Description of video in italics July 9, 1997
Lisa McPherson Caretaker Logs Released Various News Reports Unknown channel of origin - Footage of lawyers entering judges chambers
Footage of reporter with documents
Pictures of Lisa McPherson
Footage of the Fort Harrison Hotel
Man News Reporter: As lawyers file into a judges chambers for the
umpteenth battle in the war over the death of Lisa McPherson, the
attorney representing her family is claiming a victory of sorts. Public
access to these handwritten
notes by those who watched over her, during her last month
of life here inside the Church of Scientology headquarters in downtown
Clearwater.
Man News Reporter (holding documents): This proves what?
Ken Dandar (Attorney for McPherson family): Well this proves that
it's not just simple neglect. This proves that there's knowledge by
the higher officials of Scientology that their member is in need of
urgent medical care and nothing gets done about it.
Footage of reporter holding documents
Picture of Lisa McPherson with excerpts from Fort Harrison Hotel
records
Man News Reporter: Scanning the notes reveals a woman in trouble.
November 19, 1995 - "This afternoon Lisa walks like a robot. She
is out of control. November 20th - She has difficulties even
to swallow a bit of water." November 30th - "On the floor,
scooting around, groaning. She's using her legs to kick again."
December 2 - "She has tried to stand several times, but is
not strong enough yet."
Ken Dandar: But the most interesting and damning aspect of these
medical records is what's not there. The last four days are missing.
Sandy Weinberg (Scientology Attorney): We have turned over everything
that we have. Everything that we have.
Picture of Lisa McPherson
Footage of someone pouring two liters of water into a sink
Excerpt from Fort Harrison Hotel record, " Dec.
1, 1995 , Janice Johnson, M.D.
-Given 2gm MgCI (2) IM and Needs 2 liter fluids when awake."
Footage of someone holding two 1 liter bottles of water
Man News Reporter: Attorneys from Scientology say McPherson was
killed by a blood clot brought on by infection. But the medical examiner
says it was dehydration - that she was deprived of water for up to seventeen
days. And this entry three days before her death shows the Scientologist's
medical director ordering at least two liters of fluid for the woman. This
much fluid, as soon as possible.
Ken Dandar: That is an admission right there that she's severely
dehydrated.
Sandy Weinberg: These reports show that that is not true. Uh, These
reports show that in fact uh, Lisa McPherson was provided food and fluids
uh, throughout the seventeen days.
Man News Reporter: December 1st, two liters of fluid, that's, that's
quite, quite a bit of fluid. Doesn't that suggest right there that she
needs something more, that she might need some sort of hospital
care at this point?
Sandy Weinberg: Uh I, I don't read it that way, no. I don't read
it that way. I mean, if somebody was drinking, I mean I, I don't
know what I drink a day. But I think I drink uh, at least two
liters of fluid a day. There's nothing in the record that would indicate
that anybody was intentionally trying to hurt Lisa McPherson. These
documents show just the opposite.
Man News Reporter: Don't they show overall to you uh, reading through
this, that this was somebody who needed hospital care? I mean, the descriptions
of the behaviors, scooting around on the floor, speaking, groaning?
Sandy Weinberg: Well, see, no. It describes a woman who had
deep psychological problems and, and it describes the effort that her
friends, and church, uh employees went to, to try to help her through
those problems.
----------
Channel
28 Tampa Bay News News caption "New Information"
News Caption "Scientology Msytery - Last Four Days"
News Anchor Brendan McLaughlin: There's new information in the Lisa
McPherson death investigation. McPherson is the Scientologist who died
in 1995 while in the care of other Scientologists. Tonight, 28 Tampa
Bays Dawn Witt tells us what she learned about Lisa's last four days.
Ken Dandar: When Lisa was put in isolation, there's 24 hour around
the clock records. These records show that there was a guard at the
door.
Footage of someone paging through documents
Picture of Lisa McPherson
Footage of the Fort Harison Hotel
Picture of autopsy photos of Lisa McPherson
Picture of Lisa McPherson
Footage of Scientology Attorney Laura Vaughan
Dawn Witt (Voiceover): Records released today by a Hillsboro
County judge raised questions about what was going on with Lisa McPherson
during her stay in the Fort Harrison Hotel just prior to her death.
McPherson died in 1995 under the care of Scientologists. Now her family
is suing the church in a wrongful death lawsuit.
Laura Vaughan (Scientology Attorney): Yes, it is a bit of a witch
hunt.
Footage of the Fort Harrison Hotel
Dawn Witt (Voiceover): The church of Scientology has maintained
all along it's members did nothing but try to help Lisa in her final
days.
Laura Vaughan: The paperwork is going to show that people
were with Lisa McPherson, and that contrary to what Mr. Dandar
has said in the press and contrary to some of the implications that
people were trying to uh, feed her and take care of her and stay with
her.
Picture of a certificate of death
Pictures of autopsy photos of Lisa McPherson
Excerpts from Fort Harrison Hotel records
Dawn Witt (Voiceover): Lisa's family blames the church for not getting
Lisa proper
medical attention. In the Fort Harrison Hotel records - In November
1995, Janice Johnson a Scientologist wrote "Lisa was given chloral
hydrate, a prescription sedative." Johnson was a doctor who lost
her license in Arizona. She is not licensed to practice medicine in
Florida either. In those records Johnson wrote, "squirt as much
chloral hydrate as possible into her mouth." On that same day Johnson
wrote, "Lisa needed fluids."
