Tragic Death of Kyle Brennan

Posted on May 12, 2015 in City, Nation, Radio, State, World | Comments Off

In this special, extended edition of Inside Charlottesville, Victoria and Rick Britton discuss the tragic death of 20-year-old Kyle Brennan at the home of his Scientologist father, Tom Brennan, in Clearwater, Florida in February 2007. Victoria is Kyle’s mother and Rick is his step-father. There are a number of mysteries and still-unanswered questions surrounding Kyle’s tragic death. Was this a suicide or something elese?  “Truth for Kyle” website.
Rick begins the program with this preface: “My 20-year-old step-son Kyle Brennan died eight years ago—the evening of February 16, 2007—under extremely suspicious circumstances in the Clearwater, Florida, apartment of his Scientologist father Tom Brennan. (In downtown Clearwater, the nearby Fort Harrison Hotel is the worldwide headquarters of the Church of Scientology.) This path that my wife Victoria and I are on started eight years ago with Victoria asking questions of the Clearwater police. Eight years later many of those basic questions are still unanswered. Thanks to all the lying done by the police, the medical examiner’s office, and the Scientologists involved, we still don’t know how Kyle died, or even whether he was murdered. Of one thing we’re certain—presented with the facts of the case, and proof of the numerous lies told, any reasonable person would conclude, as we have, that something other than what was reported by the police took place in Tom Brennan’s apartment the evening Kyle died. Innocent people don’t lie.”

ORIGINAL BROADCAST DATE: Tuesday, May 12, 2014.

Tragic Death of Kyle Brennan | InsideCville.com

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Tragic Death of Kyle Brennan | InsideCville.com

 

 

 

                          Kyle Brennan’s Death & the Church of Scientology

·        Kyle Brennan - Born in Meriden, Connecticut, in 1986, my youngest son Kyle was bright, creative, and outgoing. He loved his family and was very fond in particular of a young niece who lived nearby. He was fascinated by Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of the Species and enjoyed taking long walks with his step-father. He was attending Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville, Virginia. He had dreams for his future. Like many youngsters his age, Kyle suffered from mild anxiety and depression. He was prescribed Lexapro, a well-regarded psychiatric medication, by his psychiatrist. Kyle was not a Scientologist.

·        Scientology and Psychiatry – The Church of Scientology’s hatred of psychiatry is extreme and vicious. One of the organization’s major tenets is that psychiatry and psychiatric medications are evil.  “Scientologists,” according to BBC reporter John Sweeney, “believe that psychiatry is Nazi pseudoscience. They believe that the Holocaust was planned and carried out by psychiatrists.” Scientology considers itself at war with psychiatry. Scientology teaches that it alone can save humanity from psychiatry.   

·        Scientologist Tom Brennan – Kyle’s biological father, Tom Brennan, is a talented chef prone to violent outbursts. A longtime Scientologist, Brennan in 2007 was living in Clearwater, Florida, world headquarters of the Church of Scientology. He was working for the Church, and living in an apartment across the street from the Coachman Building, a Scientology training and counseling center. Brennan’s Scientology “auditor” (or spiritual advisor) at the time was Denise Miscavige Gentile, twin-sister of the organization’s controversial leader, David Miscavige. (He referred to her, in fact, as “chaplain Denise.”) Brennan was pushing Scientology on Kyle: Kyle was resisting. When visiting Brennan in the summer of 2006, Kyle was told that Scientology was all he needed. He didn’t need to go to college. During this visit he heard Brennan’s new wife, also a devout Scientologist, refer to him as a “Suppressive Person”—someone to be reviled—an “enemy of the Church.”

·        Kyle’s 2006-2007 Travels – Just after Thanksgiving 2006, Kyle left Charlottesville to travel the country. Kyle first hopped a plane to Waterloo, Iowa, where he was looking into a community college. He traveled to California where he stayed with a paternal aunt. He flew to Maui in Hawaii where he camped on the beach. Just before he left, I had filled his Lexapro prescription. In preparation for his trip, Kyle purchased another bottle’s-worth of his psychiatric medication. Kyle took along two small duffel bags full of clothing, camping gear, an iPod, and his Dell laptop computer.

·        Kyle in Clearwater – Kyle arrived in Clearwater February 8, 2007. He’d decided to visit with his biological father before returning home to Charlottesville. Just prior to arriving, Kyle and a maternal uncle had a long telephone conversation during which Kyle talked about his plans for the future. In Clearwater, Tom Brennan put Kyle up in his downtown apartment and gave him his own room. I spoke over the phone with Brennan during Kyle’s stay, at one point asking him to make sure Kyle took his medication. Brennan said he would. Instead Brennan continued pushing Scientology on Kyle, telling him that Scientology-recommended vitamins would be better for him than his Lexapro. On Thursday, February 15, Kyle walked three miles to a branch of his bank and deposited money into his savings account to keep it open. On the evening of Friday, February 16, Kyle called a number of Clearwater-area personal injury lawyers seeking assistance. (This we know from his cellphone records.) 

·        Kyle’s Death – Kyle died of a gunshot wound to the head the evening of Friday, February 16, in Brennan’s Clearwater apartment. The EMTs found Kyle’s body in what Brennan said was his bedroom, not Kyle’s. Alongside him was a Taurus .357 Magnum revolver. Kyle’s head they found lying inside a laundry basket. Kyle’s Lexapro was found locked in the trunk of his father’s vehicle. Based on what we were told initially, we believe Kyle died at approximately 11 p.m. Brennan called 911 for help at 12:10 a.m. after first calling “chaplain Denise” for advice. The 1:00 a.m. phone call I received telling me of Kyle’s death was made—not by Kyle’s father, Tom Brennan, not by the Clearwater police—but by Gerald Gentile, Denise Miscavige Gentile’s husband. They’d driven to Brennan’s apartment that night.

·        Scientology “Handling” – In 2010 we learned that Kyle’s death had taken place only 36 hours after Tom Brennan had been given written orders to “handle” Kyle by Scientology’s “Flag Service Organization, Inc.” (the Church’s “spiritual headquarters” located in Clearwater’s Fort Harrison Hotel). “Handling,” as per Scientology, means taking care of a situation, removing a problem. To Scientologists, my son was an “enemy of the Church” simply because he was consulting a psychiatrist and taking Lexapro. Along with its vicious hatred of psychiatry, Scientology teaches that ethics don’t apply when it comes to “handling” an “enemy of the Church.” As founder L. Ron Hubbard wrote, “An enemy . . . may be deprived of property or injured by any means. . . . [They] may be tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed.” Brennan was ordered to “handle” his son or face the consequences. One part of this Church-mandated “handling,” we believe, was the seizure of Kyle’s psychiatric medication, but how far did Scientologist Brennan go to stay in the Church’s good graces?   

·        The Criminally Mismanaged Police Investigation – Clearwater policemen and emergency medical personnel arrived at Brennan’s apartment within minutes of his 911 call. Rookie patrolman Jonathan Yuen, despite being outranked by other police officers present, was put in charge of the crime scene. The following day, Detective Stephen Bohling took over the investigation. He never visited Brennan’s apartment. Bohling told our family that the police “never processed the weapon or the scene for fingerprints.” He lied. The police report revealed that Kyle’s hands had been tested for gunshot residue (or GSR). That test was withheld from further analysis by the detective. The weapon too had been tested for fingerprints. That test came back negative—there were no fingerprints or ridge detail on the Taurus .357. There was no blood on it. Someone had wiped it clean. The bullet that killed Kyle was never found. (The Taurus .357 found alongside Kyle held four unfired bullets and one casing. Five more rounds were found in one of Kyle’s pockets. No fingerprints or ridge details were found on any of these cartridges—not even Kyle’s fingerprints.) The medical examiner ruled Kyle’s death a suicide saying that a suicide note was found on his person. (The police later admitted that there was no note.) With a missing bullet, no GSR test, and a weapon negative for fingerprints it cannot be determined who pulled the trigger on the weapon that killed my son, or even if he was killed by the weapon found at the scene.

