Scientology Suicides

General information

 * Scientology and Suicide This is from Fact.net.
 * 2 A notepaper that is hard to read about suicide

Quotes
"I don't care if Elaine Wright commits suicide or not; but get her off my land before she does." -- L. Ron Hubbard

"In my opinion, this completely looks like the road to OT leads to suicide." John Peeler (BTS2Free)

"... the interesting bit here being mention of a 'train suicide' and 'defamation'. (Suicides and defamation always being hot topics around Scientology.) Mr Bartnik is the Community Relations Officer or whatever it is (mail me if you have his correct title) for Australia; evidently he started in Perth. The address book is part of the pile of stuff "The Squirrel" found out the back of the Perth org several years ago. This GIF is 163K; you are encouraged to take a copy for safekeeping." (text)

"I went to the police department then and, in fact, I did fear for my life. I got scared, and I did get scared, because it's a known fact that there are a lot of suicides connected with Scientology. I didn't want to be one of them." Robert Hartwell

Suicide attempts
"A staff member from Italy started to dramatize psychosis heavily after being exposed to some OT materials in the SO-1 unit. She was locked up and given some auditing by interns. She attempted suicide several times and blew the F[lag]L[and]B[ase]. When found to be raving mad by Clearwater policemen, they invoked the Baker act and locked her up for several days. A few days after her release, and her return in Italy, she jumped from the 3rd floor. She became permanently and totally handicapped as a result from this failed suicide attempt. ... (Laurent Theberge) who was a class IV auditor attempted suicide 3 times AFTER TRAINING to Class IV." Pierre Ethier (11, 12)

"... during the scientology suit, a letter from a family has been read by the Court's president near the end of the suit -Paris 1977. The guy had cut his wrists, and had left a letter saying "Go to scientology, you'll understand everything"."

Vulnerable people recruited
There is a suggestion that at least one Scientologist actively tries to recuit suicidal people. Scientology advertising clearly shows that they work to recruit vulnerable people.

Scientologists ordered/induced to kill themselves
The Japanese Samurai were totally unconnected with Scientology, but the tradition of Sepuku, which poignantly shows how far human beings can be brainwashed to kill themselves.

According to the Scientology Critical Information Directory an order to kill oneself is called EOC (End of Cycle).

Steven Fishman

"Fishman told the court that he had committed crimes on behalf of the Church. He also attested that he was assigned to murder his psychologist, Dr. Uwe Geertz, and then commit suicide."

Aparently Exit counselling prevented Steven Fishman carrying out the order. 

Unnamed victim of Jeff Walker

"After Jeff read the errors in the folder, he threw open the 10th floor windows next to his desk [which had no screens], pointed outside and commanded her to jump. She talked about the incident for years afterwards, claiming she barely had enough self-control to withstand his control."

This from the, “Quentin Hubbard Coroner's Report, Death Certificate and Commentary” also suggests that Scientologists are sometimes ordered to kill themselves.

Spain

"And the cult is in the dock in Spain too. Twenty-one Scientologists, including the Church's international president, Heber Jentzsch have been indicted for crimes, including tax evasion and inducement to suicide."

Unconfirmed post

I know people who were labelled "illegal pc's" because of past mental health care who fully believed that they should "get a new body and start over again". ... They didn't get those ideas all on their own! 

This post on a discussion forum also suggests that people with mental health problems may be ordered to kill themselves.

Hubbard actually suggests suicide
While most Scientology teachings do not promote suicide (...), at least one course does seem to suggest suicide. In the Route to Infinity course, which consists of several taped lectures, Hubbard discusses something called Technique 88. In one lecture, he says: "... Technique 88 takes the body away. In another lecture in the same course, he says: "And by the way, people who do run 88 have to furnish their own coffins! We won't furnish those here. You also have to leave a suicide note for the police."

While hundreds of Scientologists have done this course and nearly all of them are still alive, the statement still troubles me. 

Video of a Scientology stress test
A Hidden Camera Scientology Stress Test revealed a Scientologist asking a non-Scientologist who was given a stress test, “What problems would death be a solution for? That’s my question.” A little later the scientologist said, “Start, change, stop, that’s good control.” Is that related to the high suicide rate among those connected with the cult? Did anything similar happen to Kaja Ballo?

Possible mass suicide
Magery Wakefield, former long term Scientologist fears a mass suicide may happen. Magery Wakefield has described herself as a typical Scientologist though she was in Scientology for ten years and was not typical of short term Scientologists.

"I believe Scientology to be one of the most, if not the most, vicious of the three thousand or so cults in the United States today. I believe that many Scientologists, if they should come to know that their mission on planet Earth is doomed to failure, would willingly commit suicide on command. There are rumors that one of the secret upper levels contains suicide training. If this is true, Jonestown would pale in comparison with the potential for disaster in Scientology."

By contrast another observer calling himself shy David feels that most Scientologists leave relatively soon and are not under sufficient mind control to follow orders to take their own lives.

"Despite there being no classical earmarks of the likelyhood of mass murder/suicides, there does seem to be a set of requirements that cult followers adhear to before such incidents happen. Scientology holds most of these requirements except for one; a major one: followers are usually in the criminal cult for less than 2 years. There's a constant flow of financial swindles and victims of fraud among the 99% of the rubes that come in, empty their pockets, twigg to the fraud, and then move on, poor but much wiser."

Those who undergo upper level training which is rumoured to include suicide training have been in the cult sufficiently long so they might carry out orders to kill themselves. The rank and file may be less at risk of suicide though whether they would be murdered is a different question.

The dead cannot tell us.
We can no more than guess if any of those appearing on the list below were following Scientology orders, the dead cannot tell us.

Below are known Scientology suicides in alphabetical order, many Scientologists have simply disappeared without trace and we can no more than guess their fates.

