Deaths by Scientology

Lisa McPherson

1959 – December 5, 1995

Lisa McPherson was a dedicated member of Scientology for over 18 years. In November 1995, McPherson was involved in a minor car accident that led her to the hospital for observation after she began taking off her clothes following the accident. While hospital staff recommended she stay for treatment and psychiatric care, when fellow Scientologists intervened on her behalf, she rejected therapy in favor of religious counseling with Scientology.

Scientologists took McPherson to the Flag Land Base where she underwent an Introspective Rundown, which kept her in an isolated room for the duration of her stay. Logs taken by her caretakers report her slowly degenerating both mentally and physically, becoming incoherent and violent while losing weight and developing sores. A Scientologist doctor recommended she be taken to the hospital, but her caretakers refused, fearful that she would be placed under psychiatric treatment.

Seventeen days after her accident, she arrived at a hospital 45 minutes away from the Scientology center without vital signs. After attempting to resuscitate her for twenty minutes, she was pronounced dead. The coroner reported that McPherson was severely underweight, dehydrated, and had various bruises, bedsores and cockroach bites along her body. The report determined that the cause of death was a blood clot in the veins caused by bed rest and severe dehydration.



Noah Lottick

1966 – May 11, 1990

Noah Lottick was a student and member of the Church of Scientology that paid several thousand dollars for religious courses and Scientology services. As time progressed, Lottick's friends and family noticed that he was developing some strange behavior, saying that his Scientologist teachers were telepathic and that his father's heart attack was caused by a neurotic illness.

On May 11, 1990, after having paid over $5,000 for Scientology services, Noah Lottick committed suicide by jumping off a 10-story hotel window, clutching in his hands the last remaining money Scientology wasn't able to take from him. In a press release made by the Church of Scientology's head of the Office of Special Affairs, Director Mike Rinder blamed Lottick's parents for the tragic death.



Elli Perkins

1949 – March 13, 2003

Elli Perkins was an artist and Scientologist who lived in New York as a senior editor for the Church of Scientology. Elli rose her son, Jeremy, in a Scientology home with her husband Don Perkins. They lived a happy life, moving to California in the 1980's where Elli worked for the Celebrity Center, until Jeremy reached the age of 24. It was then that changes began to be seen in Jeremy's demeanor.

Jeremy began showing signs of mental instability, telling his father that he heard voices in his head. Being a strong believer that psychiatry was evil, the Perkins decided to send Jeremy to the Sea Org for rehabilitation. But failing to treat his mental state, he returned to his parents after a few months. The situation just got worse from there, with Jeremy sinking deeper into schizophrenia according to a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation. Elli administered vitamins to her son, as prescribed by a Scientologist doctor. When Jeremy started becoming more aggressive, the director of her New York Scientology center told her to just give him busy-work in order to tire him out.

On March 13, 2003, Elli instructed Jeremy to take a shower while she went back to the kitchen to answer the phone. When he finished his shower, Jeremy took out a steak knife, finding her in the kitchen. Shortly after, he attacked her, stabbing her 77 times according to the autopsy report. Jeremy's statement to police records the mental process before the tragedy occurred, citing a failed suicide attempt in the shower right before. He was found not guilty by reason of mental instability and was committed to a secure facility.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, a Scientology representative on behalf of the Buffalo Church of Scientology stated that the incident was a PR nightmare for Scientology, as it showed not only the very real dangers posed by Scientology's ban on psychiatry, but that the promises held of the higher "OT" levels of Scientology are false. "Because you know, an OT is a super being. Nothing bad should happen to an OT," the representative explained.



Shawn Lonsdale

1968 – February 16, 2008

Shawn Lonsdale was a videographer that lived in Clearwater, Florida during his years as a critic of Scientology. Although never a Scientologist himself, he became critical of the Church when he had a run in with Scientologists during a city counsel meeting mid-2006. Shawn would often stand outside the Church of Scientology's headquarters in Clearwater filming the comings and goings of Scientology members while wearing a sandwich sign saying "cult watch." For the next couple of years, he was harassed by Scientology members in various ways.

Scientologists would often follow him in vans. In several cases, Scientologists would come out and even assault him, where they would be charged but not prosecuted. Scientology hired private investigators to find out about misdemeanor convictions for lewd and lascivious conduct he incurred in almost a decade before and posted flyers around businesses with his mug shot saying he was dangerous and had been arrested for sex crimes. Lonsdale's employer and landlord also received phone calls from Scientology representatives who said he was dangerous and a religious bigot.

On February 16, 2008, Shawn Lonsdale was found dead in his suburban home painted as an apparent suicide. A garden hose was found attached to his car's exhaust and fed into his bedroom window. Those who knew him say he had absolutely no reason to kill himself, that he had a stable job and was planning on going back to school to get licensed as a private investigator. A spokesperson for Scientology expressed their condolences, saying that it's "unfortunate anybody feels they have to go to that length."