Public Record

Legal Actions & Deaths Linked to Narconon

A country-by-country reference of lawsuits, deaths, and regulatory actions involving Narconon facilities, compiled from named news reporting, court records, and government sources.

About this table. Every entry below is drawn from named, published reporting or public agency statements (linked in the Source column). Some facts — especially exact dates, causes of death, and case outcomes — vary between sources or remain contested in ongoing litigation. This is a starting reference, not a legal record; readers and researchers should confirm details against the original source before relying on or republishing any entry.

United States

Oklahoma, Georgia, Nevada and California facilities account for the largest volume of reported deaths and civil lawsuits.

Date	Person / Case	Facility & Location	Type	Outcome	Source
2009-03-03	Kaysie Dianne Werninck, 28	Narconon Arrowhead — Canadian, Oklahoma	Death; wrongful-death lawsuit	Family alleged gross negligence; case reported settled	Wikipedia summary
2011-10	Gabriel Graves, 32	Narconon Arrowhead — Canadian, Oklahoma	Death	Autopsy listed cause of death as "unknown"; open-records reporting raised drug-use/distribution allegations at the facility	Wikipedia summary
2012-04	Hillary Holten, 21	Narconon Arrowhead — Canadian, Oklahoma	Death; wrongful-death lawsuit	Among five wrongful-death/fraud suits filed against the facility	Muskogee Phoenix
2012-07-19	Stacy Dawn Murphy, 20, Owasso	Narconon Arrowhead — Canadian, Oklahoma	Death; investigation	Death prompted Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, Pittsburg County Sheriff, and state Dept. of Mental Health inquiries	News On 6
2012-10 (filed)	Gilliam wrongful-death suit	Narconon Arrowhead — Canadian, Oklahoma	Wrongful-death lawsuit	Alleged concealment of the program's relationship to ABLE and Church of Scientology teachings; sought damages >$75,000 per claim	Insurance Journal
2013 (statement)	Sen. Tom Ivester summary	Narconon Arrowhead — Oklahoma (statewide)	Legislative / regulatory	State senator cited "seven deaths in seven years" and 15+ lawsuits; led to Oklahoma SB 295 extending state oversight to "recovery" facilities	Oklahoma Senate
2018-10 (filed)	Sefika Talic lawsuit	Narconon Arrowhead — near Canadian, Oklahoma	Breach of contract lawsuit	Alleged undisclosed Scientology content and lack of certified medical staff; facility described as having "settled numerous civil lawsuits" following four patient deaths	KFOR Oklahoma City
2008-06-11	Patrick "Ricko" Desmond, 28	Narconon Georgia	Death; wrongful-death lawsuit	Died of heroin overdose; family suit settled out of court, Feb. 2013, days before jury selection	Wikipedia summary
2013	State licensing surrender	Narconon Georgia	Regulatory	Facility surrendered its state license amid an investigation into roughly $3 million in alleged insurance fraud	Wikipedia summary
2014-02 to 2014-04	Tarr, Welch, Geanacopulos families	Narconon Fresh Start / Rainbow Canyon Retreat — Caliente, Nevada	Fraud / negligence lawsuits	Multiple federal suits alleged patients received Scientology indoctrination rather than medical detox; sought fee refunds and damages	Wikipedia summary
2014-03 (filed)	Angelo Amato	Narconon Fresh Start (Sunshine Summit Lodge) — Warner Springs, California	Fraud lawsuit	Alleged $31,000 in fraud via a website disguised as an "independent consultant"	Wikipedia summary
2012 (filed)	Pur Detox lawsuit	Pur Detox — Dana Point, California	Negligence / malpractice lawsuit	Filed by a former patient; Church of Scientology was not named as a party	Wikipedia summary

Canada

Centered on Narconon Trois-Rivières, Quebec — once Narconon's largest facility in North America.

