Something Dark Is Going On: 9 Top Defense Scientists Dead or Missing in Under a Year

Something dark is going on inside America’s defense and aerospace community — and the mainstream media is almost completely silent.

In just the past nine months, nine top-level scientists tied to NASA, the Air Force Research Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and highly classified special access programs have either died under suspicious circumstances or simply vanished without a trace.

These were not ordinary researchers. They were the brilliant minds developing next-generation rocket propulsion, planetary defense systems, nuclear fusion technology, advanced sensors, and the classified programs that keep America ahead of China and Russia.

In this hard-hitting 14-minute episode of The Right Side, Doug Billings lays out the chilling facts, names every scientist, maps the disturbing geographic and timeline patterns, and connects the dots no one else will touch.

From the disappearance of Monica Jacinto Reza in California’s Angeles National Forest to the vanishing of Air Force Research Laboratory commander William Neil McCasland in New Mexico, the pattern is unmistakable — and the institutional silence is deafening.

Doug delivers the strong, unique conservative analysis you expect: what this means for America’s technological edge, the possibility of foreign sabotage or domestic resistance targeting President Trump’s America First agenda, and why proud conservatives must demand a full congressional and FBI investigation.

This is the kind of story you won’t hear on legacy media. This is the kind of story that only appears on The Right Side.

If you care about national security, American technological superiority, and protecting the brilliant minds who defend our Republic, this episode is a must-listen.

Share it. Demand answers. Support the leader who puts America First.

Stay vigilant. Stay strong. Stay proud.

The Right Side with Doug Billings – Strong conservative analysis you can’t find anywhere else.

#MissingScientists #DefenseScientists #NationalSecurity #SomethingDarkIsGoingOn #Trump2026 #AmericaFirst #DeepState #ClassifiedPrograms #Aerospace #LosAlamos #AirForceResearchLab #NASA

