SUPPLEMENT/CONTINUATION
FL0520300/Clearwater Police Department Report No. 95-29158
Offense Death Investigation Date of Report 3/25/97
Location 644 Pierce Street Orig Incident Date 12/6/95
Victim Lisa McPherson VI Prosecute Yes No
Investigator Det Sgt. Wayne Andrews
Subject None
Impound Inventory None
FEBRUARY 11, 1997
At 0900 hours, a deposition was held in which Paul Greenwood gave a statement
regarding this case to myself, Assistant State Attorney Mark McGarry, and FDLE
Agent Lee Strope. The deposition lasted approximately two to two and a half hours,
during which time Paul Greenwood gave pretty much the same statement he had
previously given to Det. Sudler. See transcript for further details of the deposition
statement.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1997
On 2/13/97, a subpoena was issued to the Church of Scientology requesting the
following records:
REQUESTED: Copy of the list of all registered guests in the cabana area of
the hotel at 210 S. Ft. Harrison from 11/18/95 to 12/6/95.
RECEIVED: Photocopy of some type of list with names of people that were
registered at the entire hotel at 210 5. Ft. Harrison. The
names of everyone except for those at the cabanas had been
blanked out. The names of those at the cabanas were difficult
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to follow up because none of them had any addresses or
contact phone numbers. These were not the records we
expected to receive from a four-star hotel. This issue will be
addressed possibly in a future subpoena to the Church
outlining every aspect of the records we want to receive.
MONDAY, MARCH 3, 1997
During the previous deposition with Paul Greenwood, he indicated that he, Laura
Arrunada, and Janis Johnson were ordered by Security to write a report about what
occurred during the Lisa McPherson incident. He stated that the three of them were
then taken to a room in Security, where they wrote their statements and turned them
over to Security personnel. With this information, subpoenas were issued for the
following:
SUBPOENA #1
REQUESTED: A copy of any and all written statements provided to the
Church by Laura R. Arrunada from 11/18/95 to 1/1/96.
RECEIVED: A letter from Attorney Lee Fugate indicating that this was a
privileged document
An indication from Attorney Morris Weinberg that any
documents written after Lisa McPherson's death would be
considered an attorney work product and therefore be
privileged to the subpoena.
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SUBPOENA #2
REQUESTED: A copy of any and all written statements provided to the
Church of Scientology by Paul Greenwood from 11/18/95 to
1/1/96.
RECEIVED: Same as Subpoena #1
SUBPOENA #3
REQUESTED: A copy of any and all written statements provided to the
Church of Scientology by Janis Johnson from 11/18/95 to
1/1/96.
RECEIVED: Same as Subpoena #1
It should be noted that, along with the letter from Attorney Fugate indicating that the
three subpoena requests were privileged information, we received additional reports
from the caretakers of Lisa McPherson.
THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 1997
Det. Jorge Carrasquillo and FDLE Agent Sharon Feola had conducted interviews with
Lisa's co-workers at AMC Publishing through Attorney Ron Cacciatore. It was
apparent that they were having difficulty obtaining the names of all of Lisa's
co-workers. Therefore, a subpoena was requested and issued on this date as follows:
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REQUESTED: A list of all people employed by AMC Publishing from 1/1/95
to 1/1/96, to include their full legal name, current home
address, and home phone number.
RECEIVED: No information received from AMC Publishing other than a
letter from Attorney Ron Cacciatore to Assistant State
Attorney Mark McGarry objecting to the deliverance of these
subpoenas to Benetta Slaughter.
TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 1997
At 0900 hours, Agent Lee Strope, Assistant State Attorney Mark McGarry, and I met
at the State Attorney's Office to conduct an investigative deposition of Rita Boykin in
reference to this death investigation. She was accompanied by her attorney, Attorney
John Lauro. She is identified as Rita Boykin (maiden name of Hampton), W/F,
DOB 2/8/52.
Background: Rita is originally from Marina, California and now resides in New York.
She is staying at the Church of Scientology in Clearwater and working on staff at the
present time. She arrived at the Church of Scientology at 210 S. Ft. Harrison in
Clearwater from New York on Thanksgiving Day, 11/23/95. She presently lives at
Hacienda Gardens at 551 Saturn Avenue with three roommates. She has medical
training as a nurse's assistant and at one time worked in the Critical Care Unit of a
hospital. She listed this on her resume to the Church when she applied for the staff
position. She joined the Church of Scientology in April 1985 and started as a staff
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member almost immediately. Her position in the New York organization was as a
Services Officer. She described this position as being someone who helps fellow
Scientologists make travel arrangements to Florida. She indicated that the person
she answers to is Janis Johnson.
Involvement with Lisa McPherson: Sometime around 11/26/95, when she had
only been in Clearwater for a few days, Rita was requested to take care of Lisa
McPherson at the cabanas. Rita was only told that Lisa McPherson apparently had
some type of behavioral dysfunction and needed care. Rita worked 16 hours a day in
shifts from 1/26/95 to 1700 hours on 12/5/95 (day of Lisa's death) with only a few
days off. According to Rita, the door to Lisa's room was always locked.
