Church of Scientology pleads not guilty in Florida death
  Copyright © 1998 Nando Media
  Copyright © 1998 Reuters News Service 
 
 CLEARWATER, Fla. (November 30, 1998 12:45 p.m. EST
  http://www.nandotimes.com) - The Church of Scientology entered a
  "not guilty" plea Monday to two criminal charges in the 1995 death of a
  woman member who was being cared for at the church's regional
  headquarters in Clearwater.
  
  Attorneys for the group filed a written plea of not guilty to the
  charges in the 1995 death of Lisa McPherson with Pinellas County
  Circuit Court Judge Timothy Peters, his clerk said.
  
  The felony charges of abuse or neglect of a disabled adult and
  practicing medicine without a license in connection with McPherson's
  death had been filed Nov. 13 by State Attorney Bernie McCabe.
  
  McPherson, 36, had been involved in a minor traffic accident in
  Clearwater on Nov. 18, 1995, when she took off all her clothes and
  began walking naked in the street.
  
  She was taken to a local hospital but left a short time later with
  several fellow Scientologists who said they would take care of her
  at the church's headquarters in a former hotel.
  
  On Dec. 5, after 17 days at the headquarters, McPherson was taken to
  a   hospital several miles away, where she was pronounced dead. An
  autopsy found she was dehydrated.
  
  Officials of the Church of Scientology, known for its celebrity
  members such as movie stars John Travolta and Tom Cruise, have
  denied   that the church or any of its members were responsible for
  McPherson's  death.
  
  The criminal charges do not name any individuals, so if the church
  were found guilty it could only be fined. A pretrial conference on
  the charges is expected to be held next month, the clerk said.
  
  McPherson's family has filed a separate civil wrongful death suit
  against the church. That trial is expected to begin next year.