Lisa McPherson
Lisa McPherson was a Scientologist who died after 17 days in the custody of the Church of Scientology.
More about Lisa McPherson
June 8, 1982: Knowledge Report written about Lisa Skonetski [McPherson].
June 9, 1982: Knowledge Report written about Lisa Skonetski [McPherson].
June 16, 1984: No Report Report written about Lisa Skonetski [McPherson].
February 4, 1986: Lisa Cameron writes a Idle Report on Lisa McPherson.
February 19, 1986: Force Chamberlain writes a Job Endangerment on Lisa McPherson.
May 6, 1986: Job Endangerment written by Force Chamberlain on Lisa McPherson (Skonetski)
May 7, 1986: 7 Hr TMO written by Force Chamberlain on Lisa McPherson (Skonetski)
May 8, 1986: TMO 24 Hrs. (2nd D) written by on Lisa McPherson (Skonetski)
May 9, 1986: No Report written by Enrique Salinas on Lisa McPherson (Skonetski)
May 16, 1986: document written by Stuart Cameron on Lisa McPherson (Skonetski)
June 15, 1986: Commendation Chit written by Mark Muir about Lisa Skonetski [McPherson].
June 25, 1986: No Report written by Kathy about Lisa Skonetski [McPherson].
June 25, 1986: No Report written by Kathy about Lisa Skonetski [McPherson].
July 7, 1986: Knowledge Report written by Katie Chamberlain about Lisa Skonetski [McPherson].
Lisa McPherson in the News
| December 15, 1996 | Tampa Tribune: Mystery Surrounds Scientologist's Death | After spending half her life as a member of the Church of Scientology, Lisa McPherson told friends she was ready to get out. She hoped to visit them at Thanksgiving and vowed to be home for good by last Christmas. But on Thanksgiving a couple of weeks later, McPherson was at the Fort Harrison Hotel, Scientology's world spiritual headquarters, taken there Nov. 18 by Scientologists for "rest and relaxation." Seventeen days later, she was dead. | |
| December 15, 1996 | Mystery Surrounds Scientologist's Death | After spending half her life as a member of the Church of Scientology, Lisa McPherson told friends she was ready to get out. But on Thanksgiving a couple of weeks later, McPherson was not at home. Instead, she was at the Fort Harrison Hotel, Scientology's world spiritual headquarters. She was taken there Nov. 18 by Scientologists for "rest and relaxation." Seventeen days later, she was dead. An autopsy by the Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner's Office showed McPherson's 5-foot-9, 108-pound body was severely dehydrated, her arms and legs were bruised, her skin was cracked and scaling. | |
| December 15, 1996 | Lisa McPherson's death | Tampa Tribune reporter Cheryl Waldrip breaks the story of Lisa McPherson's death in a front page story. | |
| December 16, 1996 | Police Investigating Death of Scientologist | Florida authorities are investigating the death of a Church of Scientology member who said she wanted to leave the church and ended up dead weeks later. Lisa McPherson, a 36-year-old originally from Dallas, spent half of her life as a Scientologist. But last year she called her family in Texas to say she wanted to quit the faith and come back home. "She goes to [the church's headquarters] for rest and relaxation and the next time there's any indication of what's happening to her is that on Dec. 5, 1995, she shows up at a hospital in New Port Richey and she's dead on arrival," said Clearwater Police Det. Sgt. Wayne Andrews. | |
| December 17, 1996 | Church: Cops Planted False Story | The Church of Scientology sent a statement to media outlets Monday attacking the police department that is investigating the death of one of its members. The Tampa Tribune reported Sunday that Clearwater police are trying to learn what happened to Lisa McPherson, 36, a member of the church who died a year ago after spending less than three weeks at the church's local headquarters. Scientology officials claim the police "planted a false story in The Tampa Tribune for the express purpose of creating hate and prejudice against the Church of Scientology." | |
| December 18, 1996 | Keep Investigation On Track | Lisa McPherson was a member of the Church of Scientology for 18 years before she died in December 1995. Any objective review can only raise more questions about what happened to the 36-year-old woman in the 17 days between the traffic accident and her death. A year later, the Clearwater Police Department still is looking for answers and avoiding accusations. Instead of cooperating, the Church of Scientology has responded by attacking the police department and complaining of harassment. It is standard procedure for Scientologists to discourage scrutiny with tactics that smack of intimidation. The Clearwater Police Department and the state attorney's office should not allow such a strategy to derail this investigation. | |
| December 18, 1996 | editorial on Lisa McPherson's death | An editorial in the St. Petersburg Times calls for a thorough investigation into Lisa McPherson's death. | |