·        Lies Tom Brennan Told About the Weapon & Ammunition – Brennan told many contradictory stories about the Taurus .357 Magnum and its ammunition. He told patrolman Yuen: That the gun was unloaded; it was kept in a green bag; he didn’t know where the ammunition for it was; and that Kyle didn’t know it was in the apartment. Then he told Detective Bohling: That he did know the whereabouts of the ammunition, it was stored in the green bag with the weapon. Under oath, in his deposition, however, Brennan stated: That he didn’t know if the weapon was loaded or unloaded; that the ammunition was not in the green bag with the weapon; and that Kyle not only knew about the Taurus, but that Brennan had showed it to Kyle just prior to taking Kyle and his older brother Sean to a local firing range. That’s where Brennan claimed he’d purchased the bullets. Sean, however, swore out an affidavit stating that: The three had gone to a Fort Myers-area firing range, Fowler’s, but had not taken the Taurus .357. They instead rented a Heckler & Koch USP .45 and Fowler’s provided the ammunition. Obviously, the .357 caliber and .45 caliber ammunition are not interchangeable, so where were the .357 bullets for the Taurus purchased? The green bag was not retrieved from the crime scene.

·        Tom Brennan’s Various Timelines – Brennan first told Kyle’s Virginia family that the evening Kyle died he’d arrived at his apartment at 10:30 p.m. after having dinner with friends. He later changed his story, saying he’d arrived home between 11:10 and 11:15 after spending the day selling books at the State Fair, and stopping by Denise’s to borrow a book. His first story places him in the apartment when Kyle died. And it’s obvious that he changed his tune to distance himself from his apartment and Kyle’s death. But even if the second story were true, why had it taken an hour for Brennan to dial 911? What was he doing during that hour? Why did he lie about his whereabouts? Detective Bohling was told about Brennan’s contradictory stories, but he never challenged Brennan’s veracity. In fact Bohling, in the subsequent police report, improved on Brennan’s alibi, saying: “Thomas Brennan returned home near midnight. . . .”

·        The Wrongful-Death Lawsuit – On behalf of the Estate of Kyle Brennan, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division on June 17, 2010. Listed as defendants were: Tom Brennan, Denise Miscavige Gentile and her husband Gerald Gentile, the Church of Scientology, and “Flag Service Organization, Inc.” (or FSO, the Church’s so-called “spiritual headquarters”). The Estate was represented at varying times by Clearwater First Amendment lawyer Luke Lirot and Tampa attorney Kennan Dandar. The defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, and that was granted by federal judge Steven D. Merryday on December 6, 2011. We appealed this ruling but we lost.

·        Lies Told by Denise Miscavige and Gerald Gentile – In order to distance themselves from Kyle’s death, the Gentiles told numerous lies. They at first denied their relationship with Brennan, denied that Denise was a Scientology “auditor,” and denied that Denise was Brennan’s “auditor.” They also at first denied that Denise rode down to Brennan’s apartment the night Kyle died. And they claimed that Gerald’s call to me was placed from their home. All of these statements were later shown to be lies: Scientology documents prove Denise’s status as a “chaplain,” and that she was indeed Brennan’s “chaplain”—meaning they’d had a very close relationship. Gerald Gentile later admitted that both had gone to Brennan’s apartment and that the call was made from that location. Pressed for details concerning the “book borrowing” alibi, Denise and Brennan made contradictory statements. Denise claimed Brennan had borrowed her Scientology e-meter manual, while Brennan said he’s gotten Gerald’s electrical handyman repair book.

·        Kyle’s Laptop Computer – Suspiciously, Kyle’s computer—instead of being taken into police custody as evidence—ended up at the Miscavige-Gentile home soon after he died. When the laptop was returned to Virginia, Kyle’s sister-in-law, a U.Va. grad now working in Internet technology, analyzed its content. She found that it had been accessed but a few hours after Kyle’s death, on Saturday the 17th, and files had later been deleted.

