The case of a former Boeing employee, known for raising concerns about its production standards, was found dead in the United States just days after testifying in a lawsuit against the company, reacts.
While Western media reported John Barnett’s “suicide,” sources revealed to The Washington Post that he was “not depressed” at dinner on the evening of March 8 before he was found dead under mysterious circumstances in his car, with a gunshot wound to his head.
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optimistic
Lawyers, family friends and witnesses also added that the 62-year-old was optimistic about completing his testimony against his former employer in Charleston, South Carolina.
The sources also said that Barnett’s car was scanned inside and out for fingerprints – an unusual procedure in a suicide case.
Eat and drink
For his part, an employee working at the Holiday Inn hotel, where Barnett was found dead in the parking lot, confirmed to The Washington Post that the sixty-year-old man ate and drank soft drinks, and seemed fine on the evening of March 8.
He also added that when he heard the news of his death the next day, it never occurred to him to commit suicide, as he “did not seem upset at all.”
He lost his wife…but he got over it
In turn, family friend Bob Emery said that he spoke to Barnett about two weeks before his death, stressing that he “seemed very focused on what he was doing,” regarding the lawsuit against Boeing, and “he did not seem depressed.”
Emery added to The Washington Post that he and Barnett had recently lost their wives, and Barnett would always call him to make sure he was okay.
While he pointed out that Barnett certainly missed his wife very much, but he did not think he would have committed suicide because of her, according to what was reported by the New York Post.
He also emphasized that Barnett “had a good life for himself, even with the problems at Boeing,” and was not seeking attention, saying: “He saw this as a noble thing he was doing, not to make a name for himself. He gave interviews because he thought it would help keep “For the safety of people.”
He was looking forward to moving on
Barnett’s lawyers, Robert Turkowitz and Brian Knowles, also expressed doubts in a statement Tuesday about the idea that he died by suicide.
They explained that “he was in very good spirits and was really looking forward to leaving this stage of his life behind him and moving forward,” adding: “We did not see any indication that he would end his life. No one could believe that.”
“Pressure and revenge”
For its part, his family said Tuesday that Barnett loved working for the company until 2010, when he was transferred to the Boeing 787 factory in Charleston.
She added that things changed a lot for him when he learned that senior management was pressuring quality inspectors and managers not to adhere to the procedures that the law required them to follow.
It also alleged that Boeing pressured workers to overcome defects in order to avoid slowing down the assembly line, and that those who refused were “labeled as troublemakers, retaliated against, and subjected to a hostile work environment.”
On the other hand, Boeing said in a statement to The Washington Post: “We are saddened by the death of Mr. Barnett, and our thoughts are with his family and friends.”
A silver pistol in his hand
It should be noted that Barnett was scheduled to give closed-door testimony for the third day in his lawsuit against the aircraft giant the next morning, but he never showed up.
His terrified lawyers raised the alarm and asked to check on him at the hotel after he did not answer his phone.
Then police discovered his body on March 9 in his car, with a silver gun still in his hand. She said she was still investigating the death.
The Charleston coroner initially referred to the death as a “self-inflicted” wound, but he quickly added that more tests were being conducted before a final decision was made.
More than 3 decades
It is noteworthy that Barnett was a quality control engineer and worked for Boeing for more than three decades before his retirement in 2017.
Two years later, he told the BBC that Boeing was quick to remove its 787 Dreamliner aircraft from the production line and put them into service.
He also conducted several interviews in which he talked about how he filed an internal complaint with the company, but it did not take any action, which prompted him to announce the matter out of concern for public safety.
His wife, Diane Johnson, also a former Boeing worker, died in 2022 after an undisclosed illness.
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