Haunting Evidence
Encyclopedia
Haunting Evidence is an American
documentary television series following the travels of a psychic
profiler, a medium, and a paranormal
investigator. The trio travels the United States investigating "cold case" homicide and missing persons cases. The premise of the series was that this "team of unconventional investigators" could shed new light on unsolved crimes.
The series began production in October 2005 and premiered on Court TV (now truTV) in mid-June 2006, with a run of nine episodes. Season 2 began on June 20, 2007. There were two episodes in the third season. The series was cancelled after a total of 22 episodes were shown. The final cast was psychic profiler Carla Baron, medium
John J. Oliver, and paranormal investigator Patrick Burns
.
Season 2
Season 3
In 2004 Carla Baron was approached by Susan Tusing, the mother of slain murder victim Amanda Tusing, who had been found murdered in June 2000. Baron gave detectives the first name of the killer. Detective Jack McCann said that "we talked to the name and came up with several other people (with the same name) and nothing came up."
Hidden Truth
Missing in Paradise
The Independent Investigative Group IIG looked into 14 cases where Carla Baron claimed to have assisted detectives, including JonBenét Ramsey
, Elizabeth Smart
and Nicole Brown Simpson
. In all 14 cases the IIG contacted the police (or in the case of Nicole Simpson, they received an email from Denise Brown) all mostly saying the same things, "we have never heard of this person" or "the information provided (by Baron) did not produce any new leads in the investigation". IIG's conclusion is that she has never provided any help in any investigation, and her claims stating such are unsubstantiated. The IIG feels that because humans are basically compassionate we have invented forensic science as well as Amber Alert
and websites such as NCMEC to really help support victims of crimes. Psychic detectives like Carla Baron might claim compassion but are essentially paid agents with book sales, TV shows, lectures and private readings. Why are they needed when they cannot show one single case of evidence proving they have been helpful?
In April 13, 2011, 20 year-old nursing student Holly Bobo went missing from her home in Darden, Tennessee. Carla Baron was initially contacted by a friend of the family and Baron claims to have offered her services for free but the family refused to consult with her. On Baron's personal website she states that one condition she imposed on the family is that she is to be the only psychic officially working the case. When the family rejected her offer for help Baron stated "(the family) chose not to seek her information on Holly's death on the advice of the police, who, Baron believes, were "terrified to hear what I might have to say" about the abduction. The response to this from Baron's website, “This, my friends, is yet another “control” tactic deployed by the infinite ‘powers-that-be’ within gov’t jurisdiction to let all of us (a.k.a., the ‘public’) know –Who’s really running the show. Let’s not let anyone steal their proverbial thunder, shall we?". Skeptic investigator Ben Radford, writing for Discovery News, said that the police and the family probably decided not to seek Baron's help because psychic detectives have a "zero track record of success". While some psychics may be well-intended they do waste the police's time. Radford concluded that "Despite the efforts of dozens of psychics over two months, Bobo remains missing, the case remains unsolved."
The JREF has issued the Million dollar challenge to James Van Praagh
, Allison DuBois
, Sylvia Browne
, Carla Baron, John Edward
, and others if they can prove their abilities in controlled experiments." through ABC News
, Time.com and AOL News. Ben Radford with CSICOP quotes Magician James Randi
who challenges "James Van Praagh and Allison DuBois [whom] have turned the huckster art of ‘cold reading' into a multi-million-dollar industry, preying on families' deepest fears and regrets,” he says in a statement announcing the challenge. “They should be embarrassed by the transparent performances.”
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
documentary television series following the travels of a psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
profiler, a medium, and a paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
investigator. The trio travels the United States investigating "cold case" homicide and missing persons cases. The premise of the series was that this "team of unconventional investigators" could shed new light on unsolved crimes.
The series began production in October 2005 and premiered on Court TV (now truTV) in mid-June 2006, with a run of nine episodes. Season 2 began on June 20, 2007. There were two episodes in the third season. The series was cancelled after a total of 22 episodes were shown. The final cast was psychic profiler Carla Baron, medium
Mediumship
Mediumship is described as a form of communication with spirits. It is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Voodoo and Umbanda.- Concept :...
