Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
The White House has confirmed it asked the FBI to examine at least 10 cases involving deaths and disappearances connected to sensitive US research. A new allegation now suggests one of the people linked to those cases said she was struck by an “energy weapon” prior to her death.
In an update last month, the FBI said it was “spearheading the effort to look for connections into the missing and deceased scientists”, though it added that some of the apparent links were still not clearly established.
One of the individuals named in reporting was Amy Eskridge, who died on June 11, 2022, aged 34. She was reported to have taken her own life.
Eskridge co-founded the Institute for Exotic Science in Huntsville, Alabama, and had been conducting research related to anti-gravity technology.
Franc Milburn, a retired British paratrooper and former intelligence officer, has said he communicated with Eskridge before her death. He shared what he described as messages between them with the Daily Mail, dated May 13, 2022, several weeks before she died.
Those messages allegedly state: “If you see any report that I killed myself, I most definitely did not. If you see any report that I overdosed myself, I most definitely did not. If you see any report that I killed anyone else, I most definitely did not.”
Milburn also provided another alleged message from about a week later, in which Eskridge appeared to suggest she had been targeted by a “directed energy weapon” — a term often used to describe devices that focus energy and can cause injury such as burns.
The message allegedly reads: “My ex-CIA weapons guy on my team saw my hands when they were burned really badly a couple months ago, and he saw that window pane in person,” the messages allegedly read. “He said he had built things like that, and that it was most likely an RF k-band emitter run by five car batteries strung together from inside an SUV.”
Milburn said he also shared photos that he claimed showed damage Eskridge had sustained.
There has been no publicly available physical evidence presented to substantiate the allegations made by Eskridge and Milburn.
On May 4, the Department of War Chief Technology Officer published a post referencing work on these kinds of weapons, saying: “Directed weapons are a fine addition to our arsenal.”
Directed energy weapons are a fine addition to our arsenal… 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/65rZ2HCVto
— Department of War CTO (@DoWCTO) May 4, 2026
An accompanying infographic said the beams were made up of “concentrated electromagnetic energy or atomic or subatomic particles”.
Eskridge’s family, however, told CNN in a statement that she had experienced “chronic pain”.
“People should realize that scientists die also and not make too much of this,” they said.
President Donald Trump was questioned last month about the broader set of disappearances, responding: “I hope it is random, but we are going to know in the next week and a half… I just left a meeting on that subject, so pretty serious stuff.
“Hopefully, I don’t know, coincidence, or whatever you want to call it, some of them were very important people, and we’re going to look at it.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also addressed the matter on X, writing: “In light of the recent and legitimate questions about these troubling cases and President Trump’s commitment to the truth, the White House is actively working with all relevant agencies and the FBI to holistically review all of the cases together and identify any potential commonalities that may exist.
“No stone will be unturned in this effort, and the White House will provide updates when we have them.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in a mental health crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.
988lifeline.org
If you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.