Another Mysterious Scientology-related Suicide: CoS Critic Shawn Lonsdale

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

Scourge of Scientology dies in apparent suicide

CLEARWATER - Shawn Lonsdale, whose one-man crusade against Scientology made him a public enemy of the church, was found dead at his home over the weekend in an apparent suicide. He was 39.

-snip-

It was a lonely end for a man who emerged out of nowhere in 2006 as a thorn in the side of the Church of Scientology.

-snip-

“I found him to be quite affable and truly a very intelligent man,” (anti-CoS attorney Luke) Lirot said in an interview Monday. “I certainly hope that a very thorough investigation is conducted.”

-snip-

Landlord Joe Critchley said Lonsdale was an ideal tenant: He paid the $650 rent on time every month and he kept the place clean. The last time they talked, Feb. 1 or Feb. 2, Lonsdale seemed fine. “He would be one of the last people I would expect to commit suicide,” Critchley said. “But you never know.”

http://www.religionnewsblog.com/20703/scientology-shawn-lonsdale

Lonsdale started his crusade against the controversial organization after getting in an argument with a Scientologist at a Clearwater city council meeting. He picketed Scientology headquarters for months, spent hours taping church buildings, staffers and guards, collected church documents and more. The Scientologists fought back. Their private investigator found that Lonsdale had two misdemeanor convictions for lewd behavior (public sex with other men). Their harrassment included contacting Londsdale's employer and landlord to accuse him of being a possibly dangerous religious bigot. It didn't seem to deter him.

But last year Lonsdale appeared to lose interest in his chosen cause. He let his anti-CoS website lapse and his posting on blogs declined. He couldn't afford to be a full-time Scientology critic; he had found work and was making plans to return to school.

A hose connected to his car exhaust pipe was run through a window in his home. An apparent suicide note was found. Its contents have not been released.

More Scientology-related deaths

[tinrobot]

1. He was interviewed on the BBC

It was part of a really good documentary on Scientology that was aired last year. Here's the segment on him, where the BBC films him being harassed by Scientologists:

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=wGecZssWc5M&feature=PlayList&p=AA1AB681F8829FB2&index=2


Here's the whole documentary:

http://fr.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=AA1AB681F8829FB2

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

4. Oh. My. Fucking. God. That was unbelievable.

Bad enough that the Tom Cruise wannabe interrupted the interview, and did that nose-to-nose thing with the interviewer.

But to take Lonsdale's past and post it like a predator warning on storefronts all over downtown Clearwater...

I only watched the first video - I'll watch the whole documentary first chance I get. But just that one segment makes me very suspicious of the circumstances surrounding Shawn Lonsdale's death.

Thank you for the links.

*picks up jaw and wanders off, shaking head*

[RebelOne]

2. Until I know what the contents of the note are,

I can't believe that it was a suicide.

[TechBear_Seattle]

3. "A hose connected to his car exhaust pipe was run through a window in his home"

People who suicide via carbon monoxide will either seal up their garage and run the car, or make a simple adjustment to reroute car exhaust into the vehicle itself through the ventilation system. The amount of time it would take to fill an entire home with toxic gas.... It certainly sounds suspicious to me.