Abdominal aortic aneurysm
Actress Lucille Ball died April 26, 1989 from an abdominal aortic aneurysm. At the time of her death, she was in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center recovering from emergency surgery performed just six days earlier because of a dissecting aortic aneurysm near her heart. Ball was at increased risk, as she had been a heavy smoker for decades.
Death of Kaja Ballo
Ballo committed suicide, hours after hearing the results of the personality test conducted by Scientology. She jumped from the fourth floor of her dorm room in Nice, France, two hours after getting the results of the test. She left behind a note, along with the results of the Scientology personality test. The results of the personality test were found among her belongings by her family. In April 2008, "Aftenposten" noted that the French police were investigating connections between Scientology and Ballo's death. The investigation was being headed by a judge in France. In April 2008 the French police interviewed two leaders of Scientology in France. Prosecutor Eric de Montgolfier opened an investigation into the incident in France, in April 2008. A French investigating prosecutor told "Dagbladet", "We are almost convinced that it is a suicide. But the question is whether something encouraged her to this." Prosecutors stated in December 2008 that they could not determine a direct link between the Scientology personality test and Ballo's death.
Agnes Bron, a Scientology representative in France, denied that the test was related to Ballo's death, and asserted that the Scientology personality test was not created by the Church of Scientology. Scientologists pay royalties to the Hubbard Foundation for use of the test. She said that Ballo never actually received the results of her personality test. A spokesperson for Scientology asserted to "Verdens Gang" that the results of the personality test are seen as neither positive nor negative, but rather allow the individual to gain insight into their own personality. A representative of Scientology in Norway described the concerns leveled against the organization as "deeply unfair". The Scientology official noted Ballo had a psychological history as a teenager, and said she had an eating disorder. The Church of Scientology's Information Chief in Norway, Matthias Fosse, asserted that the Scientology personality test was not "dangerous", and stated that "millions" of individuals had partaken in the examination. He asserted that approximately 10,000 residents of Norway had taken the test. "I have never, never, never heard of someone who has killed on the basis of the OCA test," said Fosse. Fosse said that Ballo had entered the Scientology premises in Nice of her own volition. Fosse maintained that the negative views of the organization were based on ignorance and intolerance. "I feel deeply for the Ballo family, but it is a rude insinuation that the Church of Scientology has any responsibility for this incident," said Fosse.