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Two men connected to the embattled Narconon Arrowhead say they consider Pittsburg County Sheriff and state Senate candidate Joel Kerns unqualified for public office, contending he didn’t do enough to investigate the drug rehab center where a string of deaths drew national attention.
When asked for comment, Kerns said he couldn’t see the link between his role in the investigation at Narconon Arrowhead and their experiences with the facility, and that his department carried the investigation as far as it could before handing it over to other agencies.
Robert Murphy, whose daughter was the third patient to die at Narconon Arrowhead between 2011 and 2012, and former patient Colin Henderson held a news conference Tuesday at which they challenged Kern’s fitness for the District 7 state Senate seat.
Both said they were appalled that someone who failed to prevent the Narconon deaths was seeking the legislative seat.
Kerns, a Democrat, is seeking to unseat Republican Larry Boggs in Tuesday’s election.
Murphy’s daughter, 20-year-old Stacy Dawn Murphy, died at the center in July 2012. Her death followed those of patients Gabriel Graves in 2011 and Hillary Holten in 2012.
Murphy and his wife sued the rehab facility in 2013 over his daughter’s death. Murphy said if Kerns’ department had properly investigated the previous deaths or complaints, she might still be alive.
“Anybody with any common sense could have seen what was going on in Narconon and pushed for its closure, so in my opinion, I feel he’s responsible for those who lost their lives out there,” Murphy said.
The Sheriff’s Office conducted the initial investigation before it was turned over to the Pittsburg County District Attorney’s Office, he said Wednesday.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation completed two partial investigations at Narconon related to Stacy Murphy’s death. Kerns first called the agency to assist in documenting the crime scene on July 19, 2012, OSBI spokeswoman Jessica Brown said.
The district attorney asked for the OSBI’s help again in March 2013 to interview witnesses about Murphy’s death, Brown said.
Kerns said, “As far as I know, we did everything feasibly possible that we had in our means to. … We contacted the proper agencies and proper channels to properly investigate the accusations.”
Murphy and Henderson’s criticism hinged in part on newly discovered information revealed in a deposition given by Kerns.
In the deposition, Kerns reportedly said he did not speak with anyone from Narconon Arrowhead during the investigation, did not review surveillance images from the facility and never read the OSBI’s final report into the deaths.
Those statements, coupled with a 2013 TV news interview Kerns gave in which he said his department found nothing out of order at the facility, prove he’s unqualified for higher office, Murphy and Henderson said.
The deposition will be made public when the Murphys’ case against Narconon Arrowhead goes to trial, Henderson said.
When asked about the apparent contradiction between his on-air statements and the deposition, Kerns said he couldn’t comment because of ongoing court proceedings.
“I really can’t even comment on what I did say,” Kerns said.
Murphy’s attorneys are seeking a date for a jury trial.
Neither Murphy nor Henderson live in District 7. They said they want to expose Kerns’ “incompetency” to voters.
“We have no stake in the race at all, and all we want is the constituent base to be informed to cast a vote that counts,” Henderson said.
Kerns said his critics are playing “political games.”
A Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services report into practices at Narconon Arrowhead, a program based on the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology, recommended the facility be shut down after the string of deaths.
On its website, the facility bills itself as non-religious and says students — as participants in the program are called — don’t become Scientologists via enrollment in the facility.
The facility remains in operation on the shores of Lake Eufaula near Canadian.
