A Boeing whistleblower found dead in his parked car outside of a West Ashley hotel two months ago died of suicide, the Charleston County Coroner’s office ruled Friday.
On March 13, Charleston police found John Barnett, a 62-year-old Louisiana man who testified about quality problems at Boeing’s North Charleston plant earlier this year, dead in his vehicle outside of the Holiday Inn on the banks of the Ashley River.
Barnett had a fatal gunshot wound to his head at close range while inside his locked vehicle, according to a police report. No evidence of forced entry was found and there were no signs of a physical struggle within the vehicle. The vehicle’s key fob was discovered in Barnett’s pants pocket, police said.
They found a silver handgun in Barnett’s right hand. Later, ballistic analysis verified the bullet recovered at the scene had been fired from that specific gun. Barnett legally purchased the gun in 2000.
In March, Barnett’s attorneys, Charleston lawyers Rob Turkewitz and Brian Knowles, said their client had been in good spirits as a March deposition process was ending. But a notebook found on the front passenger seat of the vehicle included a note from Barnett that suggested he was going through a period of serious personal distress, according to police. Fingerprint analysis confirmed Barnett’s fingerprints on the notebook. All fingerprints on the page containing the note were identified as Barnett’s.
Security footage from the hotel confirmed Barnett’s movements on the evening of March 8, 2024, police said. He entered the hotel alone at 7:26 p.m., proceeded to his room at 7:36 p.m., and was last seen leavinging the hotel by himself at 8:37 p.m. Barnett’s vehicle was seen on video reversing into a parking space at 8:45 p.m., where it remained stationary until police discovered it the following morning. Authorities also said there was no video evidence of anyone interacting with the vehicle, entering it or the vehicle leaving its parking spot throughout the night.
Barnett worked for Boeing for 32 years and filed a whistleblower complaint alleging safety concerns in 2019, according to reports. He also reportedly claimed Boeing overworked employees at the company’s North Charleston plant, frequently fitted substandard parts on planes and reported faulty oxygen systems that could result in as many as one in four oxygen masks not operating properly.
Meanwhile, Boeing has denied Barnett’s allegations, suggesting in an April testimony that the 787 Dreamliner’s carbon-composite skin is nearly impervious to metal fatigue that weakens conventional aluminum fuselages.
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