Noah Lottick

Noah Antrim Lottick (March 8 1966 – May 11 1990) was an American student of Russian studies who is notable for having committed suicide on May 11 1990 by jumping from a 10th-floor window, and the controversy ensuing after his death. This controversy revolved around his parents' concern over his membership in the Church of Scientology.

Suicide
Lottick's suicide was a leap from a 10th-floor window of the Milford Plaza Hotel, bouncing off the hood of a stretch limousine below. When found by police, he is said to have been still clutching $171 dollars in his hands despite his jump and his hard fall.

According to an article in the St. Petersburg Times, The Lottick family found their son's body, lying in a morgue, a month after his death.

His suicide was profiled in the Time magazine article "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power", which received the Gerald Loeb Award, and later in Reader's Digest.

Family reaction
Lottick's father stated that his initial impression of Scientology was that it was similar to Dale Carnegie's techniques. However, after his ordeal, Dr. Edward Lottick stated that the organization is a "school for psychopaths."

After the article describing these incidents had been published in Time, Dr. and Mrs. Lottick submitted affidavits when the Church of Scientology sued Richard Behar and Time magazine for $416 million. All counts against Behar and Time were later dismissed in courts of law. In their court statements, the Lotticks "affirmed the accuracy of each statement in the article", and stated that Dr. Lottick "concluded that Scientology therapies were manipulations, and that no Scientology staff members attended the funeral" (of their son).

Response from Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology issued a press release denying any responsibility for Lottick's suicide.

Church Spokesman Mike Rinder was quoted in the St. Petersburg Times noted that Lottick had an argument with his parents four days before his death."petersburg" /> Rinder stated: "I think Ed Lottick should look in the mirror...I think Ed Lottick made his son's life intolerable.""petersburg" />

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