John J. Oliver, and paranormal investigator Patrick Burns
Patrick Burns (paranormal investigator)
Patrick Burns is an American paranormal investigator, best known as star of the TruTV series Haunting Evidence. He is the founder of the popular website , which in 2001 was featured in an Emmy award-winning Turner documentary "Interact Atlanta - 'Ghost Hounds'"...
.
Episodes
Season 1- "Mystery on the Appalachian TrailAppalachian TrailThe Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...
" (Julianne Williams & Laura Winans) (December 21, 2005) - "Mystery in the Ashes" (Tara Baker) (December 21, 2005)
- "Forgotten Fiancée" (Amanda Tusing) (June 14, 2006)
- "The Missing D.A." (Ray GricarRay GricarRay Frank Gricar was an American attorney who served as the district attorney of Centre County, Pennsylvania, from 1985–2005. On April 15, 2005, Gricar went missing under mysterious circumstances and has not been heard from since....
) (June 21, 2006) - "Hidden Truth" (Timothy Stone) (July 5, 2006)
- "Missing Teacher" (Tara GrinsteadTara GrinsteadTara Grinstead is a high school history teacher who lived in Ocilla, Georgia, USA, and has been missing since October 22, 2005...
) (July 19, 2006) - "Mystery in the Desert" (Katie Sepich) (July 26, 2006)
- "Abduction at Comins Pond" (Molly BishMolly BishMolly Anne Bish was a sixteen-year-old girl from Warren, Massachusetts who was abducted and then murdered while working as a lifeguard in rural Massachusetts. Her body was found three years later after the largest search in the history of Massachusetts.In the summer of 2000, Bish worked as a...
) (August 2, 2006) - "Lady of the Dunes" (August 9, 2006)
Season 2
- "Missing in Paradise" (Natalee HollowayNatalee HollowayNatalee Ann Holloway disappeared on May 30, 2005, during a high school graduation trip to Aruba, a Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. An American student from Mountain Brook, Alabama, Holloway graduated from Mountain Brook High School on May 24, 2005, shortly before the trip...
) (June 20, 2007) - "Women of Calder Field" (June 27, 2007)
- "Long Journey Home" (July 4, 2007)
- "Buried Secrets" (James Lacouture) (July 11, 2007)
- "Dupont CircleDupont CircleDupont Circle is a traffic circle, park, neighborhood, and historic district in Northwest Washington, D.C. The traffic circle is located at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue NW, Connecticut Avenue NW, New Hampshire Avenue NW, P Street NW, and 19th Street NW...
Mystery" (Joyce ChiangJoyce ChiangJoyce Chiang was an attorney with the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, who was murdered. Chiang disappeared on January 9, 1999, in Washington, D.C., and was later found dead...
& Chandra LevyChandra LevyChandra Ann Levy was an American intern at the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Washington, D.C., who disappeared in May 2001. She was presumed murdered after her skeletal remains were found in Rock Creek Park in May 2002...
) (July 18, 2007) - "The Ruins at Land's End" (July 25, 2007)
- "Five Hundred Miles Away" (Judith Smith) (August 1, 2007)
- "Deep in the Desert" (August 8, 2007)
- "Wiregrass Murders" (August 15, 2007)
- "North Carolina Burning" (August 22, 2007)
- "Haunted in Villisca" (August 29, 2007)
Season 3
- "The JonBenet Mystery" (October 4, 2008)
- "Madeleine McCann" (October 11, 2008)
Results
None of the cases investigated by the show were solved because of the show. Two cases were later closed by police work:- Episode 107, "Mystery in the Desert", Season 1: the perpetrator of the crime, Gabriel Avila, was linked to Katie Sepich via DNA evidence, in December 2006.
- Episode 205, "Dupont Circle Mystery", Season 2: Chandra Levy's killer, Ingmar Guandique, was found guilty of the crime in 2010.
Criticism
In March 2003, Svelana Aronov's body was found in New York's Upper East River. Family and friends consulted Carla Baron by email who stated that Svelana was fleeing an "obsessed kidnapper" and jumped into the freezing waters to escape. Police at the 19th Precinct could not confirm Barons statement that she had a "lengthy conversation with a detective." A friend that reached out to Baron and other psychic detectives said they (psychics) only yielded "aggravation". Close friends and family members now say they "distrust Baron who they say "provided no useful insights and demanded media attention from the start." The New York medical examiner now says that it was probably suicide.In 2004 Carla Baron was approached by Susan Tusing, the mother of slain murder victim Amanda Tusing, who had been found murdered in June 2000. Baron gave detectives the first name of the killer. Detective Jack McCann said that "we talked to the name and came up with several other people (with the same name) and nothing came up."
