The Curse of the Survivors of Oceanic Flight 815

[KTLA Los Angeles Channel 5]

KTLA Channel Five Exclusive:

The Curse of the Survivors of Oceanic Flight 815: Looking back.

LOS ANGELES NOON NEWSCAST

Good Afternoon, this is KTLA Channel Five in Los Angeles California, and I'm Rebecca Harris. Just when we thought that the tragic saga of the now infamous survivors of the Oceanic Flight 815 crash couldn't get any worse, dawn broke on Los Angeles and a grisly scene unfolded.

As you all will well remember, KTLA first broke the news of the return of the Oceanic Flight 815 passengers, and gained first interviews with the de facto leader of the Survivors, Doctor Jack Shephard. Local residents will know that name, as Jack Shephard was one of the cities most prestigious spinal surgeons in the western coast. Dr. Shephard was on the flight to bring back the body of the former chief of medicine, Dr. Christian Shephard, from where he sadly died in Sydney, however, that feat was unable to be done, as the body was lost in the Pacific Ocean. A memorial service was held at The Palms Mortuary in Los Angeles, where strict security was upheld to keep the press out.

The memorial service was not the only thing that was kept secret. The survivors made almost at times desperate attempts to avoid the media and avoid speaking about what happened during the three months that they were presumed dead. The survivors mainly spoke through their lawyer, Daniel Avery, who worked as head lawyer for Oceanic Airlines. Avery was also the one who put into motion what the press now dub 'the Survivor Checks', a lump sum of 250,000 dollars to each of the survivors as a compensation for their pain and suffering. However, this money did little to ease the pain for the survivors, however, it did give Jack Shephard enough money to bail Katherine Austin out of jail, where she was awaiting charges on murder. Miss Austen was on her way from Sydney in the custody of a United States Marshall, to be booked in the Los Angeles jail while awaiting extradition. When asked why Dr. Shephard immediately put up the hefty sum of money, he replied only with 'after everything we've been through, no one deserves to be in a cell'.

With that statement, and the increasing secrecy of the Survivors, KTLA showed the first of what would be a in-depth study as to the validity of the Oceanic Survivor's stories, and why they needed to keep secret. We will repeat all of the segments of that program at 11 tonight.

However, things simply managed to get worse for the Survivors, and Los Angeles buzzed and hummed with the whispers that the survivors slowly were going insane after their experiences. The first incident that pointed to this fact was the hospitalization of Claire Littleton, mother of the infant child Aaron Littleton. Witnesses report that screaming and shouting could be heard from the Roosevelt Hotel, where the Oceanic Survivors had been allowed free rooms until they could get on their feet once more. Witnesses also report that Jack Shephard was scene entering her room shortly before the screams were reported. What's interesting to note is that word broke shortly after the Survivors return that Jack Shephard and Claire Littleton were related, sharing the same father. The scandalous news shocked Los Angeles. However, what shocked Los Angeles more, is what was reported the next day: Claire Littleton had been committed to the Santa Rosa Mental Health Hospital on the outskirts of Los Angeles, with Dr. Shephard as the admitting doctor. Dr. Shephard would only give brief and vague statements to his half-sister's condition, claiming that Miss Littleton had suffered 'emotional and physical stress brought on by both the crash and the return to Los Angeles'. Local experts attribute Post Traumatic Stress Disorder along with probable Post-Partum Depression as a secondary factor. Once again, the Oceanic Survivors remained mum on any details into their lives.

I wish I could say that was the end to the strange and twisted tale of the Survivors, however, things only managed to get worse as time went on. First, the death of Daniel Avery; the lawyer for Oceanic Airlines was found hanging in his bathroom from what police are now officially saying was a suicide. A note was found at the scene. Avery’s family prompted an investigation, and the lead detective on the case, Kevin Callis, had this to say:

“…Currently, the LAPD is looking into the death of Daniel Avery. However, the coroner’s ruling right now is Suicide. I can’t comment more until I get more information, fellas, but for right now, we make the statement that Mr. Avery simply didn’t want to live anymore, and chose to end his life. Thanks.”