The interview with Rita Boykin was recorded by a court reporter. See transcript for
further details.
It was apparent after the interview with Rita Boykin that we were missing reports
that she had written. This was discussed with Assistant State Attorney McGarry,
who stated that he would attempt to recover the missing records.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 1997
After reviewing my notes and the reports given to us, it was apparent that Rita
Boykin had given Chlorolhydrate to Lisa McPherson while caring for her at the
cabanas. I spoke with Dr. Wood of the Medical Examiner's Office and learned that
Chlorolhydrate was a prescription drug. We therefore had a subpoena issued as
follows:
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FL0520300/ Clearwater Police Department Report No. 95-29158
Offense Death Investigation Date of Report 3/25/97
REQUESTED: A prescription summary report for Dr. David Minkoff, DEA
#AM1446346, and any and all original prescriptions written for
Lisa McPherson and any and all documentation related
thereto, during the time frame of 11/1/95 to 12/30/95.
RECEIVED: Information from Eckerd Drugs that a prescription was called
in to their pharmacy on the corner of Beicher Road & State
Road 60 for 30 tablets of Chlorolhydrate tablets (500mg each).
The pharmacist who filled the prescription was Ed Karch. The
prescription was called in on 11/29/95 by Dr. Minkoff, who
left a phone number of 845-9115 (Emergency Room at HCA
Hospital in New Port Richey). Eckerd Drugs also supplied us
with a third party insurance claim log showing that the
prescription for Lisa McPherson (prescription #907960) was
picked up and signed for by what appeared to be Susanne
Schnurenberger. This information contradicts the information
from Dr. Minkoff in his previous taped statement to Det.
Sudler that he had no knowledge of anyone named Lisa
McPherson or any type of condition she had. This
prescription and the inconsistencies in Dr. Minkoff's
statement will be explored in a future interview.
At 1400 hours, a meeting was held between all case agents in this investigation and
Chief Sid Klein, Deputy Chief Paul Maser, Assistant Director Jim Sewell of FDLE, and
Special Agent Larry Samms of FDLE. A short briefing and update of what we had
done so far were provided to the supervisors. This included the information that Rita
Boykin had supplied us in her deposition and leads we have not yet completed.
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Offense Death Investigation Date of Report 3/25/97
THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 1997
At 0900 hours, another caretaker by the name of Valarie Demange was subpoenaed
to the State Attorney's Office under oath for a deposition regarding this investigation.
She was accompanied by her attorney, Attorney Robert Poli. She is identified as
Valarie Demange, W/F, DOB 3/11/65, address of 2105. Ft. Harrison Avenue,
Clearwater, Florida.
Background: Valarie spent a year and a half in nursing school but never graduated.
She also has not worked in the nursing field since that time. She indicated that she
included this information on her resume to the Church of Scientology. She has been
a Scientologist since 1985 and came to the Church of Scientology at 210 S. Ft.
Harrison from Los Angeles in 1993. She came as a project manager and is now the
staff chaplain. At the time of Lisa McPherson's death, she answered to Alain
Kartuzinski.
Involvement With Lisa McPherson: Valarie took care of Lisa McPherson from
approximately 11/21/95 to 11/29/95 or 12/3/95. She wrote several reports
regarding this involvement and placed the initials SNR C/S FSO for the person the
reports were addressed to; that being Alain Kartuzinski. She indicated that the word
"RUSH" on the top of a report meant that it did not follow the normal mail routine
and was taken directly to Alain Kartuzinski. I asked her about her report of
11/21/95, in which she indicated that she gave Lisa McPherson a lot of vitamins at
9:30 a.m., and asked whose order it was for her to give the vitamins. She stated that
Emma Schermerhorn had told her to give Lisa the vitamins. According to Valarie,
Lisa's room door was unlocked from the inside but there was a security guard outside
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the door the entire time Lisa was there. We asked if Lisa was allowed to leave at
anytime and she stated no, that they were told Lisa was very crazy and might get
hurt out in the public. Valarie indicated that it was her understanding after a
meeting with Alain Kartuzinski on 11/26/95 that they were there to isolate Lisa until
she became able to begin an introspection rundown. Valarie was present several
times when Janis Johnson came to Lisa's room. At one point around what Valarie
believed was 11/30/95 or 12/1/95, she saw Janis Johnson give Lisa an injection.
Valarie was not taking care of Lisa during the last four or five days. However, she
was called to an office in the Coachman Building sometime around 12/5/95 or
12/6/95 and advised that Lisa had died and everyone would be quarantined. She
was told by Marcus Quirino, the Deputy Chief Officer at the Church of Scientology, to
write a report on her involvement with Lisa. She wrote the report and turned it in to
Marcus Quirino. I asked who she remembered was at the meeting at the Coachman
Building. She stated that it was Janis Johnson, Sylvia DeLavega, Alain Kartuzinski,
Marcus Quirino, Don Jason, Debbie Cook, Susanne Green, Laura Arrunada, and
Heather Petsold. According to Valarie, everyone there that had contact with Lisa
were writing reports.
