McPherson investigation should be finished soon
Times staff writer
©St. Petersburg Times, published December 7, 1997
CLEARWATER -- The 1995 death of Lisa McPherson has resulted in a two-year police investigation, a wrongful death lawsuit in Tampa and an increase in ill will between the Church of Scientology and its critics around the globe.
McPherson was a 36-year-old sales representative who moved from Dallas to Clearwater in 1994 with her employer, AMC Publishing Co., a Clearwater firm with strong ties to Scientology.
On Nov. 18, 1995, she rear-ended another vehicle in a minor traffic accident then stripped off her clothes and told paramedics she needed help. The paramedics took her to nearby Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater for a psychiatric evaluation.
A short time later, several Scientologists arrived and informed the medical staff that McPherson's religion did not allow her to receive psychiatric care. Her fellow Scientologists promised to care for McPherson and watch her 24 hours a day. McPherson signed herself out against medical advice and was taken to the Fort Harrison Hotel, the downtown centerpiece of Scientology's worldwide spiritual headquarters in Clearwater.
McPherson remained in the hotel for 17 days. According to church records, she was violent, incoherent and was given sedatives to help her sleep. She often refused to eat or drink and grew weak, the records say.
On the 17th day of her stay, church staffers said she had a sudden illness and drove her in a van to a Pasco County hospital where the emergency room doctor on staff was a Scientologist as well.
About 20 minutes later, McPherson was pronounced dead.
According to an autopsy from the office of medical examiner Joan Wood, the cause of death was an embolism or blockage in McPherson's left lung caused by severe dehydration and excessive bed rest.
Church attorneys agree McPherson died of an embolism but hotly dispute the causes listed by Wood. They also insist the media and church critics are making too much of the case and accuse them of being religious bigots.
McPherson had been a church member for 13 years. According to records, she had spent more than $175,000 on church services from 1991 until her death.
In February, McPherson's estate filed a lawsuit against the church. This week, the list of defendants was expanded to include McPherson's employer, the church staffers who cared for McPherson and the doctor who pronounced her dead.
Clearwater police and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement are expected to end their investigation this month and present their findings to Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe.