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Last Sylvia Browne thread I start, I promise! This time, I have hit PAY- dirt! :D

That's terrible, Deborah. I'm very sorry that you got treated like that by Sylvia Browne and Montel.

Have you seen this article on StopSylvia.com?

http://stopsylvia.com/articles/scorecard_missingmurdered.shtml

There's one more; Robert forgot to add this case to it: http://stopsylvia.com/articles/montel_johniaberry.shtml

She's victimized hundreds of families of missing/ murdered people and often delayed and hurt police investigations. It's probably not much comfort to you but some of the families were lied to and deceived in even worse ways than she lied to you.

I think you did the right thing by taking the plea deal. It got him to admit his guilt and put him in prison for the next three decades. He'll be an old man when he gets out and he'll never hurt anyone again.

Do you know if Ashby ever revealed his motive? One of the articles mentioned that he was in prison before for burglary; was it possible that it was a robbery gone wrong?

Edit: What specifically makes you say that she was rude? I know she's usually cold and dismissive to everyone in the audience but it honestly didn't seem to me that she said anything particularly inappropriate to you. Was it a matter of the show being edited down to not show her sulking and rolling her eyes and so on?
 
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BROWNE: Yeah, you know how long it took them to gut Bundy.
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Ted Bundy's earliest known, established murders were committed in 1974. He was first arrested in 1975. He escaped in June, 1977, and was re-arrested six days later. He escaped again in December of 1977, and was re-arrested less than two months later. That one stuck.

By that timeline, it took law enforcement one year, two months, and six days to capture Ted Bundy. Given how cagey Bundy was, the paucity of evidence, and the limits of forensic science in the 70's, that's actually not long at all. In fact, it was pretty damn good-and it's an insult to the detectives who lived and breathed the Bundy case for Browne to even obscurely suggest that they were somehow inept.

Browne has, I think, confused Ted Bundy with Gary Ridgway, and she didn't "work" on either case, regardless of any claim she might make to the contrary.

Slight thread drift, but I had to point that out. A tiny example of Browne's habit of pretending to be knowledgeable about a subject she is actually quite ignorant of.
 
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My question is why isn't anyone going after Montel for keep on bringing on his show?
 
Why indeed...

I would like to know why Montel kept bringing her back. Especially when she was just down right hateful to people. She had big diamond rings on and big diamond bracelets and I felt as though she was looking down her nose at me. Considering how vulnerable I was and how desperate I was you would think she or Montel would have shown a little compassion. However, I have to admit that I approached Montels show so I guess they look at it like I got what I deserved because I approached them?? I'm willing to take the blame for my experience with Sylvia Browne, and I will not make that mistake again ever.
 
Yes, I have read the article on stopsylvia.com. There were moments edited out. She came across to me as being somewhat put off or just uncaring. There was a moment during a break when everyone is required to be very quiet, during this time I was crying, but only to myself not out loud. But I cried through the entire show after she talked to me. I could not stop crying. As I sat looking at her, she slowly turned her head and gave me the most evil look I have ever seen in my life. Honestly, I have only shared this experience with a few very close friends and family members. It terrified me. I could not wait to get out of there. I guess what it boils down to is that I felt as though I was just being told what they thought I needed to hear. Nothing more. Also, Ashby has not revealed a motive for murdering my daughter. The police have publicly said that this was a botched burglary attempt, but privately there is a different story to which we still do not have all the answers.
 
There have been attempts to find out why Montel kept bringing Sylvia onto his show. There are transcripts of a conversation that Montel did at one time where he says that he personally doesn't believe in her, but she is popular, and that is the lifeblood of his profession of TV personalities. As Montel was once a Naval officer, Hal Bidlack, a well-known skeptic and an Air Force officer wrote Montel an open letter, officer to officer, asking about the honor of his "use" of Sylvia on his show. He never got a real reply.