A-F

 * A--, Oscar
 * "Oscar A. ... was a psychically unstable person who turned to Scientology looking for help. Verified that the "therapy" was totally unuseful, he decided to leave, but was victim of telephone persecution in order to make him change his mind, psychological threats etc., and he finally hanged himself on 21.9.1987, after his psychological and physical conditions had worsened very much."


 * Albert, Alan
 * Alan Albert committed suicide, when his wife of many years, Jerrye, left him because he left the church. 1


 * Andersson, Göran
 * "Göran had been on staff in Sweden for many years, later he joined the Sea Org in Copenhagen. I think he hanged himself about five years ago ('95/'96)."


 * Arroyo, Jorge
 * Jorge Arroyo "had a crush on the RTC Rep at the Ship, Lurie Belotti. When Belotti found out, she nixed that and pursuant to her trained in DM Reverse Scientology policy, had him sent to Ethics to be handled rough and tough. Jorge took a sheet and hung himself to death at the Freewinds." 1


 * Austin, Daniel
 * Dec 1st 2015, a Scientologist, Daniel Austin was found dead off the coast of Clearwater, FL. His death was an apparent suicide. "Clearwater Police Department identified the man as Daniel James Austin, 60. Austin was reported missing by a family member on Monday after he did not show up for work. His belongings were later discovered at Clearwater Beach." He was 1 week away from his scheduled trial in Atlanta GA. for child pornography charges against him.  Daniel was a former staff member of the Atlanta Church of Scientology and a 30 year member of the church.


 * B--, Massimo


 * "Massimo B., mentally ill (cronicized psychotic syndrome of schizofrenit type) ... turned to Scientology looking for help. He had already been hospitalized, but unidentified Church of Scientology staffers assured him that thanks to a "therapy" called "purification" he would 100% improve. He instead worsened very much and run away the very first day, but was convinced to go back to sauna. He run away again, and tried to commit suicide cutting his veins."


 * Baker, David
 * David Baker reached OT III, East Grinstead, England, suicide, 1984 1


 * Ballo, Kaja
 * Kaja Ballo was a foreign language student at Nice University who totally lost confidence in herself after a devastating report on her personality based on the Scientology test. She jumped from a high window killing herself a few hours later. 1 2


 * Barnett, Mary Florence (Flo) (surname also Miller)
 * Mary Flo, the mother-in-law of current Church of Scientology leader David Miscavige, was found dead with three rifle wounds to her torso and one rifle wound to her head. She was 5'3" tall. 2 3 4


 * Bashaw, Gregory Sherwood
 * Greg Bashaw (46), OT VII, committed suicide June 23rd 2001: pulled onto the shoulder of a road in Montcalm County, northeast of Grand Rapids. Using duct tape, he attached a hose to the exhaust pipe of his Honda, then ran it through the passenger window, sealing off the opening with a towel. He reclined in the passenger's seat, folded his arms across his chest, and breathed in a lethal dose of carbon monoxide. He left a note for his dad, wife and son: "The fact that it did not 'pay off' has been an exceptionally bitter pill to swallow. The fact that at the end of the road I ended up in worse shape than I'd ever been in my entire life...well, that has been completely unreconcilable with any concept of reality." 2


 * Bidlingmaier, Eva
 * Eva Bidlingmaier (28), was found in a bath electrocuted with a hair-dryer and a heater under her body on February 24, 2001. As a Scientologist in Stuttgart she had, six days before her suicide, a Scientology "life counselling talk." 1


 * Blake, Jeremy
 * Jeremy Blake (35) committed suicide by drowning in the sea off New Jersey on 17 July 2007. He “went to join the lovely Theresa”. They both believed they were being harassed by Scientology; a possible reason is their friendship with Beck and his wife, which Beck has denied. But opinion remains sharply divided about the role of Scientology in this affair.


 * Bogen, Dale Susan
 * Dale Susan Bogan died of strychnine poisoning in November 1984. Her death was so dreadful that the manipulators told her friend she had died of CO poisoning in her car, after blocking the exhaust with a rag. In fact she swallowed gopher poison, and if you block a car exhaust with anything the engine immediately stalls. In 1984 she had done the Introspection rundown – isolation and vitamins – Hubbard’s cure for psychosis – at ASHO. 1


 * Borowsky, Bob
 * "Bob Borowski ... was a staff member at New York Org. A supervisor and auditor. He did all of the bridge in New York through dianetics case completion. He was a very calm, at the moment, caring person. He finished his staff contract and went out to L.A. and went from Clear through OTVII. When he returned to Upstate New York where his wife was waiting for him, he loaded a shotgun and stuck it in his mouth and blew his head off." 1


 * Boucher, John H.
 * "John had been told, after 25 years [in Scientology], that he was an 'illegal pc' because he was a security risk. He commited suicide on Sunday, May 6, 2001, believing that he would come back in another body and be able to get auditing. He wanted Scientology so much... he wanted it more that he wanted life." 1 2


 * Bouck, Kristi
 * Kristi Bouck (26) on June 6, 2018, was found dead of a gunshot wound to the chest, just a few days after she and her boyfriend arrived at a rental house in the town of Dunedin, near Clearwater where her boyfriend was reportedly planning on going from Clear to OT 3, Kristi who herself had reached the level of Clear in 2015, had since had bouts of depression, a lack of working financial issues, and had attempted suicide the year before according to her suicide note. The Pinellas County medical examiner’s report determined that she committed suicide. 1 2


 * Brackett, Steve
 * Steve Brackett, ex-husband of Nancy Cartwright, leaped to his death from the Highway 1 Bixby Bridge on the Big Sur Coast, May 28, 2009. Brackett had run into trouble on various construction projects and recently lost several arbitration settlements, one of which cost him $300,000. He was scheduled to go to Flag, Scientology’s top church, soon, as a plane ticket had been purchased. He died from injuries suffered after the nearly 200-foot fall from the bridge. 1


 * Breedlove, John
 * John Breedlove was at Flag Land base in the 1970s. He told his mother he had been told by Scientology to commit suicide and that Scientology could get anyone to commit suicide if they wanted. He killed himself after he left Scientology.


