Death of Lisa McPherson

I saw the handwritten notes, gave a cursory look to see if the summary—see if they matched and matched, and I threw the handwritten reports in my shred basket, and I had the report, kept the report.

On January 21, 1997, Wood appeared on the news program Inside Edition and stated that the autopsy showed McPherson's condition had deteriorated slowly, going without fluids for five to ten days, was underweight, had cockroach bites and was comatose from 24 to 48 hours before she died. Scientology's legal team proceeded to sue Wood to gain access to her files; including tissue, organ and blood samples from McPherson's body. The lawsuit argued that Wood waived any right to keep her records on the case closed when she spoke openly about the case with news reporters. Scientology alleged that the records were needed to start their legal defense. These records were previously denied to the Church because they were part of an ongoing criminal investigation.

Davis changed his testimony from 1997 deposition given in the civil case to strongly disagree that McPherson was severely dehydrated. He also made a series of accusations against the Medical Examiner's Office's handling of the case and questioned their motive. Davis stated that Wood was not present during the autopsy and did not consult him when she signed the autopsy.

On November 18, 1995, McPherson was involved in a minor car accident. Paramedics initially left her alone because she was ambulatory, but after she began to remove her clothes, the paramedics decided to take her to the hospital. McPherson remarked to the paramedics that she had taken off her clothes in hopes of obtaining counseling. Hospital staff agreed that she was unharmed, but recommended keeping her overnight for observation. Following intervention by fellow Scientologists, McPherson refused psychiatric observation or admission at the hospital and checked herself out after a short evaluation. Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Frank Quesada concluded:

On December 5, 1995, Church staffers contacted David Minkoff, a Scientologist medical doctor who twice prescribed McPherson Valium and chloral hydrate without examining her. They requested for him to prescribe an antibiotic to McPherson because she seemed to have an infection. Minkoff refused, stating that she should be taken to a hospital and he needed to see her before prescribing anything. They objected, expressing fear that McPherson would be put under psychiatric care. Dr. Janice Johnson, a senior medical officer at the Fort Harrison Hotel who was assigned to care for McPherson, stated that she had been gasping and had labored breathing while en route. However, they passed a total of four hospitals along the way to their ultimate destination.

On December 5, 1995, McPherson's autopsy was conducted by assistant medical examiner Robert Davis. Davis never completed McPherson's autopsy report because he was asked to resign from his position. The report identified McPherson's cause of death as a thromboembolism of the left pulmonary artery caused by "bed rest and severe dehydration", ruling the manner of death as "undetermined". The report also identified multiple bruises, an abrasion on the nose, lesions and insect bites that appeared consistent with that of a cockroach. The autopsy report was completed by Davis' supervisor, medical examiner Joan Wood.

In 1994, Lisa McPherson, who became a Scientology adherent at age 18, moved from Dallas, Texas to Clearwater, Florida with her employer, AMC Publishing, which was at that time owned by Bennetta Slaughter and operated and staffed primarily by Scientologists. During June 1995, the Church of Scientology placed McPherson in an "Introspection Rundown" due to perceived mental instability. McPherson completed the rundown, and she attested to the state of "clear" in September.

Lisa McPherson (February 10, 1959 – December 5, 1995) was an American member of the Church of Scientology who died of a pulmonary embolism while under the care of the Church's Flag Service Organization (FSO) in Clearwater, Florida. Following the report by the state medical examiner that indicated that McPherson was a victim of negligent homicide, Scientology was indicted on two felony charges, "abuse and/or neglect of a disabled adult" and "practicing medicine without a license." The charges against Scientology were dropped after the state's medical examiner changed the cause of death from "undetermined" to an "accident" on June 13, 2000. A civil suit brought by McPherson's family against the Church was settled on May 28, 2004.