death of Elli Perkins

Elli Perkins (née Present; 1949 – March 13, 2003) was an American glass artist and a Scientologist who lived in western New York State, working as a senior auditor at the Church of Scientology branch in Buffalo.

When her son, Jeremy, began to show signs of schizophrenia, Perkins attempted to treat him in accordance with Scientology instead of seeking proper psychiatric care. Jeremy's condition progressed to the point where he felt his mother was poisoning him with the vitamin supplements she forced him to take. was raised Jewish; she married Don Perkins, who was brought up with a Christian background. Elli met Don shortly after taking a Scientology course. She crafted handmade glass art and traveled to the Sterling Renaissance Festival, an annual renaissance fair in upstate New York of which she was a member, to sell her wares. Perkins later convinced the court to release her son into her custody. She began to seek out alternative methods of treatment to psychiatry, Jeremy's police statement led to a court-ordered psychiatric examination.

Autopsy reports showed that Perkins was stabbed 77 times. In June 2003, Jeremy pleaded not guilty to charges of criminal weapons and second degree murder in a court in Erie County. Six months later, on January 29, 2004, a commitment order was issued which assessed him as "Dangerously Mentally Ill", authorizing him to be committed in a "secure facility of your choosing" by the New York State Office of Mental Health.

According to Rich Dunning, a former deputy director of the Buffalo Church of Scientology, there "was a panic" among the Church's international leadership after the killing, and that there was an effort "to distance the church as far away as they could from Jeremy Perkins." The ad stated: "Thanks, Tom Cruise and the Church of Scientology, for your expert advice on mental health." The ad recounted the story of Perkins' death, saying she was killed "by the schizophrenic son she was told to treat with vitamins instead of psychiatric care." as did Salon. CBS later reported on the background behind the production of the program, and wrote that they had received complaints from Scientologists: "The Scientology community was not happy with the story, which raised the possibility that Perkins might not have been murdered had her son been given psychiatric treatment." According to CBS, the Church did not provide the 48 Hours production staff with an official spokesman, and attempted to influence the broadcast itself. Scientologists said that CBS had a conflict of interest because pharmaceutical companies advertise on the network's television programming. However, CBS News Senior Vice President, Standards and Special Projects Linda Mason stated: "Nothing could be further from the truth ... At CBS the sales department and the news department – there is a Chinese wall between them. And we just don't cross. And we've done numerous stories on the ill effects of drugs of various sponsors that are on CBS." When questioned about the litigious nature of the Church of Scientology, Mason said that this history of litigation did not influence the show's production, saying: "We do stories that we feel stand on their own grounds in the court of law."