 * Brennan, Kyle
 * "Kyle Brennan was suffering from clinical depression and his Scientologist father removed his medication which was Lexapro. With his depression not properly treated Kyle Brennan shot himself.

"The Web site for Lexapro warns users not to go off their medication suddenly, even if they are feeling better. Changes in dosage, it says, can cause patients on antidepressants to worsen their depression, show signs of mood changes and exhibit thoughts of suicide."


 * Kyle was found unconscious and there was a delay of over forty minutes before an ambulance was called. 1 2 3


 * Brown, Lila Leighton
 * San Francisco, suicide, 1978 1


 * Buchanan, John
 * "John Buchanan, after 3 years in Scientology, "accrued huge debts to several Munich banks to buy [Scientology] courses and materials, and committed suicide in May 1994 to escape his debts."


 * Bufanda, Brad
 * Brad Bufanda (34) aka Fred Joseph Bufanda, Brad Joseph, jumped to his death at midnight November 1, 2017, from the roof of a 13-story apartment building, one of 18 towers that make up the iconic Park La Brea housing complex on the west side of Los Angeles just four days after claiming to a friend that Scientology “cured me of everything…and took me to new heights as an athlete. Regardless of what happens, I owe them my life. I’d be be dead or in jail without them.”
 * Brad often talked about reincarnation, and specifically that he believed his next life would be better than this one. “Brad had been spewing this stuff for years,” Angelo Pagan said. “That he was going to drop his body and come back. And that he’d have more success in the next life.” 1


 * C--, Casper
 * Casper was a Sea Org member. His wife, Alice Miller C-- (q.v.), also a Sea Org member, was dying of cancer. "He was so torn up, he committed suicide in his car (1996)." 1


 * Cancela, Joao
 * Joao (32) committed suicide by hanging himself, at the 16th August 1994, after being arrested for killing Maria do Rosario Almeida (q.v.). He stated he had fired the shots (which also injured another person) due to "intense antipathy to the Church of Scientology doctrine".


 * Carlton, Mark
 * "[Mark] was being audited by Diane [deleted] in Seattle. I dated him while his "symptoms" were occurring. He complained of shaking and hallucinations at which point he was given the MO prescription for cal-mag. He was being audited on his grades. He jumped off the Aurora Bridge in Seattle. I had not seen him for a couple months prior to the suicide and found out about it via the paper. I was very upset that "Diane" had not told me- as she must have known. When I questioned her about his suicide and why it had happened she just said she was sorry."


 * Carroll, Alison
 * Alison Carroll (37), hung herself upstairs in the same house a Scientology school, Carroll-Rees Academy, was run by her mother. “Alison hadn’t been involved in Scientology since she was about eight years old. She worked for Scientology schools, and so she did the Student Hat and the Purif later, for job reasons,” her sister Sarah says, referring to the Purification Rundown, a sauna-and-vitamins regimen that Scientologists are required to submit to.


 * “But I think that her only support system being Scientologists — her parents were trying to make her deal with her alcoholism by taking vitamins and reading L. Ron Hubbard — was probably a contributing factor. If her family and the people around her weren’t involved in Scientology, she might have been more open to mental health care” 1


 * Cary, Helen
 * "[D]ianetics instructor David Cary, 29, had tried to cure his depressed wife of a suicide mania. He saved her life several times, thought she was responding to treatment. Final cure: She shot him to death, then killed herself." 2


 * Cassisu, Maude
 * suicide 1


 * Cassowitz, Jeremy
 * Jeremy Cassowitz (sp.?) a young person who hung himself; he was on auditing lines at the time.


 * Cocchetti, Giuliano
 * Giuliano Cocchetti, OT 8, committed suicide


 * Coco, Richard
 * Richard (Rick) Coco or Cocco – had an incurable crack habit: In November 2002 “A suburban West Palm Beach man fatally shot himself at 4:15 p.m. on the beach just north of Coral Cove Park near the Martin County line, said Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Diane Carhart. Witnesses said the man, identified as Richard Cocco, 47, shot into the water before taking his own life.”


 * Colletto, John
 * John Colletto murdered his wife, Diana (q.v.), also a Scientology Sea Org staff member. "John ran off and was found dead himself a few days later for self-inflicted wounds from the same gun he used to kill his wife." 2 3 4 5 (41) 6 7


 * Collins, Richard
 * Richard Collins(24), "threw himself 200ft to his death after a religious cult refused to let him leave, an inquest heard. Even after Richard had died, the harassment continued." The "religious cult" was Scientology. 2


 * Conway, Roger
 * Roger Conway, Holly House (a rooming house for scientologists), 18T St. N.W., Washington DC, suicide February 24, 1966. 1


 * Cooper, Paul
 * Paul Cooper, New Zealand, suicide 1998.


 * Cooper, Ross
 * Ross Cooper committed suicide circa 1988.


 * Craine, Steven
 * Steven Craine (or Crane) is reported to have committed suicide at East Grinstead.


