The Horror, The Horror – Psychics Propose ‘Claremont Serial Killer’

Let me first set you straight on the history of this particular horror – and why the horror now features an additional sting:

First, the best background I can recommend is a book by Debi Marshall, on the Claremont serial killer case called ‘The Devil’s Garden‘ (Claremont is an inner-city suburb, where I once worked, only about two blocks from where three abductions took place). It’s such a good read, that we even used it as a non-fiction expository text. On pages 98-99, the beginning of Chapter 28, it reads as follows:

A long time sceptic, Bret Christian, who grew up in Claremont believes that clairvoyants have proven to be one of the biggest problems in the Macro case. Either well-meaning or malicious, they add, he says, nothing more than further heartache to those already deep in grief. ‘The saddest thing about their “visions” is that they are not only usually wrong but that they are foisted on people when they are at their most vulnerable.’

Overseas, neither US nor UK police services use the findings of psychics; officially, Australian police do not, either. Writing in the 2004 Autumn edition of The Skeptic, Christian quotes a story told by leading US sceptic James Randi. ‘A man claiming to be a psychic attracted the interest of police when he predicted a serious industrial fire. The accuracy of the detail after the event could only have been provided by the psychic‘s special powers. But police discovered that he had no need of paranormal powers to produce his visions – he himself was the arsonist.’

Former police officer Jeffrey Noye – whose name is greeted with sly smirks by serving officers because of Noye’s protracted and determined resolve to clear his name from the Argyle Diamond smear – says police take clairvoyant’s calls with a grain of salt. ‘They ring and the protocol is they’re afforded the same civilities as anyone else with information. But it doesn’t work like that. In reality, the person shares their vision and the cop rolls his eyes. It goes something like this. “I see. Yes. Uh huh, uh huh. And when did you have this vision? Last night, during the commercial break whilst you were watching television? Uh huh, uh huh. And was there anyone else there with you? No? No one else saw this vision? No? Uh huhh, uh huh.”‘

I have first hand dealings with a psychic who ‘saw’ visions of a seaside unit that she passed onto police. After several emails, telephone calls and broken agreements to pass on information to me, this ‘intuitive medium’, as she prefers to be called and who boasts that she works nationally and internationally, agrees to meet me in Perth at which time, she promises, she will outline her dealings with WA police. But when we finally meet, she has forgotten to bring her notes and can’t conjure any memories of her experiences with police except that Dave Caporn treated her as a ‘crackpot’ and refused to take her seriously. That, and the vague notion that she things she warned Paul Ferguson that ‘someone is going to go tonight.’ After further promises to email me her ‘feelings’ regarding the profile of the killer, she forwards a text message I can’t decipher. The email too, never materialises.

Paul Ferguson takes a broad view of psychics. ‘It was accepted that if we’re asking people for information, then we couldn’t just pick and choose. But it was appropriate to prioritise the information. Caporn was always blunt about them: he regards them as fruit-loops and advised us to piss ‘em off. But from a corporate point of view, this message could not go out to the public.’ Ferguson recalls the ‘intuitive medium’ that I met in Perth. ‘I sent a policewoman out; she read her tealeaves and indicated that she had specific information to share. I went along after that and checked out every possible angle.’ He pauses, struggling not to laugh. ‘Let’s just say nothing came of it.’

What has happened since, after the father of one of the murdered/missing girls, Sarah Spiers (‘Psychics Harrass Father Of Murdered Girl‘), spoke out? Today in the West Australian newspaper – Psychics release Claremont killer ‘identikit’:

The father of Claremont serial killer victim Sarah Spiers yesterday lashed out at a group of psychics who claimed to have identified the murderer and displayed an identikit image of him at a recent show in Perth.

Don Spiers said he was disgusted by the Psychic Taskforce event at Burswood Casino on September 27, which featured psychics Scott Russell Hill, Anthony Grzelka and Deb Malone, who presented a raft of claims regarding the unsolved murders and the supposed killer.

Mr Spiers, who recently revealed he suffered depression as a result of being approached by psychics offering information about the whereabouts of his daughter in exchange for money, said the event was about “profitmaking, not solving the case”. At the event, the psychics showed the audience an identikit image of the man they believe to be the serial killer and gave a detailed description of him. They claimed he now was aged between 35 and 40 and had victims other than Ms Spiers, Ciara Glennon and Jane Rimmer. They also told the audience that the man was a highly efficient killer who had known Ms Spiers.

…The psychics involved in the event could not be contacted for comment yesterday.

Funny, after they managed to get two sold-out shows – according to their site at ‘Whispers From Beyond’ – you’d think they’d be begging for some more attention… especially at a cost of ‘$135 per ticket‘. Certainly they know about it, since Anthony Grzelka’s Facebook group are complaining about an email circulating and claiming it’s ‘unfair’ that they have critics. Including how ‘I think there gonna be a dvd made about the weekend’s Pyschic Taskforce – I can’t wait to get a copy of it!’

Many thanks to A for the link; I’ve been busy recently and it passed me by!

Oh – a friend just asked ‘how do they get away with it?’ – my response is check out the disclaimer that features on John Edward’s psychic show.

You have to make your own decision on where you draw the line between what benefits such readings can give you – and when it becomes something that can potentially hinder real investigations and hurt those who get their hopes up.

Tagged as: accounts, Anthony Grzelka, arena, Australia, Burswood Casino, Claremont, Claremont Serial Killer, Deb Malone, disclaimer, Facebook, fraud, identikit, John Edward, killer, murder, news, Paranormal, Perth, psychic, psychics, Sarah Spiers, scams, Scott Russell Hill, The Devil's Garden, West Australia newspaper, Whispers from Beyond