Date	Case	Facility & Location	Type	Outcome	Source
2012-04-17	Facility closure order	Narconon Trois-Rivières, Quebec	Regulatory closure	Provincial health agency (Agence de la santé et des services sociaux de la Mauricie) ordered the facility closed, citing no medical supervision, no scientific basis for treatment, and at least four recent client hospitalizations	CBC News
2012 (ongoing)	Quebec Human Rights Commission complaint	Narconon Trois-Rivières, Quebec	Human rights complaint	Five former patients, including David Love, alleged their addiction was exploited and that they were made to perform unpaid labour; outcome not confirmed in sources reviewed here	Wikipedia summary
2014–2015 (ongoing)	David Love civil action, Montreal	Narconon Trois-Rivières / Narconon Canada / Church of Scientology, Montreal	Civil lawsuit	Long-running action described by the plaintiff; final resolution not confirmed in sources reviewed here — flagged for independent verification	David Love (primary account)
n/a	Niacin regimen restriction	Quebec (province-wide)	Medical/regulatory finding	Narconon's high-dose niacin "purification" method has been identified as banned as a treatment approach in Quebec on medical-safety grounds	Wikipedia summary

Europe

Reported deaths in Italy and France, and a niacin-related treatment ban in France.

Date	Person / Case	Facility & Location	Type	Outcome	Source
1984	Jocelyne Dorfmann, 34	Narconon center — Grancey-sur-Ource, near Dijon, France	Death; criminal conviction	Died from an untreated epileptic seizure; the center's assistant director was convicted of failing to assist a person in danger; the center was closed	Wikipedia summary
2002	"Federica X," 33, Torre dell'Orso	Narconon center — Taceno, Italy	Death	Autopsy recorded death from peritonitis after reportedly inadequate medical response to abdominal pain; a patient later stabbed a staff member he blamed for ignoring her symptoms	Wikipedia summary
n/a	Niacin regimen restriction	France (nationwide)	Medical/regulatory finding	Narconon's high-dose niacin "purification" method has been identified as banned as a treatment approach in France on medical-safety grounds	IBTimes UK

Australia

No deaths were found in the sources reviewed for this section; entries below are regulatory and zoning disputes involving proposed or existing facilities in Victoria and New South Wales.

Date	Case	Facility & Location	Type	Outcome	Source
2015-02-05	VCAT zoning appeal, Case P758/2014	Proposed Narconon facility — Warburton, Victoria	Zoning tribunal decision	Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal upheld the Shire of Yarra Ranges' refusal of a permit, following sustained community opposition	The Underground Bunker
2015	Misleading-claims fine	Narconon ("Get Off Drugs Naturally") — Victoria	Regulatory fine	Fined in Victoria over claims made about its treatment methods	The Citizen
2015 (reported)	Yarramalong Valley proposal	Proposed Narconon facility — Yarramalong Valley, New South Wales	Legal challenge / zoning dispute	Rural residents opposed a proposed rehabilitation center; a related legal challenge was reported by local media	Recovered archive page

Russia

Regulatory investigations into Narconon-branded clinics; no deaths were found in the sources reviewed for this section.

Date	Case	Facility & Location	Type	Outcome	Source
2007-04	Moscow prosecutor's investigation	"Narconon-Standard" — Bolshaya Tulskaya St., Moscow	Criminal investigation	Investigation opened into alleged violations of Russian medical-practice rules following complaints about high fees; office searched, documents and medications seized	Wikipedia summary
2008	Dimitrovgrad office search	Narconon office — Dimitrovgrad, Russia	Police search	Searched as part of a broader Church of Scientology investigation centered in Ulyanovsk	Wikipedia summary

Compiled July 2026. This page draws on secondary reporting (news organizations, Wikipedia's sourced summary, and named advocacy sites) rather than direct review of court dockets in every case. Where a case is ongoing or a source is a party to the dispute, that is noted in the Outcome column. Corrections and source documents are welcome — see the Legal Notice page.