lawyers as one Boeing whistleblower A man who was recently found dead says they need “more information” about what happened to him.
John Barnett’s body established Saturday at his motel in South Carolina. Barnett’s body was found in his parked truck after he failed to report to court to testify again in his long-running whistleblower retaliation lawsuit against the aerospace giant. The local coroner’s office said Barnett’s death appeared to be the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, although official autopsy results have not yet been released.
Barnett’s death sparked conspiracy theories online and now his lawyers claim they are not satisfied with the information surrounding his death. Robert Turkewitz of the Law Offices of Robert M. Turkewitz, LLC and Brian Knowles, PC of the Knowles Law Firm provided Gizmodo with statements regarding Barnett’s death. The full text of the statement is as follows:
John is a brave, honest and upright man. He cared deeply about his family, friends, Boeing, his fellow Boeing colleagues, and the pilots and people who flew on Boeing airplanes. Rarely do we meet a man of more genuine and forthright character.
While working as a quality manager At Boeing South Carolina, John learned of and exposed very serious safety issues with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and was subjected to retaliation and a hostile work environment, which is the subject of his pending AIR-21 case.
John is testifying in his whistleblower retaliation case, which is finally coming to a close. He is in excellent spirits and is very much looking forward to putting this phase of his life behind him and moving forward. We saw nothing to indicate that he would commit suicide. No one believes this.
We were all devastated. We need more information about what happened to John. Charleston Police need to conduct a full and accurate investigation of this and tell the public what they find. No detail can be spared.
Gizmodo reached out to Boeing for comment on the attorney’s statement and will update this story if Boeing responds.
Barnett’s death sparked further controversy at Boeing, which was already dealing with a swirl of negative press over ongoing safety incidents involving its aircraft. Boeing responded to news of Barnett’s death on Monday, saying: “We are saddened by the passing of Mr. Barnett and our thoughts are with his family and friends.”