 * Crivello, Al 
 * Al was AG-F AOLA, apparently kicked off staff after funds were pillaged and sent to the GO. "Nobody told me why. I had an idea, because I had just finished the OEC.
 * AOLA's entire reserves had been ripped off and sent to the GO. The stats had been falsified to cover this up. I don't think Al had been directly involved with this, but I think the GO didn't want anyone to know and maybe Al had said something. Seems the money wasn't even spent on legal - only a small portion - but actually went to the former ED Int (not Guillaume, the one before him)." "It was years later that I found he was kicked off staff and found hanging in his apartment" from http://www.forum.exscn.net/showthread.php?15217-A-Memorium-to-Al-Crivello 1


 * Crundall, Leigh (maiden name)
 * Leigh was a member of the former G.O. (Guardian's Office). She was denigrated and overworked into a breakdown. "I saw a piece in the EG Observer telling how she has hung herself. She'd gone into the library and got out a book on knots, then went to a hardware store and bought some rope and hung herself from the bannister in her home." 1


 * "Davis, Mark"
 * Second generation South African who killed himself in his early twenties, sometime early 1990's.


 * Deplano, Roberto
 * Roberto Deplano (20), "put an end to his existence jumping from the 8th floor. 2


 * Dewhurst, Dave
 * "Dave had a ethics suppressive order on him at the time. Dave's body was found on the grounds of Elsie Griffiths's franchise - a[n] apparent suicide (hose pipe connected to the exhaust - his body was in the back seat".


 * Docherty, Peter
 * Peter Docherty (54) was found dead at Ealing Broadway station on January 7, 2015. He was heavily involved in Scientology for more thaqn ten years, giving money and working for them for free. His ex-wife Julie said, "He became involved in Scientology, I felt he changed after he became involved in Scientology. He said he wanted Marc to get involved I said I didn't want this. He started getting paranoid. Leaflets were left on the floor. Next thing I heard was that he had stepped in front of a train." 1


 * Doucette, Gay 
 * suicide, about 1981 1


 * Douglas, Martina
 * Martina Douglas of East Grinstead, committed suicide while on lines at Saint Hill, UK. 1


 * Dries, James
 * James Dries (20+) Shot himself to death–disconnection situation with one parent in, one out.💔 1


 * Duggan, Louisa
 * Louisa Duggan, daughter of Dr. Megan Shields, suicide, hanging, November 14 2004 1


 * Duncan, Theresa
 * Theresa Duncan (40), a celebrity who believed herself harassed by Scientologists, died from a drug overdose on 10 July 2007. A week later her long-time boy-friend Jeremy Blake (35) drowned himself in the hope of rejoining her. They were friendly with Beck and his wife. Theresa claimed Beck wanted to escape from the cult. Opinion remains divided about the role of Scientology in this affair.


 * Dwyer, Nathan
 * Nathan Dwyer (22), was a Narconon intern in Caliente, Nevada, and went on a leave of absence with his family for one day and ended up using cocaine. They kicked him out even after he begged to stay because if he went home he would overdose. Nathan died a week later in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. The Medical Examiner lists the cause of death as Acute Mixed Drug Intoxication. 1


 * Edge, Don
 * Don Edge, suicide, New Zealand


 * Eltringham, Glen
 * Glen Eltringham, a second generation Scientologist, attended Delphi LA manifested signs of depression (possibly bi-polar) in his mid 20's had difficulties holding down a job, moved back in with his parents, retreated inward even more. Parents tried to handle with auditing. Committed suicide at age 26 or 27 1


 * End, Wolfgang
 * Wolfgang End (57), a long-time member of the Guardian's Office until the early 1980s, was reported missing in April 2009. His corpse was discovered only on 13th April 2010 on the outskirts of Fürstenfeldbruck - it must have been there for months. His last life sign dated July 2, 2009, when End was logged under his artist name James Blackforest. 1


 * The suicide trigger was obviously an announced foreclosure and tax fraud. In a farewell letter, End accused the financial authorities of having strangled him.


 * Ezekiel, Rita
 * "Rita committed suicide in March by inhaling car exhaust fumes in a garage." She was a dedicated Scientologist and would not seek medical help for her depression. 1 2


 * Flores, Ruben Joseph, Sr.
 * Ruben Joseph Flores Sr. from McKinney Texas, prominent fast food owner, committed suicide on 28 March 2002 after being sent for Scientology Ethics handling


 * Franklin, Hugh
 * suicide 1


 * Frei, Peter Ernst
 * Peter Ernst Frei (37), from Switzerland, drowned at Clearwater in June 1988 while staying at the Fort Harrison Hotel. 1


 * Friedlich, Michael
 * Michael Friedlich (18), committed suicide end September 2006. It is said that his mother was advised to get Michael psychiatric evaluation for his “severe, chronic depression” but she was, and is, a Scientologist and so did not bother. She has been heard to say that her son’s suicide was “OK” because he “was obviously indwelt by an undesirable that the faith was unable to cleanse.”

G-L

 * Gale, Philip C.
 * Philip C. Gale committed suicide on Friday 13 March 1998 (Ron Hubbard’s birthday) by jumping out of the window of a 15th floor classroom 1


 * Gluchacki, Carole
 * Carole Gluchacki suicided, after 1980


 * Green, Alan
 * Alan Green committed suicide


 * Griffin, John
 * OT II, Dallas, suicide 1


 * Griffis, Beau
 * Beau Griffis fell seven stories to his death from a balcony on a building in State College, Pennsylvania, on May 30, 2014, in what appears to be a suicide. Two days earlier Griffis told Colin Henderson, ‘Wait till you see the curve I’m about to throw.” Griffis, like so many other Narconon “students,” went on to become an employee of the system after he “graduated.” He then promoted Narconon and got involved in Scientology, but in May 2013, Griffis announced at his Facebook page that he was through with Scientology. 1