| December 19, 1996 | Lisa McPherson's death | Tampa Tribune calls for a thorough investigation into Lisa McPherson's death. | |
| December 20, 1996 | Family Questions Details Of '95 Death | The family and friends of a Clearwater woman who died last year in the care of friends from the Church of Scientology are calling for more answers. The woman, Lisa McPherson, was pronounced dead Dec. 5, 1995, at a New Port Richey hospital after several fellow Scientologists drove her there from the Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater. McPherson had spent 17 days in the Scientology-owned hotel, resting and recuperating from unexplained anxiety, according to church officials. Dell Liebriech, an aunt of McPherson's, said she believes her niece "was held against her will." | |
| December 21, 1996 | Scientologist's Diaries Reveal Little | Lisa McPherson wrote in her diaries of relationships with men; of exercising and diets; of working hard and paying off debts; of backaches and headaches; of dinners and holidays. From time to time, she also wrote using the unique vernacular of a Scientologist. A personal triumph might be called "a win." She looked forward to being "clear." Someone once had "run control" on her. | |
| December 22, 1996 | Scientolgist's Death: A Family Searches For Answers | Lisa McPherson was a vibrant woman who valued her health and was looking forward to returning home. Shortly before Thanksgiving 1995, she called an old friend and family members and said she would be coming home for the holidays. For the first time in four years, she talked with her childhood friend Kellie Davis and told her she would be moving back to Dallas by Christmas. She also told her she would be leaving the Church of Scientology, of which she had been a member for half of her life. | |
| December 22, 1996 | Scientologist's death: A family hunts for answers - a second article about Lisa McPherson which includes more personal informati | Tampa Tribune: Scientologist's death: A family hunts for answers - a second article about Lisa McPherson which includes more personal information. | |
| January 26, 1997 | Did anyone notice Lisa looked bad? | Tampa Tribune: Did anyone notice Lisa looked bad? | |
| February 21, 1997 | St. Petersburg Times: Scientology Had Woman in Isolation | In the days leading up to her unexplained death, a 36-year-old member of the Church of Scientology was being kept in isolation at the church's Clearwater headquarters and had started banging her fists against the wall, a Scientology lawyer now says. | |
| March 10, 1997 | Five Pathologists Concur On Scientology Demise Doctors Agree That Lisa Mcpherson Was Badly Dehydrated When She Died In 1995 At | Tallahassee Democrat : Five Pathologists Concur On Scientology Demise Doctors Agree That Lisa Mcpherson Was Badly Dehydrated When She Died In 1995 At A Church Of Scientology Retreat. | |
| July 10, 1997 | St. Petersburg Times: Weakening McPherson Fought Food, Medicine | Fourteen days after entering a Church of Scientology retreat in good physical health, Lisa McPherson was so weak she couldn't stand, according to church records - yet for three days after that, church staff members continued to care for her in a room at the Fort Harrison Hotel instead of seeking hospital care. | |
| July 11, 1997 | Scientology Records Show How Woman Spent Her Final Days How Lisa Mcpherson Died Is Being Disputed By The Church. Their Records | Tallahassee Democrat : Scientology Records Show How Woman Spent Her Final Days How Lisa Mcpherson Died Is Being Disputed By The Church. Their Records Say They Tried To Help Her. | |
| September 4, 1997 | St. Petersburg Times: Scientologist's Death Differs in Two Tellings | The Church of Scientology's original portrayal of how a 36-year-old woman died under its care bears little resemblance to the sobering tale unfolding this summer with the release of the church's own internal records. | |
| October 31, 1997 | In Her Final Years, Scientologist Spent $175,000 | From 1991 until she died in December 1995, McPherson spent more than $175,000 on Scientology courses, counseling and causes, according to financial records. In three of those years, her donations to the church ranged from 29 percent to 55 percent of her income. | |
| December 1, 1997 | New York Times: Scientology Faces Glare of Scrutiny After Florida Parishioner's Death | After Scientologist Lisa McPherson was kept under 24-hour watch at Scientology headquarters, she died in their custody. Her family sued the church on behalf of her estate, claiming McPherson was held. | |
