It’s been almost a month since Boeing whistleblower John Barnett was found dead in a car outside of his hotel in Charlotte, South Carolina. He died of a single gunshot wound to the head and was found with a pistol in his hand. Authorities tentatively attributed the death to suicide. But friends and family members, along with some investigators are raising doubts about that explanation. Barnett had been in the midst of testifying as part of a lawsuit against Boeing over safety shortcomings at their production facilities. A close friend recounted a disturbing conversation earlier this year when he said that he could potentially wind up dead because of his whistleblowing activities and that if anything happened to him it would not be suicide. (NY Post)
Boeing whistleblower John Barnett made a grim prediction that he could potentially end up dead after raising safety concerns about the jetliner giant, allegedly telling a family friend: “If anything happens, it’s not suicide.”
Barnett, 62, was found dead in his pickup truck in a Charleston, South Carolina, hotel parking lot on March 9 — the same day he was due to conclude his closed-door testimony in a lawsuit slapped against his former employer.
Authorities — who are still probing his death — initially said Barnett died from a “self-inflicted” gunshot wound to the head, but his lawyers, family, and friends have since raised doubts over whether the ex-Boeing quality control engineer actually took his own life.
Boeing has had very little to say about Barnett’s death beyond expressing condolences to his family and friends. Those who knew him described him as being upbeat in the weeks prior to his death, saying that he had been looking forward to putting the testimony behind him and getting on with his retirement plans. Of course, that doesn’t definitively prove anything. John may have been a very private person who could have been quietly battling his own inner demons without telling anyone.
Still, that comment to his friend, identified only as Jennifer, was highly disturbing. It just seems unlikely that someone would go out of their way to say that if “something” happened to them it wouldn’t be suicide. Add to that the obvious reality that it would be awfully convenient for Boeing if Barnett were suddenly unavailable to provide insider testimony about safety shortcomings at their production and repair facilities. Additionally, a criminal investigator with extensive experience in handling these types of cases recently told reporters that finding the gun in the hand of a suicide victim was relatively rare, happening in less than 25% of cases. He described it as a “common mistake” for murderers to place the gun in the hand of the victim in an attempt to make the crime scene look like a case of suicide.
Still, if this was a murder, who would have had a motive to kill John Barnett? Surely everyone at Boeing would know that all eyes would be on them if something were to suddenly befall the well-known whistleblower. And he was only one of many former employees and managers who have been speaking out about their concerns over safety procedures at the company. Eliminating Barnett probably won’t improve their chances in any of the ongoing investigations and lawsuits. It simply doesn’t make a lot of sense.
The police investigation into his death is ongoing. Perhaps more information will turn up by the time they are finished. In the meantime, this is both a mystery and a tragedy for John Barnett’s family.
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