 * Gutmann, Mike 
 * suicide, 1972 1


 * Hale, Dorian
 * "Dorian Hale came to my mother quite upset saying that he really messed up this lifetime, and will have to do Scientology next lifetime because the org wouldn’t let him receive auditing due to his past connection with psych drugs." On the 4th of November 1997, Dorian committed suicide. 1, 2


 * Halprim, Dick
 * suicide 1


 * Halsey, Brad
 * Brad Halsey took his life with two helium tanks, with a bag over his head and a hose from the two tanks. It knocks you out in about 15 seconds. You die in like 15 minutes. He did it Sunday, 2nd of March 2014, and the body was found two days later. He was 56. 1


 * Hebblewhite, Adam
 * Adam Hebblewhite of East Grinstead, Sussex, cut his throat (c.2000?) He was at University and getting auditing at St. Hill. His sister Claire is still in. Both were programmed to be cult victims at Greenfields School. (Mother, Wendy (OTV), died of cancer c.2002. Father Ian died a year later, perhaps also of cancer.)


 * Hededam, Bjarne
 * Bjarne Hededam, in Denmark, hung himself.


 * Heider, Jacob Joseph
 * On February 19, 2014 in Los Angeles, Jacob Joseph Heider (26) died of a heroin overdose. He was a staff member at the Narconon in Warner Springs, California. 1


 * Hester, James
 * Jim Hester, a preclear at the Miami Org in the mid to late 1970s, who attempted suicide in Miami and was hospitalized in critical condition. Left a note: "I have taken what 1 consider to be the most expedient way out of my present predicament. I harbor no resentment against anyone, except the Church of Scientology. They have a great deal to do with my demise. To play with people's defense mechanisms in the manner that they do is a criminal thing at best. l hope they can be outlawed."


 * Hickok, Kim
 * Kim Hickok, OT V, CO for Europe and Canada, suicide 1


 * Hippe, Laura
 * suicide, 1986 or 1987 1


 * Hommeberg, Karin
 * Karin Hommeberg had been a public Scientologist. She committed suicide.


 * Hubbard, Quentin
 * Quentin Hubbard (22), son of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard (q.v.), "died under mysterious circumstances". "Quentin was found unkempt with a beard stubble, a state that no one who knew Quentin could accept. (He was ultra-meticulous in his appearance.) Or that the license plate of the car was missing and found under a rock some distance away. Or that his wallet was gone, making identification impossible. Or that a near-empty bottle of liquor was found, as if he had been drinking, when Quentin did not. Or that there were needle marks on his arms, when he did not use drugs." 2 3 4 5 6 7 8


 * Hutchens, Shane
 * Shane Hutchens (15½), committed suicide on the 10th of December, 1986, after separation from his Sea Org mother and later his friends. He was audited by a Celebrity Centre International intern 2 years earlier. 1


 * Johnson, Judy
 * Judy Johnson (formerly Mace), former wife of Paul Mace, who was driven to suicide by the PREC ethics handing she was getting. Alternately, if you believe the cult, she fell under a train when she slipped on ice. This was in November 1983, three months after Paul died, in November 1983. She had divorced Paul Mace before 1977 and later married Howie Johnson.


 * Johnston, Larrayne
 * Larrayne Johnston committed suicide in the mid to late 1980s by throwing herself off a bridge into freeway traffic in Los Angeles. She did this because Scientology would not help her after it alienated her from her husband and family. HEW 197(a)


 * Johnstone, Lee
 * Guardians Office staff, East Grinstead, England, suicide, 1985 1


 * Jonsson, Bo
 * Bo Jonsson, former AG Sweden, committed suicide.


 * Kabat, Mark
 * Mark Kabat – suicide


 * Kassowitz, Jeremy
 * Jeremy Kassowitz, a young person on auditing lines at Celebrity Center. He hung himself.


 * Keel, Pius
 * "Pius Keel, a confirmed Scientologist of 22, ended his stay at the Schliersee tragically. He got himself into deep debt for his community. After some time at Narconon he complained to his mother about the barefaced swindle. Narconon is only about money, he said. On September 14, 1990, after less than two months at Narconon, Pius packed his bags and threw himself under a train."


 * Kern, Renate
 * Renate Kern (46), wife of record producer Klaus Hildebrandt and a successful hit country singer, was found hanging in her own house in Hoyerswege/Oldenburg on February 18, 1991. Two years earlier she became depressed. She sought help with the Scientology Church. In August 1989, Renate Kern herself became active for Scientology, campaigning for the cult, trying to convince others of the positive things she experienced there. She did not convince her husband. According to him, "They were constantly on the phone, put pressure on Renate." It all was too much for Renate's nerves.


 * She went to a psychiatric clinic in Bremen, felt better and returned home. But the pressure remained. She loved her husband, did not want to lose him. But she could not let go of the cult. On the day before Christmas 1990 she again went into the clinic. On Friday before her death, she was allowed to go home. "Improved and not suicidal." Renate had "deceived" them. She had only wanted to go home to escape the impossible situation by committing suicide. 1


 * Klein, Keith
 * OT3, gunshot, suicide, about 1978 1


 * Köhler, Mike
 * Mike Köhler (35), a locksmith at a temporary work company and a Scientologist for about 11 years, bled out internally from a 30 cm wound in the intestine on April 19, 2004. At the time he lived in a residential community of Scientologists in Bremen. In the "Scientology Mission" Bremen, Köhler completed several courses, including the so-called purification rundown.