The interview with Valarie Demange was recorded by a court reporter. See transcript
for further details.
Also on this date, Assistant State Attorney Mark McGarry issued a subpoena for
Patricia Straecner for a deposition scheduled for the week of 3/31/97. That
subpoena was delivered to her attorney, Attorney Robert Poli.
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MONDAY, MARCH 24, 1997
I placed a phone call to the service Dr. Minkoff works for and requested that he call
me back. I received a call from Attorney Jim Felman, an attorney in Tampa, phone
229-1118. I advised him that we would like to meet with Dr. Minkoff further as all
of the parties involved in the Lisa McPherson investigation were being re-interviewed.
He stated that he would make arrangements for himself and Dr. Minkoff to meet with
us, but that he wanted a subpoena for Dr. Minkoff granting him immunity for
anything he said. I advised Attorney Felman that I would contact Assistant State
Attorney McGarry and make some type of arrangements for the interview.
I received a call from Assistant State Attorney MeGarry, who advised me to contact
Attorney Poli as he had further information about Valarie Demange's interview and
also about his other two clients, Laura Arrunada and Sylvia DeLavega. I contacted
Attorney Poli, who advised that Valarie Demange was not completely truthful with us
during her statement as she was embarrassed to tell us of Lisa's bizarre behavior
during the time she cared for her. He stated that Valarie said Lisa often stood up on
the bed, looked directly at her caretakers, and then urinated in her pants as though
she was doing it on purpose. Valarie also indicated that Lisa would go into the
bathroom, come out with feces in her hand, and attempt to eat it. I advised Attorney
Poli that I would include that information in my report. He stated that, if we could
issue a subpoena for Laura Arrunada and one for Sylvia DeLavega, he would make
arrangements to bring them back when he flew to Mexico City the week of 3/31/97
and have them available for depositions. He also indicated that he would attempt to
have Patricia Straecner available that same week for a deposition.
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I contacted Assistant State Attorney McGarry and had the two subpoenas issued for
Laura Arrunada and Sylvia DeLavega. These subpoenas were then faxed to Attorney
Poli's office on Tuesday, 3/25/97.
TUESDAY, MARCH 25, 1997
Subpoenas were issued to Benetta Slaughter at AMC Publishing asking that she
furnish us with a copy of the entire personnel file on Lisa McPherson,
SSN # XXX-XX-XXXX, from her initial hiring date to the time of her death. We have not
yet received any information from AMC Publishing.
A subpoena was also issued to the Church as follows:
REQUESTED: Original registrations of all guests for the cabana area of the
hotel from 11/18/95 to 12/6/95. Must include full name of
guests, home and business addresses of guests, and contact
phone numbers for guests. Hopefully this subpoena will obtain
us information regarding individuals that were possibly
staying in the area of the cabanas while Lisa was there.
At 0900 hours, Alphonso Barcenas was interviewed during a deposition at the State
Attorney's Office. He is a security guard at the Church Of Scientology and was
stationed outside of Lisa's room during most of her stay. He is identified as
Alphonso Barcenas, H/M, DOB 9/29/47.
Background: Alphonso is from Mexico City and is not a U.S. citizen. He is here on a
religious visa working for the Church. He has no medical background. He has been
a Church member since 1976 at the Church of Scientology in Mexico City. He
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arrived in Clearwater in September 1995 and was assigned to renovations. He has
completed courses in the Church up to a Grade II auditing and was assigned as a
security guard in training during the time Lisa was at the cabanas. He answered
directly to Paul Kellerhaus, who was in charge of the local security office for the
Church.
Involvement With Lisa McPherson: Alphonso was assigned to 12 hour shifts
outside of Lisa's room at the cabanas and had the key to let people in and out. He
was a security guard in training and wore no uniform other than the light blue shirt
and dark blue pants. He had a walkie talkie and worked 8 to 10 days outside of
Lisa's door. He was relieved by another security guard. I asked him what his
instructions were in reference to Lisa leaving the room. He stated that she was not
allowed to leave until he checked with Paul Kellerhaus. I asked if someone such as
her mother would be allowed to see her if she came to visit. He stated no, not
without talking to Paul Kellerhaus first.
The interview with Alphonso Bercenas was recorded by a court reporter. See
transcript for further details of the interview.
Ofc. Reporting Det. Sgt. Wayne Andrews/elg ID No. 603
Case Status Active Date Cleared _____________
Clearance Type Exception Type
1. Arrest 1. Extradition declined 3. Death of Offender
Adult Juvenile 2. AR of primary offense, 4. V/W refused to cooperate
2. Exceptional secondary offense, 5. Prosecution declined
3. Unfounded w/o prosecution 6. Juv/No Custody
Ofc. Reviewing Date SAO Info
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