Well the situation seems to have panned out pretty much as we speculated, but the details are shocking and very, very damaging for the CoS.
Firstly, the person being charged with murder, Rex Fowler, is at the pinnacle of the Scientology Bridge to spiritual enlightenment. Therefore, by Scientology’s own definition, should be one of the most ethical and sane people on this planet. But, Fowler’s actions put the lie to this.
I have no doubt that Fowler viewed Ciancio as an SP who threatened him and his ‘religion’ and had to be stopped. Cultists think like this and they are unable to see the consequences of their actions.
We have seen murders in the CoS before, but the world is a different place now and people everywhere are beginning to join up the dots.
From the article: “Employees of the software company, which reportedly had suffered financial difficulties since 2008, related in part to the transfer of as much as $200,000 to a church or charity by Fowler, told investigators that Ciancio arrived around 10 a.m. Dec. 30 to collect his check.”
I think we can guess where that $200,000 went. This immediately paints a picture of a businessman being coerced to give money to the cult. Money that his company could ill afford, given their poor financial position. The media won’t have to go far to find many other cases where Scientologists have been made to give money to the cult, resulting in financial collapse. This is inevitably going to cause a lot of distress and quite probably suicidal thoughts.
Even Fowler’s wife has to butt in with a Scientologist’s typically blinkered and inappropriate rhetoric: ‘Janet Fowler also reportedly told investigators that her husband "is a Scientologist and would not have gone without a fight. He would have grabbed a gun in a struggle and would not have let someone shoot him."’
Way to go Janet! Just in case anyone missed that Fowler was a Scientologist and you imply that Scientologists are aggressive. This is also very sad, because here we can see that Mrs Fowler is unable to believe that her husband was talking to a man at his desk, pulled out a gun and shot him 3 times in the head. She seems to have convinced herself that somehow Ciancio was the aggressor, and that Fowler heroically fought him off even after being shot once in the head and then wrestled the gun from Ciancio and then shot him 3 times in the head.
I mean, how delusional can you be? She probably thinks that this is all a plot by the ‘psychs’ to discredit Scientology.
Hopefully, she will come to see the part that the cult of Scientology has played in wrecking their lives.
And to cap it all, his son who gave him the gun, lives on L Ron Hubbard way!
“Investigators say the gun was registered to Andrew Hyung Fowler, 26, who lived at 1413 L. Ron Hubbard Way in Los Angeles, when it was purchased. In interviews with police, Andrew Fowler said he gave the gun to his father for Christmas in 2007.”
Since I don’t know too much about US gun laws, could someone who might know, tell us if it would be legal for one person to buy and register a gun and then just give it to someone else? Could the son face criminal charges?
This is obviously a terrible tragedy for everyone involved. I have to agree with Feral that it is highly likely that we will see other cases like this as the cult starts to unravel and those who have gambled their whole lives on the dream of Total Freedom have the shocking realisation that they have thrown everything away on a con. When I had my run-in with OTVIII George Baillie, it was very graphically brought home to me, just what being at the top of the Bridge and refusing to see the truth could do to someone’s sanity. The anger, fear, and frustration resulting from knowing that you have been betrayed and wasted you whole life, is enough to send anyone over the edge.
Barring Fowler claiming to have been driven insane by the teachings of this church, it is difficult to see how this could be any worse for the ‘church’ of Scientology.
Axiom142