Then, only days later, we reported to you the death of two of the passengers of Flight 815, James Ford and Aaron Littleton. Aaron was reportedly in the care of Ford while his mother, Claire Littleton, was currently receiving treatment at Santa Rosa Mental Hospital. James Ford was currently awaiting charges on unrelated incidents. The official statement from the Los Angeles Police Department was that the child died from ‘massive head trauma’ and Ford died from a ‘self-inflicted gun shot wound to the right temple’. Once again, the Survivors were silent on the subject of one of their own dying. Jack Shephard released this statement to KTLA regarding his nephew’s death:

“…James Ford was a good man. I'm sure I don't have to remind you about how he kept everyone sane on the Island. And contrary to what the press have been saying about him...we knew better. I believe that my nephew, Aaron Littleton, was in the best hands possible, and we are looking into other leads as to how and why James and Aaron were murdered in the violent way that they were. I've also put in 50,000 dollars of my own money towards a reward for the capture of the person or persons responsible for ending their lives. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have a private memorial service to attend to."

However, many experts can attest that this was the time that we started to see a crack in the Survivor’s facades. Witnesses report that Jack Shephard was drinking more and more, and one witness, speaking anonymously, claimed that she filled many prescriptions for Dr. Shephard for a common anti-anxiety medication. However, Dr. Shephard continued to work at Saint Sebastian’s, and was even seen driving around with Miami-born Fertility Expert Dr. Juliet Burke.

Further adding to the pain, was the death of multi-millionaire Hugo Reyes, when he was struck down in front of the Roosevelt by, ironically, a Mr. Cluck’s delivery van. Reyes bought Mr. Cluck’s shortly after he won the lottery. It was said that DriveShaft bassist Charlie Pace, who was recovering from his own struggles and a rumour of a drug overdose, witnessed the entire scene, however, Mr. Pace could not be reached for comment. Only days after, Jack Shephard was seen in Saint Sebastian’s, looking visibly distraught. The deaths only seemed to pile up after Reyes’s death, both related to the Oceanic Survivors, and not, leading some to believe that the survivors had brought back a curse, for lack of a better explanation for such strange events.

Charlotte Lewis, famed anthropologist from London was found dead in the Santa Monica Pier of what police are saying was a suicide. Ana-Lucia Cortez was found dead in her home. Daniel Faraday, renowned professor of physics at Oxford University, was found dead in his hotel room of what police are reporting was ‘a large brain aneurysm’. Charlie Pace, bassist for the now defunct band DriveShaft was found dead of a heroin overdose in his hotel room at the Roosevelt, and only hours later, Elizabeth Franklin, a maid at the Roosevelt, was found dead in her apartment, victim of a suicide. With all these strange occurrences, Jack Shephard was once again pressed for information, and would only release a statement:

“…the deaths of my friends, and the people in the paper yesterday is something that I’m slowly coming to grips with, however, it’s been a painful and difficult time for all of us and we wish to remain together and away from the public eye. Thank you.”

However, many wondered how long the Doctor could hold it together for the sake of the people that named him leader. It was after the death of Kate Austen, whom many suspected Jack Shephard was having relations with, was found dead, that Jack Shephard pushed himself entirely out of the public eye. Though, many said that they had seen Jack in the company of Juliet Burke, a famous Miami fertility expert that had been at St. Sebastian’s hospital, working with top OBGYN’s. Some actually claimed to see Shephard happy, however, his happiness was short-lived. In front of his mother’s large house in the expensive gated community called ‘The Lakes’, Juliet Burke was involved in a fatal car accident while driving Dr. Shephard’s car. Margo Shephard, widow of Christian Shephard, could not be reached for comment on the death that had occurred. Many believe that Jack Shephard was in a relationship with Dr. Burke when she died.

It’s hard to think of death itself, but so much death shoved into such a small group of people is impossible to believe, and many were not surprised when it was reported that Dr. Jack Shephard had been found dead in his family home. The official cause of death is accidental overdose of a combination of sleeping pills, however, many speculate that being a physician, Dr. Shephard knew exactly what he was doing.

Which leads us to the question that was on everyone’s minds: were these people truly cursed? It’s hard to think of something like a curse, however, it seems to be the only thing that comes to mind when looking at the evidence laid out. Whatever the case may be, the fact simply is, that people lost their lives. The Mayor of Los Angeles summed up the events simply and somberly:

“…the events that have happened with the Survivors of Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 is both painful and eye-opening. God forbid, if this happens in the future, more will be done to insure that people do not fall victim to the horrifying effects of such a traumatic stress. God be with the souls of the passengers of Flight 815, which were brought together both sadly and heroically by something as simple as walking on a plane. It does make you think how close we really are to each other. May God rest their souls.”