Ken Dandar: These are records where she indicates on December 1
that she needs two liters of fluid stat. And that Lisa needs to be attended
by trained, medical personnel.
Excerpts from Fort Harrison Hotel records
Dawn Witt (Voiceover): On another day another someone else wrote
"Lisa feels the pain of the bruises on her body and complains about
it a lot." On still another day, a woman watching Lisa was apparently
so devastated by Lisa's condition, "she sat in the corner of Lisa's
room and cried."
Dawn Witt (holding documents): But as detailed as these records
are, there are some missing. Namely, any records that detail anything
that happened of the last three and a half days of Lisa McPherson's
life.
Ken Dandar: They claim that they searched around the world in all
the offices of Scientology, looking for these last four days of records.
My question is, why do you have to search around the world? Why aren't
they right here with all of the other records?
Scientology Mystery - Last Four Days"
with picture of Lisa McPherson
Dawn Witt (holding documents): In these records there are also references
to Lisa's money running out while she was at the Fort Harrison. There
are a few sentences discussing where more money could be found for what
Lisa was being given. And some of the other authors also alked about
Lisa being incoherent, not sleeping much, then sleeping a lot, and
crying. These records certainly raise a lot of questions about the case.
Brendan -
News Anchor Brendan McLaughlin: Thank you, Dawn. Late today, church
attorneys reiterated their claim that church members did not realize
Lisa was in danger of dying. And they say everybody around her
tried to help her. The complete medical examiners records on Lisa McPherson
are expected to be released by October.
Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Sarasota, Lakeland,
Florida
"Missing Records" News caption - "Missing Records" with question marks
and
picture of Lisa McPherson
News Anchor Gayle Sierens: It's the mystery of the missing records.
What happened in the last three days of Lisa McPherson's life? Tonight,
Scientologists scramble to fill in the gaps. Good evening everyone,
I'm Gayle Sierens.
News Anchor Bob Hite: And I'm Bob Hite. Thanks for joining
us tonight. New leads reveals records detail most of the care McPherson
received from Scientologists in the day before she died. Most,
but not all. As news Channel 8 Pinellas reporter Mark Douglas tells
us, attention now focuses on a critical gap in the records.
Picture of Lisa McPherson
Footage of Attorneys in the Hillsboro County Courtroom
Footage of Attorneys
Reporter Mark Douglas: The debate over Lisa McPherson's unsolved
death heated up today. In a Hillsboro courtroom attorneys for the
Church of Scientology tried to block the release of records that detail
her care in the weeks before her death. The attorney for McPherson's
estate says those records help prove McPherson died because she
did not receive the proper medical attention.
Ken Dandar: Those documents have some uh, very uh, alarming information
contained in them.
Footage of the Fort Harrison Hotel
Excerpts from Fort Harrison Hotel records
Mark Douglas (Voiceover): During her seventeen day stay at Scientology
headquarters, caregivers attempted to feed McPherson protein shakes,
herbal teas, vitamins and bananas. One wrote, "she really likes
bananas." But McPherson often refused food. One caregiver writes,
"she lets everything in her mouth come out. When she refuses to
swallow and just spits everything out, I leave her alone and try again
later. At times she's weak and others violent." A caregiver says,
"this a.m., she is deliberate and nasty, even evil."
Sandy Weinberg (Scientology Attorney): Lisa was being nasty and
evil because uh, uh as you'll see through there, um, uh, she was
uh, not coherent, she said a lot of abusive things.
Mark Douglas (holding documents): attorneys from McPherson's estate
say the most compelling thing about these documents is what's not
here. The notes from her caretakers end abruptly three days before her
death.
Ken Dandar: They say they scoured the world looking for these records
and they can't find them anywhere.
Sandy Weinberg: We have, we have been able to locate what we located,
and that's it
Footage of news reporter Mark Douglas and Scientology attorney
Sandy Weinberg
Picture of Lisa McPherson
Footage of the Fort Harrison Hotel
Picture of Lisa McPherson
Mark Douglas: Scientology lawyers deny there's any gap in the information.
They say careful notes written after her death reconstruct what happened
and claim a sudden infection killed her. But McPherson's family
believes neglect lead to the dehydration that the medical examiner
says killed Lisa McPherson. I'm Mark Douglas, News Channel 8.
News Anchor Bob Hite: The McPherson family believes the Scientologists
should have provided professional medical care for McPherson much sooner.
Scientologists say they rushed her to the hospital when she became ill,
and that she died suddenly from a pulmonary embolism.
News captions - "McPherson Timeline"
Breakdown of events
News Anchor Bob Hite: Here is a breakdown of the events leading
up to today's events. Lisa McPherson joined the church of Scientology
in 1977. In November 18, 1995, she was involved in a minor car accident,
then ran naked down the street. She was hospitalized briefly and later
released into the care of Scientologists later that day. Three weeks
later she was pronounced dead at New Port Richie Hospital. The
next day, Clearwater Police launched a criminal investigation. In October
1996 ten months later, the autopsy listed
bed rest and severe dehydration as the cause of death. In January, her
family filed a wrongful death
suit against the Church of Scientology. Today the judge released
records detailing McPherson's care and treatment. By October 1997
prosecutors plan to make a decision to whether or not to charge or not
to charge.
Transcript courtesy Feisty |