Maybe the authorities are still looking for "next of kin" to notify before releasing the name. If they were not witnesses, then I doubt that anybody in the congregation would have the slightest idea who or where they were.
suicide and explosion at Kingdom Hall on Sat. July 27
by kool aid man06 157 Replies latest jw friends
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DJK
One commenter says they don't know if he was a witness and another commenter says he was.
Some interesting comments though.
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nvrgnbk
Maybe he was suffering from mental illness?
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purplesofa
I know everyone's experiance and history with JW's are different, and all our reasons for leaving are unique.
My brother committed suicide a few years ago. My mother is a witness. My brother briefly studied, He WAS NOT a witness.
Funeral arrangements were difficult at best. The Kingdom Hall was offered to my mother for services in Missouri where she resides.
He died in one state, was buried in a town none of us lived in...(his father, my stepdad committed suicide as well and was to be buried with him)
I worked hard to respect all the ones I could in the funeral arrangements.
The funeral was at the Funeral Home, given by a PO from an entirely different state.
Witnesses from my mothers hall did come to the funeral. I got help from my congregation in Arkansas.
I have posted to this thread, about another mentally unstable person that did a shootout at a church in TN. It is not uncommon at all for any persons belonging to a place of meeting, if that building gets damaged for there to be arrangements and announcements to be made of alternative meeting place. Suicide happens for many reasons.
I guess I just want to point out that we need to be careful about speculation.
Anger and disappointment with our previous experiance with the organization is a motivation to want things to be looked at and changed, but may be difficult to convey to "worldly" people without coming across more nuts than the organization.
Be passionate and be smart.
purps
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joannadandy
Well said purps.
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choosing life
This man was a witness and has family that is very shocked and grieving deeply, as one would expect. The reason for his suicide has not been revealed yet. Very much a tragedy. I heard this from a relative.
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kool aid man06
Below is a link to a TV video which JS sent about what the U.S. Alchohol, Tobacco & Firearms (ATF) agents says may have been a suicider exploding himself and the Bates City, Missouri, Kingdom Hall several days ago:
http://www.kmbc.com/video/17004867/index.html
The person was apparently an elder or ministerial servant. Local JWs, doubtlessly led by Watchtower Elders doing as Watchtower likes, have put out word that the ATF is wrong, that there was no suicide or use of accelerants. Watchtower's spin is that the elder/ministerial servant was most likely working on heating (in the summertime?!) and there was an accidental explosion.
The Kansas City Star (see below) says the man had shot himself, so what kind of coverup lies will Watchtowerites put out about that? Maybe they'll suggest the elder/MS was in the Kingdom Hall fixing the heater and thought he had grabbed a screw driver to work with on it but instead it was a gun and it accidentally went off blowing him to kingdom come................!
see: http://www.kansascity.com/115/story/723743.html
Monday, July 28, 2008
Identity of man killed in explosion, fire still not released
By BRIAN BURNES
The Kansas City StarBates City authorities have yet to release the name of a man whose body was found Saturday while firefighters extinguished a blaze at a Jehovah’s Witness Fellowship Hall.
About 1:50 p.m. authorities responded to an explosion and fire at the hall on U.S. 40 east of Bates City.
While extinguishing the blaze firefighters discovered a body inside the building. Authorities determined the man had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Accelerant had been poured throughout the hall.
The deceased man was a 53-year-old resident of Buckner, said Dale Cox, Bates City police chief. Official identification, however, will not be announced until several reports are completed, Cox said. Those include a toxicology report as well as an investigation by U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms personnel.
“We know there was accelerant in the building,” Cox said. “We just don’t know if he intentionally set the fire or one of the electrical items in the building caused the fire’s ignition.”
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MissingLink
In case anyone wants the video of the initial news report for their archives or youtube - you can get the 10MB file here --
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Not Feeling It
BTW, the key pad for my old hall's security system was 1914. Not very secure, huh?
Aren't they all?! At least they didn't make it 1935 since they'd have to change it now.
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chrisjoel
The victim's name is Ed Phillips, This from another ex jw site. Does anyone know him? ( .... source is an inactive brother who was really good friends with Ed's brother, Ron Phillips)