Mary Florence (Flo) Barnett
Flo Barnett was the mother-in-law of
David Miscavige.
Declaration of Joyce Stephenson
Flo, in my opinion, took her life because
her physical state and impaired memory were intolerable. She
believed she would never fully recover and therefore would
not be able to regain the OT state because of possible brain
damage. Also she could not work or travel or keep her blood
pressure under control. Her Sea Org daughters, she felt,
hated her because she had left the fold. Her church had
deserted her by not handling her case as they constantly
assured her they could. She regretted working so much in the
past and spending a lot of this hard-earned money on
unnecessary auditing.
Fishman's press release on his legal battle
David Miscavige's mother-in-law, Mary Florence
"Flo" Barnett, died from four rifle shots, three to the chest
and one to the head. Originally classified as a "suicide," upon
closer inspection it was determined from the ballistics and the
height of Ms. Barnett that the wounds could not have been
self-inflicted. Evidence was collected that just one week prior
to her death, Ms. Barnett had threatened to sue the Church, and
was in contact with David Mayo, a former member who was an
avowed enemy of David Miscavige.
Furthermore, one of David Miscavige's sisters had committed
suicide after completing OT VII. Another sister left the church
and became a prostitute after starting the OT levels. David
Miscavige's own father was once arrested for rape.
Affidavit of
Vicki Aznaran (7 March 1994)
11. Flo Barnett's suicide was a scandal within
the inner circles of Scientology. This was not due to the fact
that she supposedly committed suicide, but due to the fact that
she had become a member of a declared. enemy group,
David
Mayo's Advanced Ability Center. She was receiving auditing
and assistance from this group and at the time of her death,
possessed a pack of the NED for OTS (secret upper level auditing
procedures) which were believed to have come from David Mayo's
group. Flo Barnett's membership in this group made her a
suppressive person as she was actively "squirreling" and a
member of a suppressive group. The fact that David Miscavige was
linked to her by familial ties was extremely repugnant to him
and to his wife, Michelle Miscavige.
David Miscavige's
comment upon her death was that "the bitch got what she
deserved." His wife Shelly, did not appear to feel
any different about it than David. I asked Shelly if she was
doing alright since receiving this bad news. She said that
personally she was doing just fine and that this was an
excellent opportunity to find out where the NED for OTs
materials had come from and to use it as leverage against
Mayo. She also stated that it was not surprising that this
happened to her mother since she had been "squirelling". The
circumstances of the deaths of both Flo Barnett and Yvonne
Jentzsch are very relevant to the issues in this case, as I
understand them to be.
Affidavit of
Hana Eltringham Whitfield (8 March 1994)
165. Flo was very depressed after her daughter
Shelley, Miscavige's wife, came to visit and ended up screaming
at Flo. Flo said, in several of our phone talks, that neither
Shelley or Miscavige cared a damn about her, and she was horrified into what monsters Scientology had turned her children.
However, she promised to call Shelley again and ask for
help.
Flo Barnett Coroner's Report
The decedent is a 52-year-old female who
suffered gunshot wounds (3) to the left upper quadrant and
one to the head, either as a result of a homicide or a
suicide on September 8, 1985. She was transported from
the scene (her residence) to the hospital by Goodhew
Ambulance #18 where death was pronounced by Dr. Webb at 2015
hours. There were two suicide notes found in the decedent's
bedroom. The weapon was recovered by LASO. The
decedent's husband, at the time of this report, was a
suspect due to the number of times the decedent was shot.
Some background on Flo Barnett's death
Here is a repost of some materials I have
on the death of Flo Barnett.