Hidden Truth
Missing in Paradise
The Independent Investigative Group IIG looked into 14 cases where Carla Baron claimed to have assisted detectives, including JonBenét Ramsey
JonBenét Ramsey
JonBenét Patricia Ramsey was an American child beauty pageant contestant who was murdered in her home in Boulder, Colorado, in 1996. The six-year-old's body was found in the basement of the family home nearly eight hours after she was reported missing. She had been struck on the head and strangled...
, Elizabeth Smart
Elizabeth Smart
Elizabeth Ann Smart is an American female activist and contributor for ABC News. She first gained widespread attention at age 14 when she was kidnapped from her home and recovered nine months later.-Early life:...
and Nicole Brown Simpson
Nicole Brown Simpson
Nicole Brown Simpson was a former wife of professional football player O. J. Simpson.- Relationship with O. J. Simpson :...
. In all 14 cases the IIG contacted the police (or in the case of Nicole Simpson, they received an email from Denise Brown) all mostly saying the same things, "we have never heard of this person" or "the information provided (by Baron) did not produce any new leads in the investigation". IIG's conclusion is that she has never provided any help in any investigation, and her claims stating such are unsubstantiated. The IIG feels that because humans are basically compassionate we have invented forensic science as well as Amber Alert
AMBER Alert
An AMBER Alert or a Child Abduction Emergency is a child abduction alert bulletin in several countries throughout the world, issued upon the suspected abduction of a child, since 1996...
and websites such as NCMEC to really help support victims of crimes. Psychic detectives like Carla Baron might claim compassion but are essentially paid agents with book sales, TV shows, lectures and private readings. Why are they needed when they cannot show one single case of evidence proving they have been helpful?
In April 13, 2011, 20 year-old nursing student Holly Bobo went missing from her home in Darden, Tennessee. Carla Baron was initially contacted by a friend of the family and Baron claims to have offered her services for free but the family refused to consult with her. On Baron's personal website she states that one condition she imposed on the family is that she is to be the only psychic officially working the case. When the family rejected her offer for help Baron stated "(the family) chose not to seek her information on Holly's death on the advice of the police, who, Baron believes, were "terrified to hear what I might have to say" about the abduction. The response to this from Baron's website, “This, my friends, is yet another “control” tactic deployed by the infinite ‘powers-that-be’ within gov’t jurisdiction to let all of us (a.k.a., the ‘public’) know –Who’s really running the show. Let’s not let anyone steal their proverbial thunder, shall we?". Skeptic investigator Ben Radford, writing for Discovery News, said that the police and the family probably decided not to seek Baron's help because psychic detectives have a "zero track record of success". While some psychics may be well-intended they do waste the police's time. Radford concluded that "Despite the efforts of dozens of psychics over two months, Bobo remains missing, the case remains unsolved."
The JREF has issued the Million dollar challenge to James Van Praagh
James Van Praagh
James Van Praagh is a self-proclaimed medium who has written several books on spirituality and spirit communication.-Early life and career:Van Praagh was born in Bayside, New York and is the youngest of four children...
, Allison DuBois
Allison DuBois
Allison DuBois is an American author and medium. DuBois has controversially claimed to possess psychic abilities and use them to help U.S. law enforcement officials solve crimes, which formed the basis of the TV series Medium....
, Sylvia Browne
Sylvia Browne
Sylvia Browne is an American author who describes herself as a psychic and spiritual medium...
, Carla Baron, John Edward
John Edward
John Edward McGee, Jr. is an American television personality and professional psychic medium. He is best known for his TV shows Crossing Over with John Edward and John Edward Cross Country....
, and others if they can prove their abilities in controlled experiments." through ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
, Time.com and AOL News. Ben Radford with CSICOP quotes Magician James Randi
James Randi
James Randi is a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Randi is the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation...
who challenges "James Van Praagh and Allison DuBois [whom] have turned the huckster art of ‘cold reading' into a multi-million-dollar industry, preying on families' deepest fears and regrets,” he says in a statement announcing the challenge. “They should be embarrassed by the transparent performances.”