-auditing (which she did not find helpful), or to fly to church headquarters and pay $1000/hour to be audited.
Barnett began going to a woman named Julie Mayo, who worked at a splinter group that her husband ran called the Advanced Ability Center (AAC).
Barnett sued the church for money that she had paid in advance for auditing, as well as money she had paid for auditing that she felt did not help her.
The main church heard about this, and a man named Heber Jentch called Barnett and promised to help her with her mental state. He later sent his wife to convince her to come back to the church, and she agreed.
At first her mental state appeared to improve, but she began to bring up subjects that the auditor did not want her to speak about, and the auditing quickly became hostile and unproductive. She left the church again.
Immediately after this the pain in her head started, and she had the aneurysm that would require the surgery that left her in chronic pain. In her pain she turned back to the AAC for help, and seemed to find some relief again.
Sadly, this was when her husband began to have trouble finding a job, and she quickly ran out of money to pay for auditing at any scientological institution.
In her pain, she confided in another member of the church, Hana Eltringham Whitfield. Whitfield had herself suffered from depression while part of the church, and emphasized strongly with Barnett. Barnett told Whitfield that Shelly visited her a single time during her almost yearlong illness. Most of the visit was cordial, but it ended with Shelly finding an excuse to isolate Barrett. At which point she yelled at her and told her that the only way she would ever recover was if she returned to the church.
During this time, Barnett was very paranoid. She told both Whitfield and Stephenson that someone was after her, and that someone was out to “do her in”. She explicitly blamed the church for her illness and pain.
Barnett may have lied to both Whitfield and Stephenson about how involved she was with the splinter group AAC. She told Whitfield that she had gone once, and Stephenson that she had gone sporadically over a period of a year and a half. However, as former scientologist member Vicki Aznaran later stated, the church of scientology believed that Barnett was heavily involved with the splinter group and that she had materials for that group’s version of auditing.
Barnett’s involvement with the splinter group could have had real consequences for Miscavige. Barnett created a familial tie between Miscavige and a group opposed to the main church. This would have disqualified Miscavige from having a command position, at a time when he was attempting to position himself as the leader after L. Ron Hubbard.
This explains why there was such a concerted effort to have Barnett rejoin the church. It is possible that after she refused multiple times, Miscavige decided to have her killed so that she would no longer be an obstacle.
According to Aznaran, after her death David and Shelly Miscavige showed no signs of sadness. Shelly saw it from a pragmatic side, believing that it would be a good opportunity to lay hands on the splinter group’s documents for auditing. David Miscavige was more visceral about it, supposedly saying, “the bitch got what she deserved”.
In a strange twist, Aznaran would recant that affidavit just twelve days later. She claimed that parts of it were drafted by counsel in a way that took her words out of context. She also dropped her suit against the church. An internet poster by the name of Bob Minton alleged in 1999 that this was because it was a part of a deal that she signed with the Church of Scientology, which also involved a sizeable amount of money and a non-disclosure agreement.
The affidavits of Stephenson, Whitfield and Aznaran were all submitted as part of a larger affidavit created as part of a case that the church brought against former-members Steven Fishman and Uwe Geetz in 1994. Fishman was also the person who wrote the letter to the IRS in 1993 that alleged Barnett’s case would be re-opened. Fishman’s affidavit can still be found online, and contains other declaration from high-ranking members of scientology, as well as documents on the beliefs of the church.
So, was Barnett’s death a murder or a suicide?
Stephenson believed that it was a suicide, pointing out her poor mental state, her depression, her physical chronic pain, her strained relationship with her daughter, her financial insecurity, and her turmoil with her religion. Another interesting tidbit is that Barnett called Stephenson shortly before she committed suicide and suddenly sounded like she was in better spirits - which is one of the class symptoms of suicidal ideation.
Whitfield believed that it was a murder, using Miscavige’s desperation, the lack of gun powder on the body (how could a little lady hold the fun so far away?), and Shelly’s cold reaction as reasons. There have been ties made in the past between law enforcement of scientology, and Havercroft could have been corrupt. Or he could have overlooked the tie to the church entirely.
The third theory is that it was a mercy killing by her husband. It would explain both the mysterious circumstances, the suicidal ideation, and the laissez-faire attitude of the police. And the fact that, though there’s been so much attention put on her death in various (legal or non) documents, in thirty-five years since not a single ex-scientology member come forward admitting to having an active hand in the crime.
It’s doubtful we’ll ever have a conclusive answer, but the mystery does add an extra chill to the question, “Where is Shelly Miscavige?”
Links:
The coroners report: www.xenu-directory.net/mirrors/www.whyaretheydead.net/flo_barnett/coroner.html
The 1982 “Mission holders” meeting: www.xenu.net/archive/audit/missions.html
Sections of the Fishman Affidavit and related documents: www.xenu-directory.net/mirrors/www.whyaretheydead.net/krasel/aff_js86.html (Stephenson) www.xenu-directory.net/documents/whitfield19940308.html#165 (Whitfield) www.xenu-directory.net/documents/aznaran19940307.html#11 (Aznaran) www.xenu-directory.net/mirrors/www.whyaretheydead.net/krasel/aff_va94b.html (Aznaran’s recantment) groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.religion.scientology/_PXSIVeAS90 (Bob Minton on the recantment)
Village Voice Article: www.villagevoice.com/2012/01/25/the-strange-death-of-flo-barnett-mother-in-law-to-scientology-leader-david-miscavige/
Other sources/further reading: www.xenu-directory.net/mirrors/www.whyaretheydead.net/misc/Factnet/IRS1.TXT (1993 IRS Letter) www.xenu-directory.net/mirrors/www.whyaretheydead.net/flo_barnett/background.html (General overview) I CANNOT VERIFY THIS SOURCE AND THUS DID NOT INCLUDE IT IN THE MAIN WRITE-UP: exscn.net/forum/threads/tonyo-strange-death-of-flo-barnett.26066/page-2 (A woman on a forum claims to be Karen, the woman who convinced Barnett to rejoin scientology. She claims that she saw Barnett living in a gated community with a man who was not her husband (who was supposedly later questioned by police). This contradicts Stephenson, Whitfield, Camille Barnett, James Miller and Detective HavercrOft. Karen also claims that she had already chosen to kill herself, and it had nothing to do with Miscavige. There is no way to confirm her identity, but if it’s somehow true it adds a few layers) web.archive.org/web/20090703092228/http://www.sptimes.com/TampaBay/102598/scientologypart3.html (Further information on Miscavige) scientologymoneyproject.com/2018/08/31/lapd-hollywood-division-busted-caught-red-handed-with-scientology-kiosk-installed-in-its-premises/ (Link between LAPD and sociology, though the sheriff’s department is a separate organisation)
