By Sean Adl-Tabatabai – The People’s Voice
The Boeing whistleblower, who was found dead recently shortly after promising to expose how Boeing planes are being deliberately sabotaged, reportedly told a close family friend that he was not suicidal and feared for his life.
62-year-old John Barnett died of an alleged self-inflicted gunshot wound, the Charleston County coroner’s office in South Carolina reported earlier this week.
Barnett had previously blown the whistle about the company’s intention to sabotage their own planes and use them to transport passengers, despite the extreme dangers this posed.
Modernity.news reports: According to his attorneys, Barnett had “exposed very serious safety problems with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and was retaliated against and subjected to a hostile work environment” and was in the middle of a legal deposition against Boeing.
“He was in very good spirits and really looking forward to putting this phase of his life behind him and moving on. We didn’t see any indication he would take his own life. No one can believe it,” said the attorneys.
It now turns out Barnett was telling close friends not to believe it if he supposedly committed suicide.
After family friend Jennifer asked Barnett if he was concerned for his safety, the former quality manager was emphatic.
“Aren’t you scared?” asked Jennifer. “And he said, ‘No, I ain’t scared, but if anything happens to me, it’s not suicide.’”
“I know 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 added.
According to the family friend, somebody, presumably representing Boeing, “didn’t like what he had to say” and wanted to “shut him up” without it coming back to anyone.
“That’s why they made it look like a suicide,” Jennifer said, who last saw the whistleblower in late February.
Barnett’s attorneys said they’re still prepared to go forward with the case in June.