 * According to statements by a fellow roommate, he was apathetic the last few days before his death, and talked about his "thetan is now looking for a new body" rather than call a doctor. 1


 * Kroiss, Traude
 * Traude Kroiss committed suicide in the 1990s, immediately after she had come from the Scientology Center at Saint Hill, England, where the Viennese had undergone a so-called marriage-handling. Her husband, Thomas K., also a Scientologist, wanted to get divorced, because he wanted to marry his ordination aid. Traude saw no other way out than shooting herself. 1


 * Labuschagne, Casper
 * "Casper Labuschagne (or Laubschange) was an active Sea Org member originally from South Africa, like his stepmother, Peggy. She died "in Clearwater in July [1996] of uterine cancer, after several years of trying to audit the cancer away." Casper "gassed himself in his car a few months later." He died at the age of 26. 1


 * Lafitte, Jean
 * In 2009, while still an employee at Narconon Arrowhead, Jean Lafitte took his own life on the property. 1


 * Leland, Scott
 * Scott Leland was a Clear who committed suicide after going crazy on OT 3. “I met Scott in 1965 in England. We went through several courses together including the Class Seven Auditor Training Course and the Clearing Course. Afterward, Scott moved to Denmark, married and raised a family. He went through all the OT levels up to OT 6. I did not meet him again until 1986, when out of the blue, he stopped to see my husband and me en route to the Santa Barbara AAC for auditing. He did not look well. He cried several times over the next few days, telling me he’d been crazy for fifteen years and that the trouble started after he went Clear. When he started auditing on OT 3, he began hearing and seeing things and this gradually worsened to where he thought he was going nuts. He pleaded for help, saying he had no money for auditing at the AAC. I was very concerned and scared over Scott’s condition. The AAC said Scott could return at no charge, or if he wished, he could go to someone else and the AAC would provide case supervised instructions free of charge. Scott never acted on the offers. Scott stayed with my husband and me for two weeks — we fed and housed him. Scott mainly slept, ate, took long walks and read books. He looked and sounded much better when he left. He went to the US East Coast to see his mother before returning to his family, his wife and two young sons, in Denmark. I didn’t hear from him again. In 1987 I heard Scott hanged himself in his mother’s house on the East Coast.” HEW 190.


 * Leube, Michael
 * Michael Leube, a 10-year Sea Org member of Scientology committed suicide in July, 1989 1


 * Loeb, Robert
 * Robert Loeb, Paris France, suicide while on OT VII 1


 * Long, Douglas J.
 * Douglas J. Long - suicide. He took four courses in 1991.


 * Lopez, Gloria
 * On 31 December 2006 Gloria Lopez, a 47-year-old secretary, who had been a Scientologist for ten years, tidied her kitchen, hung out her washing, left her dull, suburban apartment overlooking the railway in Colombes, west of Paris, and walked the 30 metres out on to the tracks. She stood with her arms outstretched, smiling at the driver of the oncoming commuter train. He couldn’t stop in time 1, 2, 3 4


 * Lottick, Noah Antrim
 * "Noah Lottick jumped to his death clutching his last few dollars, tightly to his chest." 2 3

M-R

 * M--, Mario
 * "Mario M., ... suffering of dissociative syndrome ... turned to Scientology looking for help. Verified that the "therapy" was totally unuseful, he asked for a refund (he paid all his savings to the organization, about 3,000 euro in 1985/86), but was victim of delaying and stressful tactics, and psychological threats. On October 10, 1986 he first tried suicide with the gas, but his mother died instead, in the following fire. On 1.1.1988 he hanged himself."


 * Mack, Wilhelm
 * "Relatives found the 37-year old Wilhelm Mack hanged in his garage" under peculiar circumstances. 2


 * McBride, Edward
 * Edward McBride (30), a Scientologist born in Belfast, Ireland, living in Brisbane, Australia, where he joined the cult. He electrocuted himself on 7 February 2007 at a substation near Brisbane after spending $25,000 on Scientology courses. The Queensland Coroner asked the “church” to hand over its files as Edward had been doing intensive Scientology courses before taking his life. But they had been shipped back to the States. There are several strange and unexplained circumstances around this death which suggest he was manipulated.


 * McConnel, David
 * Dave McConnel, committed suicide after several OT´s told him to ¨put his TR´s in¨ and to ¨stop dramatizing his case¨ when he was having a rough time. 1


 * Meister, Susan
 * Susan Meister was found dead on board the Sea Org ship Apollo. "My name is George Meister. I'm here, not because I've ever been a member of the Church of Scientology or ever will be, but I'm here in behalf of my daughter, Susan. And I'd like to have the camera get a shot of this picture, possibly. This is a picture of my daughter, and that's all I have. Susan died aboard the ship, Apollo, June 25th, 1971, with a bullet in the middle of her forehead." 2 3 4


 * Meredith, Alan
 * Alan Meredith, suicide in Van Nuys, California, 1986 1


 * Michaelis, Joe
 * Joe Michaelis suicide, summer 2013 1


 * Miller, Craig 
 * suicide 1


 * Mills, Robert George
 * Bob Mills (OT2) committed suicide April 16, 1989."


 * Mirault, Gérard
 * Gérard Mirault, 38, computer expert, froze to death on the night 29-30 December 1984, on the plateau of Larzac, France. He had left home the previous evening completely naked, to wait for sunrise in sub-zero temperatures. His wife said he had been unstable since he became a Scientologist and believed himself to be the Messiah. 1


 * Moxon, Stacy (married name Meyer)
 * Stacy was electrocuted at Gold Base. Ex-Scientologists have reported seeing a suicide note which was "hushed up". Like all the other children who have suffered in Scientology's "care", she deserved so much better. 2 3


 * Neugebauer, John Henry (married name O'Brien)
 * 1954 - "The state police found him in the convertible, which he had driven deep into the Brandywinewoods. He bought an inner tube and used it to connect the exhaust with the interior, then waited relaxed in the back seat,with his shoes off, drinking a coke." 1


 * Newman, William J.
 * William J. Newman (68), like his daughter Tayler Tweed, ended his life with a self-inflicted gunshot, July 10, 2018. William was deeply affected by Tayler’s suicide, said his son and Tayler’s older half-brother, Troy VanAntwerp, who lives in Michigan. Troy also said that his father was an OT Scientologist who left the church several years ago. “He was very high up there in the church. He always gave me Dianetics books and stuff. He was very depressed. He was lonely by choice if you ask me." 1


 * Nielsen, Jorgen
 * Jorgen Nielsen (Danish) hanged himself. He was found by Steen Jorgensen.


