Family of glamorous Scientologist Whitney Hills blame the church for her grisly suicide

The family of a high-ranking member of the Church of Scientology who set herself on fire is blaming the Church for her suicide.

Whitney Hills, 40, committed suicide and set herself on fire after believing she had cancer and Lyme disease.

Mills had reached the highest level in Scientology, known as Operating Thetan Level 8 or OT 8, and she believed she could “step into a new body.”

However, her family members claim that she was misdiagnosed and instead suffered from depression and anxiety disorders, which went untreated due to the church’s stance on mental health.

They have filed a wrongful death lawsuit, alleging that Scientologist doctors seized control of her treatment and “extorted” her for a range of alternative treatments.

“The Scientology Defendants brainwashed her into believing that mental health professionals, including psychologists and psychiatrists, and related medical treatments, such as antidepressants and other prescription medications, were unnecessary and horrible,” the lawsuit says.

The church denies that Mills was ever under its care and says it does not give medical advice.

According to the Clearwater Police Department investigation, real estate agent Mills shot himself on May 12 and died a day and a half later at Morton Plant Hospital.

When her brother entered her apartment, he found her unconscious from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and smelled the odor of burning hair, indicating she had set herself on fire before shooting herself.

Clearwater police investigated Mills’ death and determined there were no suspicious circumstances, but she did provide “advice” in a text message to Albertina Mejias, a senior member of the church, on what to do next.

According to her family, her mental health deteriorated in the lead-up to her death.

After an “urgent mental health crisis,” church members ordered Mills to be placed in “quarantine” and monitored 24/7 in February 2022, the lawsuit said.

During that time, she was reportedly assigned three caregivers who lived with her and reported to the church.

According to Mills’ family, she was told at the time that there was a “Scientology assistance where she could ‘give up’ her body, whereby her spirit or ‘working thetan’ would leave her body to inhabit another body, causing the original body to die.”

The lawsuit alleges that the “drop the body” concept or its assistance was created by L. Ron Hubbard, the messianic founder of Scientology.

After his death in 1986, Scientology leaders announced that his body was hampering his work and that he had decided to “drop his body” to continue his research on another plane of existence, the documents said.

A church spokesman previously said there is no teaching that “encourages anyone to drop their body.”

However, Mills’ text messages show she was “asking for that help,” the complaint says, and her caregivers were said to have been aware of her suicidal thoughts and did nothing.

“Worse yet, if they did in fact assist in the suicide, if they actually provided her with the discussed assistance in ‘dropping the body,’ then they are guilty of manslaughter,” the documents state.

Mills was referred for treatment by Dr. David Minkoff in the last three months of her life. Minkoff “misinformed and misdiagnosed her with Lyme disease and a malignant cyst on her ovaries, while largely ignoring her very real psychosis and mental health crisis,” the lawsuit alleges.

Minkoff is also a high-ranking Scientologist whose license was revoked in Florida for a year over his treatment of Lisa MacPherson, another Scientologist who died in 1998.

He is accused of billing Mills $20,000 for “highly questionable, alternative treatments” for misdiagnosed Lyme disease and an ovarian cyst, the documents show.

According to a detective report, Mills’ mother stated that she searched her daughter’s phone and found a series of messages in which she intended to ask the “Director of Processing” for “assistance with a suicide referral.”

The documents also show text messages in which Mills appears to discuss suicide with her handlers, but she encounters little resistance.

In a statement to DailyMail.com, the church said: “

The death of Mrs. Mills was an unfortunate tragedy. In addition to the impact on her family, it also affected her friends, many of whom are Scientologists.

‘It is utterly disgusting that anti-Scientologists have seized on Ms. Mills’ death in an attempt to further their own agenda, as evidenced by the blatant lies in the complaint about Scientology’s beliefs and practices.

‘In Scientology there is no such thing as ‘assistance in throwing off the body,’ by that or any other name.

‘There is no such belief or practice. It is pure FICTION. There is NOTHING in Scientology that even remotely means anything like that.

Mrs. Mills was at home and not under the care or supervision of the church prior to her death.

‘None of the people caring for Ms. Mills in the home were church employees. Any claims to the contrary are COMPLETELY FALSE.

‘Mrs. Mills had many friends, business associates and family members with whom she was in constant contact before her passing.

‘The Church’s policy is crystal clear: if a Scientologist needs medical care, he or she must consult a physician.

‘All decisions regarding medical treatment are solely the decision of the individual.

‘The Church does not give medical advice. See Scientology.org FAQ on medical care.

‘Public records show that Ms. Mills visited more than a dozen medical professionals in the months leading up to her death.

“It is unfortunate that Ms. Mills’ mother has filed this lawsuit. Based on the information available, it appears that Ms. Mills was in the care of her mother, if anyone. The church continues to extend its condolences to all those affected.”

DailyMail.com has contacted Dr. Minkoff for comment.