·        Lies Told by Police and the Medical Investigator - Detective Bohling and Medical Investigator Martha Scholl lied about contacting and consulting with Kyle’s psychiatrist, saying in the police report that: “The doctor confirmed that Kyle had been exhibiting early signs of schizophrenia to include paranoia and delusions and . . . advised that he was not aware of any major side effects if one was to suddenly stop taking Lexapro.” However, Kyle’s psychiatrist, under oath, stated that he had absolutely no contact with either Bohling or Scholl. “Perplexed and dumbfounded” by their statements, he said he was “bound by confidentiality” not to release “information about a patient’s treatment.” Under oath, he stated that “Kyle’s diagnosis was mild anxiety and depression,” and that there are major side effects from the sudden termination of taking Lexapro, especially for someone Kyle’s age.

·        Destroyed Police Evidence - Tom Brennan was never closely interviewed by the police. Patrolman Jonathan Yeun, the police officer in charge of the crime scene, testified that he only conducted a “short-short” interview with Brennan. He stated that he shredded the notes from this encounter. Detective Bohling also destroyed the notes of his first interview with Tom Brennan. Martha Scholl, told to bring her notes to her deposition, said that she had forgotten to do so.

·       In Conclusion – So many lies and glaringly contradictory statements were told by the defendants—and Clearwater-area public servants—that any reasonable person is left confused and extremely suspicious. What really happened in Brennan’s Clearwater apartment on February 16, 2007, the night Kyle died?  Anybody would have to conclude that in the State of Florida justice cannot be found when it involves the Church of Scientology.

 

In 2007 my forward-looking 20-year-old son, Kyle Brennan, died in Clearwater, Florida, under extremely suspicious circumstances while visiting his Scientologist father. (Clearwater, of course, is the site of Scientology’s headquarters.) We lost the subsequent wrongful-death lawsuit we filed against Kyle’s father, prominent Scientologists who were involved, and the Church of Scientology itself. Because of the legal expenses incurred, we’ve yet to purchase a proper headstone for our beloved son. Will you help us?



If you have any questions contact Victoria at: vbreton2062 (at) aol.com.
(For more information regarding the highly questionable events surrounding Kyle’s death, the extremely mishandled police investigation, and the perjured testimony given by the defendants please refer to “The Truth for Kyle Brennan” blog at vbreton2062.wordpress.com.)

Marti Scholl, Medical Investigator ?

Marti Scholl was the Pinellas-Pasco County, Florida, Medical Investigator when my youngest son, Kyle Brennan, died under very suspicious circumstances at his father’s apartment in downtown Clearwater, Florida, the night of February 16-17, 2007.
 

There were—and still are—a large number of discrepancies in the testimonies and depositions made by those present that evening. And there are also plenty of inconsistencies in the information given me by Ms. Scholl’s office and the Clearwater Police Department. (Scholl and Clearwater Detective Stephen Bohling, for example, fabricated contact with Dr. Stephen McNamara, Kyle’s psychiatrist. According to Bohling, Dr. McNamara “confirmed that Kyle had been exhibiting early signs of Schizophrenia to include paranoia and delusions,” said he had prescribed Lexapro, and “advised that he was not aware of any major side effects if one was to suddenly stop taking” it [emphasis added]. Scholl, too, claimed she had spoken with Kyle’s psychiatrist. Dr. McNamara, however, stated under oath that he was “perplexed and dumbfounded” by these statements because he had had absolutely no contact whatsoever with either Bohling or Scholl. Not only had they lied about speaking with McNamara, and concocted Kyle’s diagnosis, but McNamara stated that indeed there were potential side effects.)

