Publicado: Jun 18, 2008
Por: UnethicalBehaviour
Duracion: 0:48
12th February 2008 CLEARWATER FLORIDA - 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. He was 39. Police discovered Lonsdale's body at 12:20 p.m. Saturday after neighbours reported a foul odour. They found a garden hose stretched from the exhaust pipe of Lonsdale's car into a window of his home at 510 N Lincoln Ave., according to Clearwater police spokeswoman Elizabeth Daly-Watts. The medical examiner's office said the official cause of death is pending toxicology reports. It was a suspicious end for a man who emerged out of nowhere in 2006 as a thorn in the side of the Church of Scientology. He had numerous verbal confrontations with Scientologists, which he edited into a documentary about Scientology that aired on local cable television. Lonsdale, who was never a Scientologist, was an odd nemesis. He had no connection to the church before arguing with a Scientologist over redevelopment issues at a Clearwater City Council meeting. However, he stepped into his new role with enthusiasm. At night, he dropped fliers on the doorsteps of prominent businesses. On his lunch break, he parked his car across the street from the church's cafeteria with posters in his window that claimed people could find free versions of expensive church texts on the Internet. He even picked church-related documents from piles of trash in front of a Scientology-owned business and posted some of the documents online. The Church of Scientology and some its members fought back. They hired a private investigator to look into Lonsdale's background and found two misdemeanour convictions in 1999 and 2000. They called Lonsdale's employer at a title company and his landlord and said that Lonsdale was a religious bigot and possibly dangerous. In the fall of 2006, the church subpoenaed Lonsdale for a deposition, contending he was an agent of an anti-Scientology group that was legally barred from protesting in certain places downtown. Attorney Luke Lirot, who has battled Scientology in the past, came to Lonsdale's aid. "I found him to be quite affable and truly a very intelligent man," Lirot said in an interview Monday. "I certainly hope that a very thorough investigation is conducted." Randy Payne, a friend, said "He had every reason to live." 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."
Canal: News
Tags: church clearwater critic cult cult-watch death florida homicide lonsdale murder rip scientology shawn suicide
Calificacion: 5.00 (8 votos) Reproducciones: 209 Comentarios: 2
SAULGENESISFANREBORN Escribio:
Jul 27, 2008 - A run that was too short...
Anonneemoose Escribio:
Jun 28, 2008 - R.I.P Shawn.. You had a good run..