#fyp

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

The Right Side with Doug Billings. Hello, America. Hello, world. Welcome to the Right Side. I'm Doug Billings, a special edition here that you're not going to find anywhere else on the internet. And today I want to pull back the curtain on a story that the mainstream media has almost completely ignored. And it's a story that's so disturbing on multiple levels that I think it demands our full attention. We as conservatives will find this to be not only intriguing, but very dark. There is something dark going on here. I think in the when when you look at this story, and I'll lay it out for you, in the past nine months alone, nine top-level defense scientists with direct ties to NASA, the Air Force Research Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and highly classified aerospace programs have either died under suspicious circumstances or they've simply vanished without a trace. And I'm not talking about low-level technicians. These were the brilliant minds working on the very technologies that keep America ahead of China, Russia, and every other adversary. Advanced propulsion systems, planetary defense, nuclear fusion, special access programs, and next generation reconnaissance technology. So I'm going to lay out the facts here cold and clear for you because you deserve the truth that no one else is giving you. First up, there's Monica Reza. She was an aerospace engineer and a technical fellow who moved from Aerojet Rocket Dyne to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She was the co-inventor of the revolutionary Mondoloi. It's a nickel-based superalloy that's used in rocket engines. On June 22nd, 2025, she was hiking with a group of friends in the Angelese National Forest in California. Well, she vanished. Poof, gone. She was last seen waving to a friend of hers just 30 feet behind the group that she was with. And despite massive searches with helicopters, drones, canine units, only a beanie and lip bomb were ever recovered. Her body has never been found. Then there's Melissa Casillas. She was an administrative assistant at Los Alamos National Laboratory, deeply involved in nuclear weapons research. Just four days later, on June 26, 2025, she went missing while walking alone on Highway 518 near Talpa, New Mexico. She was last seen wearing a light-colored shirt, jeans, tennis shoes, and carrying her backpack. No further trace of her has ever been located. Then there's Jacob Pritchard. He was an acquisition project manager in the Air Force Research Laboratory Sensors Directorate at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, specializing in advanced airspace reconnaissance technology. On October 25th, 2025, in a still unexplained tragedy that was captured on security cameras, Jacob and his wife, Jamie Pritchard, who was a finance specialist at the same base, they were involved in a murder suicide that also claimed the life of First Lieutenant Jamie Gustitas. She was a top secret operations analyst officer at the 7-Eleventh Human Performance Wing on that base. The motive of all of that remains a complete mystery. Then we've got Carl Grillmere, an astrophysicist and an astronomer at Caltech's Infrared Processing and Analysis Center. He worked on the NeoWISE project. It's for detecting asteroids and comets, and he helped test instrumentation for the Neo Surveyor, a planetary defense mission. Okay? On February 16th of this year, he was shot dead on the front porch of his home in Lano, California. Caltech's public statement deliberately avoided mentioning the shooting and simply said that he passed away suddenly. Seems odd. Then we have William McCosland, a retired commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory, formerly a research commander at Kirtland Air Force Base and Director of Special Programs at the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense. He oversaw$4.4 billion in classified aerospace research and sat on the Special Access Program Oversight Committee. That gave him visibility into America's most sensitive defense projects. Well, on February 27th of this year, he vanished from his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He left behind his phone and his glasses, but he took with him his wallet, his boots, and a 38 revolver. A silver alert was issued for him, and the FBI is assisting, but the case still remains largely silent in the media. Then there's Nuno Loriero. He was a professor at MIT's Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, and he was director of the Plasma Science and Fusion Center. A world-leading expert in nonlinear plasma dynamics, fusion confinement, and solar flare technology and research. On December 15th, 2025, he was fatally shot at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, and he died the next day. Now the shooter in that case had connections to another shooting at Brown University just two days earlier. Then there's Jason Thomas, who was an assistant director at Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research. He was a chemical biologist. He had over 4,500 citations to his credit. And he held active Department of Defense contracts. On December 12th, 2025, he left his home without his phone, without his wallet, without his identification. And his body was found in Lake Kwanapowat in Wakefield, Massachusetts, on March 17, 2026. Seven of these nine individuals were directly connected to the Air Force Research Laboratory, or institutions that it funds. Their work spanned revolutionary technology in rocket engine materials, advanced sensors for space dominance, planetary defense against asteroid threats, nuclear fusion research that could power the next generation of weapons and energy systems, and oversight of special access programs that remain classified for very good reasons. The geographic pattern in these cases is unmistakable. Southern California near the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Caltech, New Mexico around Los Alamos and Kirkland Air Force Base, and the Wright Patterson Complex in Ohio. Folks, that's the exact triangle where America's most guarded aerospace and defense innovation happens. And then there's the timeline, which is equally suspicious. Nine months with clear clusters in June, October, December, and February. Official responses from NASA, from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech, Los Alamos, and the Air Force have been minimal at best. We've got vague condolences, offers of counseling services, and almost no mention of the violent or the mysterious nature of any of these deaths. No comprehensive cross-agency investigation has been publicly announced, no urgent congressional hearings of any kind, no high-level task force linking these cases, despite the obvious national security implications. Ladies and gentlemen, this is not normal when scientists of this caliber, the very people entrusted with keeping America technologically superior, disappear or die in clusters, especially those tied to special access programs, we've got a duty to demand answers. So let's connect the dots with the strong conservative analysis that you only get right here because we all we let's look that let's just look through the lens of history for a minute. Throughout the Cold War, our adversaries poured enormous resources into stealing, compromising, or eliminating American scientific talent working on classified projects. The Soviet Union did it for crying out loud, China does it today as part of its official national policy. We can't rule out, though, foreign actors trying to level the playing field against President Trump and his America First agenda. We really can't. Nor can we dismiss the possibility of domestic sabotage from elements within the radical resistance infrastructure, the bureaucracy that views Trump's restoration of American strength as an existential threat. Every lost scientist represents decades of accumulated knowledge, institutional memory, and classified insight that can't be quickly replaced. And so these gaps slow the very innovations that deter aggression, that protect our troops, and maintain our qualitative military edge. Look, in an era where China is racing to achieve parity in hypersonics, space weapons, and fusion technology, we can't afford self-inflicted wounds or unchecked interference. President Trump has made restoring American technological superiority and protecting our defense industrial base as a cornerstone of his second term. He understands that our edge isn't just about budgets, it's about the brilliant people who turn ideas into reality. And the counter-revolution that he's leading to purge this country of the radical liberal agenda includes safeguarding the very people who make our military unmatched. And protecting these scientific geniuses is not an option. It's national security at the highest level. And as proud conservatives, we've got to refuse to accept vague explanations or bureaucratic silence. We demand that Congress, the FBI, the Department of Defense, treat this pattern with the urgency that it deserves. And I think we've got to demand a full, transparent investigation that connects every possible dot. And we demand increased security protocols around special access programs. We have to. And we've got to demand that President Trump, the one leader who has proven that he will confront threats head on, make the protection of America's scientific backbone and community a top priority. Because this wave of tragedy and mystery is a reminder, a very dark reminder, that the fight for the Republic extends well beyond Washington policy debates. It reaches into laboratories, to research centers, and into the brilliant minds that keep our nation safe. Evidence of the obvious is sufficient, folks. The radical left may scream about manufactured crisis, but while they obsess over resistance to President Trump, the backbone of American strength is quietly being eroded in the shadows. We see it, we name it, and as proud conservatives standing with President Trump, we insist on the truth. Because America's security, our technological dominance, and our children's future depend on it. Truly. So if you're watching this and you love this country, share this clip. Demand answers. Support the leader who's finally putting America first again. Because when the when the best and the brightest who protect us are targeted, it's not just a tragedy, it's a warning, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Doug Billings, ladies and gentlemen. This is the right side. Stay vigilant, stay strong, stay proud. God bless you. Hey, follow me on this channel, wherever you're watching. Go to YouTube at the right side, Doug Billings. Follow and subscribe over there. Set your notifications so that you're notified when I drop new content. We've got to stand shoulder to shoulder. And when you share these kinds of clips and content, it helps us to restore the Republic back to the divine providence of God and the intent of the Founding Fathers. Believe it, ladies and gentlemen, for the Republic. Cheers.