 * Nind, Roger
 * Roger Nind (49), an Australian, died in October 1992 when he stepped into the path of a car at Clearwater, FL, where he was trying to get a refund of $70,000. If this was an accident it was, as so often, very convenient.


 * Ostertag, Andreas
 * suicide by drowning 1


 * Patterson, Randy
 * gunshot, suicide 1


 * Petit, Remy
 * Remy Petit (25), a French Scientologist worked as an OSA volunteer, then gave evidence against OSA at a hearing on 25 January 1993. But he was found dead a few days before the confrontation with Patricia Forestier, his OSA boss. Officially suicide, but? 1


 * Petschek, Claudia
 * suicide in Canada 1


 * Pince, Brand
 * Brand (Brad) Pince, from Ontario, Canada, husband of Penny Pince (who died of cancer), a former mission ED, who killed himself by asphyxiation in his car, c.1979, overburdened by a huge S.O. (LA) and Mission freeloader debt to the Church, by medical bills, and by disconnection.💔 They were relatives of Bob Mills.


 * Poulin, Aaron
 * Aaron Poulin (22), hung himself at the Hollywood Inn, November 18, 2004. Born and raised in the Sea Org. He was CMO Int messenger, but was demoted to CCI, and was so caved in by that he committed suicide 1


 * Prewitt, Wayne L.
 * Wayne Prewitt (35), from Missouri, believed to be on the upper OT levels, jumped to his death on October 29, 1970 from the Elks Building in the McArthur Park area. He had previously been traveling to St. Louis and Minneapolis working to set up satellite churches in those areas. In addition, he had been deeply involved in trying to set up a church in Kansas City. Days before his suicide Wayne went to Los Angeles for treatment because he had been very "up tight." 1


 * Rakhmanov, Ilya
 * "His name says nothing to you. He was a mere boy, 21 years old." Ilya was a disillusioned ex-Scientologist who committed suicide.


 * Ramsay, Jonathan
 * Jonathan Ramsay (37) hanged himself with an electrical cord from a ceiling fan on May 11, 2018 in Arizona. He was raised in Scientology, had Scientologist parents and worked at a Scientologist company.
 * “Jon was a troubled soul as a result of the effect that Scientology played on his father, his mother, and his stepfather. He turned to heroin, and was placed into a rehab program that I think, but cannot confirm, was Narconon. But his demons never left," said his uncle Rob. 1


 * Reichert, Biggi
 * "In 2006, Biggi Reichert traveled to Clearwater, Florida from Germany. On the final day of her visit Biggi was found dead in the garage in her car. The car was fitted with a hose directing the exhaust into the seating compartment. Autopsy determined she died of carbon monoxide poisoning" 1, 2, 3


 * Richmond, Jude
 * Jude Richmond (41), a florist and possible Scientologist, who apparently drowned her handicapped daughter Millie (9) on 13-14 March 2009 (a significant date for Scientologists) and then drowned herself in the lake adjoining their luxurious Gloucester (England) home. Ms Richmond suffered from bipolar syndrome and according to the Sun newspaper (quoting a neighbour) ‘had become obsessed with Scientology’ 1


 * Riley, Aron
 * Aron Riley was addicted, went to Narconon to get rid of the addiction and then joined Narconon as staff. He died as a result of an overdose on February 18, 2014. 1


 * Rimondo, Rodney G.
 * Rodney G. Rimondo (22), from San Jose California, who joined the Sea Org in Los Angeles in January 1986 and jumped, fell or was pushed out of a window at the LA Org on 25 November 1986. A suicide note found on his bunk bed at the Scientology center was a clumsy forgery. It was not in his handwriting, according to his mother, and made reference to a “wife” but Rimondo was single. 1


 * Royce, Devin
 * Devin Royce took his own life when he was forced to decide between his still in brothers and his parents who had left 💔 1


 * Rubio, Eric
 * Ex-Sea Org member Eric Rubio starved to death. "When he was found, the 36-year old man weighed 45 kilograms for his 167 centimetres. He died in his kitchen, allegedly while cooking. He had not consumed any food for several days, and had suffered from malnutrition. When Erik Rubio came to Denmark in 1994, it was to join the Scientology elite: the Sea Organization. There he was later declared unfit and thrown out, but not without having to pay back a huge sum to the cult. Until his death, he made regular payments to Scientology."


 * "Russell, Mike"
 * South African scientologist who jumped off of a shopping centre parking lot in attempted suicide only to land on a car and become a quadroplegic, soon after managed to succesfully commit suicide again. Early 1990's.

S-Z

 * Sandweiss, David
 * David Sandweiss – “suicide” in 1977. Was GO agent who allegedly confessed to being Quentin Hubbard’s lover.


 * Schaatsbergen, Mark
 * "Mark Schaatsbergen left [S]cientology beginning 1988, because he felt they were perverting their own goals and didn't live up to their statements. According to his Mum, Mark's reason to commit suicide [at] end June/begin July 1998, was the enormous amount of pressure the cult exerted on him. His father and sister remain members of the cult. The mother is still devastated." 1


 * Schaeffer, Paul
 * suicide in the early 1970s


 * Scheepers, Johannes Hermanus
 * On August 31, 1968, the South African Johannes Hermanus Scheepers put a hose from the exhaust of his car into the car interior and died of carbon monoxide poisoning. The investigating authorities found in the registration for foreigners that he was a Scientology student. Accordingly, he lived in the guest house of David Gaiman, which is approximately 1.5 km from the Saint Hill Scientology Center in East Grinstead. The father of Neil Gaiman was spokesman of Scientology (Guardian's Office). Under oath, Gaiman said that Scheepers had not taken any Scientology courses - "He came because of the lottery!"