See the evidence on StopSylvia.com here: http://stopsylvia.com/articles/montelresponsetoopenletter.shtml

In addition to the others here, Deborah, my condolences on our daughter, and welcome to our forum.
 
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angiesonlymom said:
I would like to know why Montel kept bringing her back. Especially when she was just down right hateful to people. She had big diamond rings on and big diamond bracelets and I felt as though she was looking down her nose at me. Considering how vulnerable I was and how desperate I was you would think she or Montel would have shown a little compassion. However, I have to admit that I approached Montels show so I guess they look at it like I got what I deserved because I approached them?? I'm willing to take the blame for my experience with Sylvia Browne, and I will not make that mistake again ever.
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No, please don't feel that way. It was not your responsibility. Whether you approached them or they approached you is beside the point. The point is that Sylvia Browne preys on the grieving and the distraught, and Montel Williams allowed her to do so simply, I think, for ratings. There's no other way to explain it. Montel Williams is not stupid. He MUST know that she is a fraud, and he, in essence, turned his back on the people she victimized in favor of popularity. The culpability is theirs, not yours.

I'm very sorry for your loss. :(
 
Absolutely. Sylvia is the one who advertises herself as a psychic and professes to solve kidnappings, murders and other crimes. She's responsible for anyone who takes her seriously and seeks her help, the same way anyone who misrepresents themselves is responsible for their lies, from an unqualified doctor to the purveyors of "mischievous" Internet hoaxes.

I hope nothing bad happened to Name Bleeped because of this. How do you think she guessed that name? Is there any way she might have known?
 
You know if she diagnosis a disease that is illegal unless she has a medical license (which I am sure she does not have). Montel is a collaborator in this illegal activity, why hasn't anyone turn her over to the FDA. Why is she not arrested?
 
Steelmage said:
You know if she diagnosis a disease that is illegal unless she has a medical license (which I am sure she does not have). Montel is a collaborator in this illegal activity, why hasn't anyone turn her over to the FDA. Why is she not arrested?
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The FDA is the Federal Drug Administration - they control pharmaceuticals, but they don't have anything to do with someone practicing medicine without a license. That would be the province of the regulatory board in each state.

In any case, advising someone that they might have a problem in a certain area, and recommending l-e-c-t-h-i-n is not illegal. It's a fairly gray area, anyway. A great many of us will tell friends and family that their symptoms "could be this or that" - and none of us who do so could be considered to be practicing medicine without a license.

Personally, if someone begins to believe that they have a particular ailment because SB "saw" it, and they start chugging down l-e-c-t-h-i-n, they ARE in need of help - from the nearest mental health professional.
 
EeneyMinnieMoe said:
That's terrible, Deborah. I'm very sorry that you got treated like that by Sylvia Browne and Montel.
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Angie, very sorry about your lovely daughter. :( Glad they caught the perp.

Pursuant Eenyey's comment up there, did Montel Williams treat you badly? :confused:
Steelmage said:
My question is why isn't anyone going after Montel for keep on bringing on his show?
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IIRC, Montel's show got cancelled for the 2008 2009 season. This announcement is from January 2008. What is showing now is a package of reruns.

@ Desertgal: FDA = Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/

Puttin' the E into JREF. ;)

You know if she diagnosis a disease that is illegal unless she has a medical license (which I am sure she does not have). Montel is a collaborator in this illegal activity, why hasn't anyone turn her over to the FDA. Why is she not arrested?
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Does it occur to you that the network this show was produced on has lawyers who might be able to give the show the guidance it needs to stay legal, as in "well within the gray area" on this matter? If what you say was that simple, they'd have taken her off the air a while back. I will also point out that I have never heard of Ms Browne represent herself as a medical professional. (If she had, she'd have been busted for a grotesque fraud.)

DR
 
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Darth Rotor said:
@ Desertgal: FDA = Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/
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Well, that was a blatant boo boo on my part-that'll teach me to type before my morning l-e-c-i-t-h-i-n. :blush:

Thanks for the correction. :)

My point still stands, though - the FDA does not regulate medical licenses or those who practice without one.
 