I called Ms. Scholl on December 19, 2007, with a list of questions regarding Kyle’s death and the subsequent investigation. I told her I was calling because I wanted clarification. Asked for the names of the police officers who responded to Tom Brennan’s 911 call, Ms. Scholl said they were Brett Faulk and Jonathan Yuen. This was when I learned, too, that she was the medical investigator sent to the Brennan apartment the evening Kyle died. When I asked, however, why the forensic procedures outlined in section 406.11 of the Florida Statutes were not followed, Ms. Scholl did not respond. (Section 406.11 refers specifically to “Examinations, investigations, and autopsies.” According to Section 406.11, the medical examiners are supposed to determine the cause of death, not the police. In Kyle’s investigation, Detective Bohling claimed that Scholl had ruled his death a suicide, and Scholl claimed that she had been told by the police that it was a suicide. See below for more information.1)

While her non-response in that instance was troubling, and very telling, Ms. Scholl’s reaction to the following question was perhaps even more so. When I asked who provided her Kyle’s personal and medical information, she didn’t answer directly. Instead she stated that she didn’t want to get any of the police officers in trouble.

Next I told her about a discrepancy on Kyle’s death certificate that I wanted corrected. It listed Tom Brennan’s apartment—where Kyle was just visiting—as Kyle’s home address, not his real address in Virginia. She said she was told that Tom Brennan was Kyle’s next of kin. Then I asked her why the police hadn’t called me the night Kyle died. Why was it that a complete stranger, Gerald Gentile, had made that call instead? Ms. Scholl explained that indeed it is the job of the police to notify the family. And, Ms. Scholl continued, “if the medical examiner’s office was responsible for making calls like that in the middle of the night, we would probably hear nothing but a big thump on the other end of the line.”

Ms. Scholl then asked if there was a problem with the investigation. Was there a suspicion of criminal wrongdoing? I asked if she was aware that Tom Brennan and Gerald Gentile are Scientologists; referring, of course, to Scientology’s well-known war against psychiatry and psychiatric medication. She said “yes,” and then told me the prescription date on Kyle’s Lexapro bottle and exactly how many pills were left inside. She said Kyle had not been taking his medication properly, and that you can’t do that with Lexapro. Kyle really had no choice in the matter, I replied, since it was taken away from him and locked in his father’s vehicle.

1. More information regarding Florida Statute 406: “The mission of the medical examiner’s office is to fulfill the needs outlined in F.S.406, to be of service to families of the deceased, and local government agencies. In short, our mission is to determine the cause and manner of death under certain circumstances. This mission requires utmost objectivity. . . .”

406.11- Examinations, investigations, and autopsies.

(1) In any of the following circumstances involving the death of a human being, the medical examiner of the district in which the death occurred or the body was found shall determine the cause of death and shall, for that purpose, make or have performed such examinations, investigations, and autopsies as he or she shall deem necessary or as shall be requested by the state attorney:

(2)(a)The district medical examiner shall have the authority in any case coming under subsection (1) to perform, or have performed, whatever autopsies or laboratory examinations he or she deems necessary and in the public interest to determine the identification of or cause or manner of death of the deceased or to obtain evidence necessary for forensic examination.

(See http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0400-0499/0406/0406.html)

Excerpt from the Deposition of Victoria Britton





Excerpt from the Deposition of Detective Stephen Bohling







Excerpt from the Deposition of Stephen McNamara MD













Excerpt from the Deposition of Tom Brennan





Emails from Attorney Ken Dandar, Subject:Marti Scholl Deposition





Investigative Procedure:

Excerpt from the Deposition of Victoria Britton





Excerpt from the deposition of Detective Stephen Bohling



Excerpt from Officer Jonathan Yuen Deposition







Detective Steve Bohling





Content of conversation between Medical Investigator Marti Scholl and Victoria Britton.

 

Hide & Seek, From Clearwater to Craigslist

Soon after the wrongful-death lawsuit was filed, numerous attempts were made to serve Tom Brennan. With each attempt—and they numbered at least four—an individual at the Brooklyn, New York, home would lie to the serving sheriff. According to the officer, he was told every time that “no one at the home knew of anyone by the name of Brennan, nor had anyone with that name ever resided there.”