 * Scheepers left two farewell letters. In one, he wrote that he was going to take his own life, and in the other that his suicide had nothing to do with Scientology or the fact that he was "a member of this group." 1


 * Schnehager, Quentin
 * hung himself, Copenhagen 1


 * Schobel, Paul
 * Paul Schobel "was moved off away from the sea org, now an apparent suicide risk and a full-time personal keeper was assigned to look out for him. All his travels and travails had brought him to living with his keeper in an old house in the western suburbs of Sydney. He had nothing left and on March 13th 2007 he unplugged the machine that was keeping his body running and one last time Schobs made his own causative decision and that was to bring down the curtain on this life." 1


 * Shafner, Bob
 * Bob Shafner (or Shaffner), OT III, rode bike under a truck, suicide. According to Jesse Prince, Bobby and his wife Cindy were harassed because they wanted to have children, and children were frowned upon. 1


 * Simon, Karen
 * "Karen Simon, OT8, died by hanging herself in London England in May 1991, shortly after she refused to sign a Sea Organization contract. She was preparing a negative report on Scientology at the time of her death."


 * Smith, Rita
 * Rita Smith, suicide, East Grinstead, 1987 1


 * Speedy, Lloyd
 * Lloyd Speedy suicided when he had spent all his money on services, when he was actually Type III (psychotic) 1


 * Stewart, James
 * "James Stewart jumped to his death in Edinburgh Scotland. He was on OT3, a class 7 auditor, and the Executive Director of the Durban Org." 2


 * Suarez, Frank
 * "Frank Suarez was an OT who committed suicide with a firearm in late 1991 at his home in Broward County, Florida (near Ft.Lauderdale). He left behind a wife and two children, ages around 9 and 10. ... He had been in Scientology for several years." 1


 * Trout, Gene
 * Gene Trout or Traudt - suicide in about 1980. An OT 7.


 * Twedell, Rob
 * Rob Twedell, New Zealand, suicide.


 * Tweed, Tayler aka Tayler DeBari
 * "On Friday, January 10, Tayler Tweed killed herself with a gunshot to the head. She was 27. Before her death, Tayler had begun voicing doubts about Scientology publicly, and complained bitterly about the church’s “disconnection” policy on her Facebook page.💔 She later was convinced to take those posts down. But even just a few weeks before her death, she was telling friends that she was done with Scientology." 1 2


 * Vantrease, David
 * David Vantrease committed suicide in his apartment in Battle Creek, Michigan, on March 12, 2010. He was a Narconon graduate and staff member at A Forever Recovery, owned by Per Wickstrom. He was also a member of the CoS in Battle Creek. 1


 * Vic, Patrice
 * aka Patrick Vic - "Patrice was badgered to come up with more money for Scientology and saw suicide as his only escape. He jumped before the eyes of his little children." 2 3 4 5 6 7


 * Vitkovic, Frank
 * Frank Vitkovic of Queen Street, Melbourne, Australia. In 1987 Frank Vitkovic opened fire in a business building in Melbourne, Australia, killing eight people and wounding five others before he plunged to his death trying to escape. Two months prior to the attacks he had taken a personality test offered by the Church of Scientology, which was said to mean he was extremely depressed; it was the second-worst test result the Scientology volunteer had ever seen. It was argued at the inquest that the organization had not taken the appropriate measures indicated by their information, which could have prevented the massacre, and that the test possibly contributed to Vitkovic’s mental state at the time of the shootings.


 * Westling, Wendy Lee
 * Wendy Lee Westling died of a heroin overdose in Reno, Nevada on April 7, 2017. She used heroin after graduating from the Rainbow Ranch in October 2014, and in desperation turned to the Scientology Purification Rundown program at the Los Angeles org to help her get clean. She also volunteered to help with renovations at the Scientology Mission of the Foothills in Montrose, CA. She turned to Scientology itself because there is no aftercare program in Narconon. Graduates are told they are now cured, and will not experience a craving for drugs or alcohol. 1


 * White, Cathriona
 * Cathriona White, girlfriend of Jim Carrey, suicide while on Scientology's "Survival Rundown", 2015. 1


 * Wilkinson, Rachel
 * Rachel A. Wilkinson (40), a lifelong Scientologist serving both in the Sea Org and a staff member, hung herself in her garage at her St. Louis Missouri home on August 28, 2010, after she was announced “persona non grata” and not allowed back into her Church for “financial irregularities” with donations and having an affair with the Executive Director of the St. Louis Org. 1


 * Willems, Rudolf
 * "Rudolf Willems shot himself in 1987, after he had spent millions of dollars for Scientology and his steel company sailed into bancruptcy." 2


 * Winkelmann, Margarit
 * Margarit Winklemann from Zurich, Switzerland, who drowned in 1980 when she walked fully clothed into the sea at Clearwater, Florida. As part of her Scientology course she had stopped taking Lithium and was treating herself with huge quantities of vitamins. 1 2


 * Zharkin, Evgeny aka Gene, aka Yevgeny
 * Plunged to his death at 628 Cleveland St. Clearwater about 11:30 a.m January 28, 2014 from the eighth floor of the Station Square condo building. Director of zharkin-partners marketing, a WISE member, which repeatedly sought doubling of annual sales (including, for several years in a row) from clients and employers. 1

List of victims of Scientology