Boeing whistleblower John Barnett died by suicide, according to a police report released on Friday, bringing to end an investigation of the shocking death of a longtime employee who raised concerns about the airplane manufacturer’s safety and production standards – and who sued the company, claiming Boeing illegally retaliated against him.
Barnett, 62, was found dead in a vehicle on March 9 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Charleston, South Carolina. Officers had been dispatched to conduct a welfare check on Barnett at a Holiday Inn when he failed to show up to a deposition in his case against Boeing, according to his lawyers and a police incident report.
When they arrived, responding officers found Barnett dead in the driver’s seat of a truck in the parking lot. He was holding a handgun. The initial police report also said there was a note in the truck.
But Barnett’s lawyers said in a statement following his death that his deposition was nearing an end and he appeared to be in good spirits.
“We didn’t see any indication he would take his own life. No one can believe it,” his lawyers, Robert Turkewitz and Brian Knowles, said in a statement on March 12. “The Charleston police need to investigate this fully and accurately and tell the public what they find out.”
The Charleston Police Department on Friday concluded their investigation into Barnett’s death, saying the Charleston County Coroner’s Office determined that Barnett had killed himself.
The investigation found that Barnett was shot in the head at close range and the weapon was found in his right hand. There was also a notebook found in the front seat of the car that showed signs that “he was going through a period of serious personal distress,” according to a media release about the police investigation.
Police shared with CNN an image of a note left in the car, which had multiple disparaging messages directed at Boeing.
CNN>appeared to be in good spirits
>no one can believe it
>multiple disparaging messages