| December 1, 1997 | Scientologists Ask City To Block Picketing | Saying it fears violence from a group of protesters, the Church of Scientology is asking city officials to close the sidewalks in front of its downtown headquarters this week. Police Chief Sid Klein rejected the request and has offered to seek a compromise, but the church is appealing Klein's decision to City Manager Mike Roberto. The protesters, meanwhile, say they are the ones who should be fearful. They cited the tactics of an estimated 200 Scientologists who surrounded and taunted them at a similar event in March. | |
| December 7, 1997 | For Some Scientologists, Pilgrimage Has Been Fatal | Since 1980, at least eight members of the Church of Scientology have died in Clearwater under circumstances that leave their friends, families and in some cases law enforcement authorities looking for their own answers. The most prominent of these cases is Lisa McPherson, a 36-year-old woman who died Dec. 5, 1995. After 17 days at Scientology's Fort Harrison Hotel, she was finally taken to a hospital by church staff where she was pronounced dead soon after her arrival. Police and prosecutors are wrapping up an investigation that could result in criminal charges. | |
| December 9, 1997 | The Prosecutor's Duty | By their own admission, law enforcement authorities did not investigate the suspicious deaths of members of the Church of Scientology as thoroughly as they might have. They have an opportunity to correct that mistake as they wind up the investigation of the death of Lisa McPherson, a 36-year-old woman who died two years ago after spending 17 days at Scientology's Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater. A disturbing pattern now has been established of apparently healthy Scientologists who die suddenly after arriving in Clearwater for training or counseling. An investigation by the Times' Lucy Morgan found at least eight Scientology members, including McPherson, have died under circumstances that are not easily explained. | |
| December 14, 1997 | The Death Of Lisa Mcpherson: | Daily Camera : The Death Of Lisa Mcpherson: | |
| December 16, 1997 | Charges Urged in Scientologist Death | After a two-year investigation, local and state police are recommending criminal charges be filed in the 1995 death of Church of Scientology member Lisa McPherson. Investigators on Monday delivered their findings to Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe in the form of a "prosecution summary." Clearwater Deputy Police Chief Paul Maser said the document recommends charges, but he refused to discuss specifics or who might be charged. | |
Lisa McPherson in the News
| February 10, 1959 | Birth of Lisa McPherson | Lisa McPherson is born. | |
| May 2, 1982 | Knowledge Report | Knowledge Report written on Lisa McPherson (Skonetski) | |
| June 5, 1982 | Ethics Notes | Ethics Notes written about Lisa Skonetski [McPherson]. | |
| June 5, 1982 | Ethics Report | Ethics Report written about Lisa Skonetski [McPherson]. | |
| June 7, 1982 | Ethics Report | Ethics Report written about Lisa Skonetski [McPherson]. | |
| June 7, 1982 | Notes | Notes written about Lisa Skonetski [McPherson]. | |
| June 8, 1982 | Knowledge Report | Knowledge Report written about Lisa Skonetski [McPherson]. | |
| June 9, 1982 | Knowledge Report | Knowledge Report written about Lisa Skonetski [McPherson]. | |
| June 16, 1984 | No Report Report | No Report Report written about Lisa Skonetski [McPherson]. | |
| February 4, 1986 | Idle Report | Lisa Cameron writes a Idle Report on Lisa McPherson. | |
| February 19, 1986 | Job Endangerment | Force Chamberlain writes a Job Endangerment on Lisa McPherson. | |
| February 20, 1986 | No Report | Lisa L writes a No Report on Lisa McPherson. | |
| May 1, 1986 | Re: attached KR | Re: attached KR written on Lisa McPherson (Skonetski) | |
| May 1, 1986 | Knowledge Report | Knowledge Report written on Lisa McPherson (Skonetski) | |
| May 6, 1986 | Job Endangerment | Job Endangerment written by Force Chamberlain on Lisa McPherson (Skonetski) | |
| May 7, 1986 | 7 Hr TMO | 7 Hr TMO written by Force Chamberlain on Lisa McPherson (Skonetski) | |
| May 8, 1986 | TMO 24 Hrs. (2nd D) | TMO 24 Hrs. (2nd D) written by on Lisa McPherson (Skonetski) | |
| May 9, 1986 | No Report | No Report written by Enrique Salinas on Lisa McPherson (Skonetski) | |
| May 16, 1986 | document | document written by Stuart Cameron on Lisa McPherson (Skonetski) | |
| May 31, 1986 | No Report | No Report written on Lisa McPherson (Skonetski) | |
| June 12, 1986 | Dev-T Report | Dev-T Report written about Lisa Skonetski [McPherson]. | |
| June 15, 1986 | Commendation Chit | Commendation Chit written by Mark Muir about Lisa Skonetski [McPherson]. | |
| June 25, 1986 | No Report | No Report written by Kathy about Lisa Skonetski [McPherson]. | |
| June 25, 1986 | No Report | No Report written by Kathy about Lisa Skonetski [McPherson]. | |
| July 7, 1986 | Knowledge Report | Knowledge Report written by Katie Chamberlain about Lisa Skonetski [McPherson]. | |
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