I was the person doing the investigative work on Brennan’s location. (Few people realize that I’d studied criminology. I never dreamed, however, that I’d use what I’d learned in an investigation into the suspicious death of my child.) Every time the papers were returned, my attorney, Ken Dandar, would ask whether I’d made a mistake. I’d recheck, but the result was always the same–Brennan was staying at that Brooklyn address.

In April of 2009, Dandar received a misdirected e-mail from Carrie Brennan Farrell (one of Tom Brennan’s sisters), who lives in San Diego. Evidently, Farrell believed she was sending information to attorneys representing her brother. Written with the intent to discredit me by claiming that I’d expressed little concern for my son’s well-being, it provided amusement for the law office of Dandar & Dandar. (See Farrell’s e-mail pasted-in below.) Along with her morally repugnant and self-serving musings, Farrell erred in the time-line regarding Kyle’s travels. These two things would make it easy to discredit her as a witness. And in the end she helped throw her brother under the bus. When she implied that she’d spoken to Tom Brennan in person, I suspected that Brennan was now out in San Diego.

Thanks to this correct guess, Brennan was served in July of 2009. Knowing that he’s frequently worked as a handyman, I searched the San Diego-area Craigslist. Sure enough, there he was: “Tom the Handyman.” When Kyle’s older brother called the number listed in the ad, he was able to positively identify the voice of his step-father. All it took was one word: “Hello.” Brennan was finally served with the complaint when a hired private investigator contacted him pretending that a room in his home needed painting.

When Brennan entered the investigator’s home he was immediately shown a photo and asked if he was the individual pictured. Attorney Dandar was later told that when Brennan was served the color drained from his face and he said, “I thought you might find me.” Soon afterwards he returned to live at the Brooklyn address where supposedly he had never resided.

Copy of Original Craigslist Ad

To: emmons1666@yahoo.com; DandarLaw@aol.com
Sent: Mon, Jun 29, 2009 8:52 pm
Subject: Brennan on Craigslist

Found Him! He is living in Oceanside, California. This is a suburb of San Diego. I will try to get an address.

••••••NEED A HELPING HAND? CALL TOM THE HANDYMAN!!•••••
June 27, 2009 … CALL TOM THE HANDYMAN!!••••• … CALL TOM BRENNAN AT (760) 277-5488 FOR FRIENDLY , DEPENDABLE AND ECONOMICAL SERVICE. …
sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/hss/1243341804.html – Similar pages

•••••••EXPERIENCED HANDYMAN SAVES YOU $$$$$•••••••
June 27, 2009 … •••••••EXPERIENCED HANDYMAN SAVES YOU $$$$$••••••• … CALL TOM BRENNAN AT (760) 277-5488 FOR FRIENDLY, RELIABLE AND ECONOMICAL SERVICE. …
sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/hss/1243351654.html – Similar pages
[ More results from sandiego.craigslist.org ]

TOM BRENNAN HAS BEEN SERVED!!!
Date: 7/16/2009 3:30:40 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time
Process of service record










Mission Accomplished




Copy of email inadvertently sent to Attorney Kennan Dandar from Carrie Brennan Farrell.

* Note date of the email



* Date on the complaint



Defining Moral Depravity:

Carrie Brennan Farrell makes a gaffe when concocting the time-line in her email to Attorney Dandar. Farrell makes the statement “by this time Kyle had returned to Florida.” During this time Kyle was, in fact, camping on a beach in Hawaii. No one knew where my son was at that time as I had just filed a missing person’s report. Brennan Farrell’s concern ended for Kyle at the conclusion of that singular phonecall.

Affidavit of Victoria Britton

“If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything”







Miscellaneous Email



Excerpt from Tom Brennan Deposition





Excerpts from the Deposition of Stephen McNamara,MD.

Attorney Lee Fugate attempting to corner Dr. Stephen McNamara with fabricated information.



Deposition of Stephen McNamara, MD







The deposition of Caryl Brennan Farrell was canceled by attorneys representing the Church of Scientology one day before they were to occur. Her lies would go unchallenged.