When I was at the Montel show, I thought we would all be introduced to him prior to being taken out to the stage. We were not. He really didn't even look me in the eye, except maybe once, but not for long. I felt as though he was purposely avoiding eye contact with me and that was not a good feeling. He was arrogant when the cameras were off, he was dancing in his chair as they showed film of him skiing down a slope somewhere. It was not at all what I had expected. If I had known, I would not have gone there. He did not shake anyones hand, he did not say hello, how are you, or anything. What you saw on the show is all there was.
 
I know that there is no way that Sylvia Browne could have known that I would know the person she was naming. I think that she actually looks surprised when i say that I know who that person is. This was someone absolutely not involved in this case in anyway. I don't think that they know they were being looked at as a potential suspect and I hope it stays that way...for their sake.
 
It's the same story with every psychic detective. They come out the woodwork in droves on missing persons/murder cases, make a few vague predictions and then claim success when the case is resolved. Sometimes they claim success even if the case remains unsolved ("I told the police it was a local drifter by the name of Michael but they didn't look for him so he was never found"). They all do it for the money or for the publicity, except maybe a few that are convinced that they have genuine powers.

The only thing astonishing about them is that they somehow manage to get credit for solving cases.

This is off topic but I'm curious about what happened to Angie's boyfriend? Has he since moved on and found someone? Did he take part in the trial at all? Do you still stay in touch with him?
 
EeneyMinnieMoe said:
The only thing astonishing about them is that they somehow manage to get credit for solving cases.
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From whom? I've yet to see a police department publicly state that a psychic cracked a case for them, or was even correct in the details. Sure, supporters will often give the psychic credit - but, then, most of SB's supporters say that she has been right thousands upon thousands of times, without offering a single provable instance.

Otherwise, mostly what you hear is "So and So has aided police departments across the country in cases for decades." Translation: crackpot called the police hotline.
 
desertgal said:
From whom? I've yet to see a police department publicly state that a psychic cracked a case for them, or was even correct in the details. Sure, supporters will often give the psychic credit - but, then, most of SB's supporters say that she has been right thousands upon thousands of times, without offering a single provable instance.

Otherwise, mostly what you hear is "So and So has aided police departments across the country in cases for decades." Translation: crackpot called the police hotline.
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Actually, there are a lot of examples over the years where police have said that psychics have helped solve particular cases. This is because police are just a cross-section of the population, and many believe in this stuff and engage psychics when they get stumped.

The trick is to examine these testimonials themselves for accuracy: did the psychic actually contribute to solving the case? Or is just that the police officer involved was so ga-ga over the psychic that he forgets the misses and remembers the lucky hits, the same way people walk away from cold readings with glowing reports of accuracy.
 
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blutoski said:
Actually, there are a lot of examples over the years where police have said that psychics have helped solve particular cases. This is because police are just a cross-section of the population, and many believe in this stuff and engage psychics when they get stumped.

The trick is to examine these testimonials themselves for accuracy: did the psychic actually contribute to solving the case? Or is just that the police officer involved was so ga-ga over the psychic that he forgets the misses and remembers the lucky hits, the same way people walk away from cold readings with glowing reports of accuracy.
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Well, I stand corrected. :)
 
Sylvia Browne was once paid by the police to give a reading on a case. For four hundred dollars for 30 minutes, she told them a bunch of nonsense about the victim's rejected homosexual stalker murdering him. The real killer was found 15 years later due to forensic evidence and police work, no thanks to Sylvia Browne.

Turns out the man was killed by a local kid, then 14, who was just trying to rob him.

Here's a quote from the detectives:

Martin said, "She gave us some pretty good information that we're looking into. She pointed us in the direction of the type of individual and told us what she believes happened prior to the homicide. "

"We were very impressed," Estevens said.

"This psychic is a police tool that we're using. Our investigation is a compilation of all our tools. "
 
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