Boeing whistleblower John Barnett’s cause of death deemed as ‘suicide’ in autopsy report
An autopsy report for John Barnett, the Boeing whistleblower who was found dead on the day he was due to testify against the jetliner giant, was released Friday — and the coroner writes “the manner of death is best deemed, ‘Suicide.'”
Questions have been raised about the sudden death of Barnett, 62, on March 9 ahead of giving testimony against his former employer, prompting his lawyers to urge Charleston, South Carolina, police “to investigate this fully and accurately,” and adding: “We need more information about what happened to John.”
The seemingly open-ended conclusion of the coroner does little to quell doubts about how he met his end.
The autopsy report says Barnett was found sitting in the driver’s seat of his orange Dodge Ram.
“The body was warm, rigor had not yet set in,” Charleston County deputy coroner Ella Butler wrote, noting the bullet entered Barnett’s head at the right temple.
“Black powder/discoloration, which appeared to be gunshot residue, was noted on the decedent’s right hand,” Butler wrote in the autopsy.
“A semi-automatic Smith & Wesson pistol, a loaded magazine, and unfired 9mm Luger cartridges were located on the vehicle console.
“A notebook containing writing resembling a suicide note was located on the passenger seat,” Butler reports, later noting that the writings were examined by the Charleston Police Department and found only Mr. Barnett’s fingerprints on the notebook. The writings contained information known only to his family.”
“The cause of death was determined to be: Gunshot Wound of the Head,” Butler concludes. “The manner of death is best deemed, ‘Suicide.'”
Barnett was a quality control engineer who worked for Boeing for more than three decades before he retired in 2017, after raising many complaints to his bosses that he claimed went unheeded and led to retaliation.
Two years later, he told the BBC that Boeing cut corners by rushing to get its 787 Dreamliner jets off the production line and into service.
He was found dead on the morning of March 9 after he failed to show up for the third day of depositions about Boeing’s safety practices. His family has also questioned the circumstances around his death.
In their statement calling for a thorough investigation, attorneys Robert Turkewitz and Brian Knowles also said: “We didn’t see any indication he would take his own life.”
“No one can believe it. No detail can be left unturned.”
Following the release of the report, the Charleston Police Department said it was closing its investigation into the death, concluding it was a suicide.
The coroner’s office did not immediately return The Post’s call for comment.
