Ed. Note: The Lost Women of Nxivm may still be viewed for free at https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/tv-shows/lost-women-of-nxivm/full-episodes/the-lost-women-of-nxivm.
Shivani wrote a comment that asks a meaningful question about how Barbara Jeske was allowed to die the way she did and after her death – the insane notion that Keith wanted her decapitated and him given the head to freeze.
First let us read Shivani’s very colorful and disturbing comments. Then I will reply.
By Shivani
Group insanity is the prevalent note here.
Can even one person reading Sister Calls for Inquiry Into Barbara Jeske’s Death begin to imagine these ghouls asking for the HEAD of their dead, adult 65 pound family member? Jesus Christ!
Excuse the fuck out of me and the Irish temper.
That body weight alone is a horrible indication, [Jeske weighed 65 pounds when she died. She was 5’4″] never mind the fact that Barbara Jeske spent years of her life, right up until she died, immersed in this utter madness, this deathly self-imprisoned lifestyle of absolute and utter SHIT.
This is how Barbara Jeske lived, and it is how she died.
Inner circle women Barbara Jeske and Pam Cafritz, both died of cancer after living with Keith Raniere for years.
Can you in any way comprehend tolerating your family member or loved one taking unknown concoctions and/or pills that smelled like fecal matter, from a manwhore pretending to be a mastermind? A predator surrounded by idiotic fanatics who was self-authorized to govern medical treatments and adamantly supported by his slave hags?
Along with his complete asshole of a fake, Raniere-possessed Doctor Death? That’s right, Brandon Porter, a willing minion head, a mini- Mengele.
How does one even begin to accept any of this, at all? These inner circle members suspended all ability to think rationally and gave their individuality away to Raniere, to maintain their pathetic atmosphere of peer pressure, abuse, jealousy, misery and base criminality.
Total interdependency on WHAT?
Some vague and chaotic unutterable inhumanity, in the name of some pathetic level of psychotic “enlightenment” or “advancement” is about all that one can see. The land of the surrendered lost, all of whom conspired to keep this madness going.
Well, it is too late to see it then, to be able to do anything about what was happening. But come hell or high water, see it now.
Can anyone begin to imagine tolerating a party to celebrate a dying woman handing over her remaining assets to these grotesque freaks? Would you let this happen to your sister, your brother, your son or daughter, parent or friend?
I know how hard it is to even try to get help for someone who has lost the ability to reason or to be the least bit self-protective anymore, via Alzheimers or even due to severe brain injury. This understanding has come from personal experience. However, what could Barbara Jeske’s sister do, being forced to contend with Raniere’s asylum?
How did she bear these circumstances? Is she now haunted, for the rest of her life by what happened to her sister?
Oh my God, I am heartily sorry…. But what good is this sorrow now?
Usually people say “live and learn,” but not around monsters, I guess. This is don’t learn a damn thing. Just drop dead, as arranged by Raniere and cohorts.
Barbara Jeske
Towards the end: Sarah Edmondson with Barbare Jeske.
***
By Frank Parlato
To try to answer your question, Shivani, I interviewed Barbara’s sister, Cynthia, her brother-in-law, Mark Liberatore, and her brother, Brad. I went to Cynthia’s home in Stuart, Florida. And I interviewed brother Brad on the phone.
From what I could gather, Barbara had always been an independent person, a free spirit. No one in the family had any control over her. Unlike many others of the Nxivm inner circle, she did not entirely break free from her family. She would visit them often and had a loving relationship with them.
Barbara always seemed to be in good health, was athletic, although quite slender – she was usually around 100 pounds.
She had her same sense of humor and apparently was making good money. Barbara was also good, like the others in Nxivm, at keeping secrets from her family.
It was not until her last visit home, when she was looking seriously ill, that Cynthia, who is trained as a nurse, advised her to seek medical attention [other than Keith]. She did and found she had a brain tumor.
Barbara Jeske
Reportedly, Keith advised her not to get medical attention and that all that was wrong with her was carpel tunnel syndrome.
Once she was diagnosed with cancer, it was a battle with Raniere and the family. Barb had the final decision at least while she was still coherent.
