Coroner Releases Findings Of Boeing Whistleblower’s Death, Alleged Suicide Note Revealed

Boeing whistleblower John Barnett’s death has officially been ruled a suicide.

Barnett, 62, was found dead in his truck in March outside of a Charleston, South Carolina hotel after he failed to appear for his second day of depositions in a lawsuit against the airplane manufacturer.

“All findings were consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” the report from Charleston County Coroner Bobbi Jo O’Neal reads, according to Fox News.

“The decedent’s vehicle was examined further by the Charleston Police Department resulting in the recovery of a projectile that caused the defect in the headliner. The recovered weapon, projectile, and fired cartridge case were
forensically evaluated by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Firearms Department. Examinations
concluded the recovered projectile was discharged from the Smith & Wesson which was registered to Mr. Barnett.
Furthermore, during the autopsy, the trajectory of the wound path was documented. All findings were consistent
with a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” the report read.

Boeing whistleblower John Barnett’s cause of death deemed as ‘suicide’ in autopsy report https://t.co/fL4KJN8OGC

— New York Post (@nypost) May 17, 2024

Fox News reports:

His official cause of death is the gunshot wound. The manner “is best deemed, ‘Suicide.’” the coroner concluded.

Additionally, police said he was locked inside his vehicle alone when they found him, along with the key fob. They found no signs of unusual travel patterns or communications in his phone records, and hotel surveillance video showed him leaving the hotel by himself before he reversed into a parking spot a few minutes later.

ADVERTISEMENT

No one came or went from the vehicle until the grim discovery the following morning.

Police said records showed Barnett bought the handgun legally in 2000, and they found his fingerprints on the notebook containing his suicide letter.

He was suing Boeing, claiming that he had been retaliated against, harassed and spied on by the company.

Barnett’s alleged suicide note read: “I can’t do this any longer!!! Enough!! F**k Boeing!!! Family & Friends I Love You All.”

“Boeing whistleblower John Barnett tells Boeing to kiss his a** in his newly released ‘su*cide note.’ The note had multiple short phrases including ‘F**k Boeing’ and ‘TRUMP 2024,’” Collin Rugg wrote.

“America. Come together or die!! I pray the motherf***er that destroyed my life pay!!! I pray Boeing pays!!! Bury me face down so Boeing and their lying-a** leaders can kiss my a**,” the alleged note read.

“Barnett had been a vocal critic of Boeing and blew the whistle on them for taking shortcuts. Barnett was found dead in his car after he failed to show up on the third day of depositions in a case involving Boeing’s practices. His family and friends questioned the claim that he died by taking his own life. The Charleston Police Department have concluded their investigation and determined he died by su*cide,” Rugg added.

Read the alleged suicide note below (EXPLICIT LANGUAGE):

JUST IN: Boeing whistleblower John Barnett tells Boeing to kiss his a** in his newly released ‘su*cide note.’

The note had multiple short phrases including ‘F**k Boeing’ and ‘TRUMP 2024.’

“America. Come together or die!! I pray the motherf***er that destroyed my life pay!!! I… pic.twitter.com/RmfjiaDTcR

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 17, 2024

Barnett allegedly told a friend: “if anything happens to me, it’s not suicide.”

A family friend of Barnett, identified as Jennifer, told ABC 4 she knows “that he did not commit suicide.”

“There’s no way. He loved life too much. He loved his family too much. He loved his brothers too much to put them through what they’re going through right now,” she said.

“If Anything Happens To Me, It’s Not Suicide”, Deceased Boeing Whistleblower Allegedly Said

From the New York Post:

Authorities say they have authenticated the handwriting as belonging to Barnett. Only his fingerprints were found on the notebook.

In the letter, Barnett also sends missives to his loved ones.

ADVERTISEMENT

“To my family and friends, I found my purpose,” he wrote. “I’m at peace. I love you more.”

Barnett was a quality control engineer who worked for Boeing for more than three decades before retiring in 2017.

During his tenure, he says he had raised a great deal of safety complaints to his bosses which he says were unheeded, particularly when he worked at the company’s Charleston plant. Barnett claimed his bosses then retaliated against him and put him in a largely administrative role.

Two years later, he told the BBC Boeing cut corners by rushing to get its 787 Dreamliner jets off the production line and into service.

Boeing has been under heightened scrutiny in recent months due to a myriad of issues on its planes, including in January when a door plug blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight.

Following the Jan. 5 mid-air fiasco, the Federal Aviation Administration discovered “unacceptable” quality control issues during an audit into Boeing and supplier Spirit AeroSystems.