(((( my condolences ))))
Skully, you said:
I really hope that the JWs don't glom on to his example and use him as the poster child for What Happens When You Leave The Truth™.
There is a video on YouTube where James Penton speaks of something that is right along the lines of this. He points out that some of the problem stems from how JW kids are instructed in "rights and wrongs". They are told that something is wrong, but are not given instruction as to why it is wrong. This can lead to a JW kid having no internal value system. If they ever leave the group they either 'implode or explode' because they have no real guide to morals other than doing what they are told. As soon as authority is no longer over them to make them act a certain way(Elders, parents, ects) they can loose control.
The ironic part is when they leave and do bad things the group (JWs) then blames their bad behavior on their act of leaving, rather than on the poor moral instruction they received from the group itself.
While this isn't true in every single case, I have seen it many times and can say that it is at least a common thing to happen.