Cynthia flew up to Albany from Florida to help care for her. She was outnumbered, 100 Nxians to one. Still, she stood her ground and stayed with Barbara until she died – six weeks later.
At that point, there was no curing Barbara. But Cynthia stood up to Keith, Nancy Salzman, and Dr. Brandon Porter, who was ostensibly in charge of Barbara’s medical care.
Dr. Brandon Porter was in charge of the patient Barbara Jeske.
But the battle was already lost. Barbara was dying. It was all Cynthia could do to give her morphine and demand hospice care.
Porter, following Raniere’s instructions, wanted her off all pain medication.
Raniere wanted her – just days before she died – to go to Vanguard Week – in a rented trailer. Cynthia stood up to them and said, “No way are you taking her there without me. I am caring for her.”
Nancy Salzman said, “You can come, but you have to pay $3,000 for Vanguard Week.”
Cynthia refused to pay but said they could not take Barb without her. A showdown was avoided because Barbara went into a coma.
As for the will party, it was the occasion when Barbara signed a new will, from her sickbed, a will crafted by Keith, in front of dozens of Nxivm members as witnesses.
Barbara had a lot of residual income due to her from Nxivm. It amounted to millions. She was at the top of the pyramid line for all the Mexicans in Nxivm. Cynthia did not know this. Barbara did not tell any of the family, other than she had a lot of money coming from the company.
Keith wanted to ensure the family, after Barbara’s death, would not come after her residual income. Barbara had always left the money with the company, only drawing what she needed. She had, I estimate, more than $3 million due to her.
Not that she was ever going to be paid.
When she got sick, Keith cut off her money, only allowing her to take what he wanted her to have. Toward the end, he would not let her have money for prescriptions that he did not approve. Cynthia had to buy them.
Barbara Jeske had been with Keith prior to Nxivm. Here she is in one of the earliest Executive Success classes in 1999. She soon became the company’s top recruiter.
Most importantly, Keith did not want a lawsuit from her estate. Cynthia’s husband is a very successful businessman who could well afford to take on Raniere and his Bronfman litigation machine – dollar for dollar.
But I don’t think they knew Barbara had a likely estate in the millions. Barbara lived in a modest home, after years of living with Pam Cafritz [cancer], Karen Unterreiner, [cancer] Kristin Keeffe [cancer], four cats [cancer] and Raniere [cancer-free].
Keith Raniere with three of his inner circle: Karen Unterreiner, Pam Cafritz and Barbara Jeske. [Cafritz and Jeske died of cancer. Karen survived cancer.]
So Keith arranged a “will party,” telling Barb that by signing a will, leaving everything to him, she was helping out so many struggling, future Nxivm students who would get scholarships in her name for Nxivm classes.
The Nxivm cast – from Esther Chiappone Carlson to Clare Bronfman attended.
There was nothing Cynthia could do. Barbara agreed to it.
So Raniere, who had for years handled her diet and her exercise and any medication or supplements she took – prescribed and provided to her by him – got her entire estate and avoided litigation from her family.
Did he poison her?
It seems possible, based on the evidence we have.
Fortunately, Cynthia did not provide Raniere with the head of Barbara Jeske. She was buried in Stuart, Florida.
Law enforcement may one day exhume her body and find out what was in her system when she died. Her hair may provide the answer.
While I was making the documentary film, “The Lost Women of Nxivm”, I spoke with a former Nxivm member. He was very frightened. He was there when Barb was ill and worked with some of her Nxivm caretakers.
He told me that one caretaker fled from the house because he was convinced Raniere/Dr. Porter/ Salzman/Clare Bronfman were engaged in poisoning Barbara Jeske.
He fled because he was literally afraid he might be poisoned too.
He refused to go on air with Investigation Discovery.
I plan to do a follow up on this, or perhaps, if it advances quickly enough, the actual follow up will come with the homicide division of the New York State Police or the FBI.
Stay tuned…
Keith Raniere makes a visit to Barbara Jeske just weeks prior to her death.
Kiss of death. Keith Raniere bends over to kiss the woman he ruled for years – and who he may have poisoned.
