http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7320305/
Psychic detectives and the search for truth
Are psychics the wave of the future or snake oil salesmen?
By Clint Van Zandt
MSNBC analyst & former FBI Profiler
Updated: 11:35 a.m. ET March 28, 2005
This article is the first installment of two parts.
In the recent search for missing 9-year-old Citrus County Florida
resident Jessica Lunsford, investigators had to sift through 3,000
potential leads that came from the public and from other agencies.
As we now know, a "person of interest" (the current politically correct
term used to refer to a person we formerly called a suspect or a
subject) in young Jessica's disappearance was identified as 46-year old
previously convicted sex offender John Evander Couey. After undergoing
an 11-hour interview by Sheriff's investigators and FBI agents, which
included a polygraph exam, Couey confessed to kidnapping, sexually
assaulting, and murdering Jessie. He then led authorities to her body
that he had concealed behind his sister's residence, a distance of
approximately 150 to 200 yards from Jessica's home. Apparently, Couey
had told a relative and two other people about Jessica's murder, and
now all three are charged with obstructing police and remaining quiet
about this unthinkable crime. Couey has been charged with capital
murder.
Of the 3,000 tips that came to the attention of the authorities after
Jessica's disappearance, over 400 were from self-professed psychics or
self-identified clairvoyants. Police say their information was vague
and unsupported, not unlike most tips provided by psychics. But even
though authorities questioned the value of such mystically-generated
information, teams of detectives and FBI agents still had to be
assigned to track down these leads, resulting in the use of valuable
investigative resources (to no avail).
This was also the case in the disappearance of eight month pregnant
Laci Peterson where local authorities received hundreds of similar tips
from individuals identifying themselves as psychics. One so-called
psychic Website claims that its members specialize in finding missing
adults as well as lost, "misplaced," and abducted children, pets, and
jewelry.
Is this snake oil--- or the beginning of the future for law enforcement
and a quantum leap for criminal investigative analysis?
A LAW ENFORCEMENT OBLIGATION TO FOLLOW ALL LEADS
As an FBI agent for 25 years, I know that law enforcement has an
obligation to run down any information that might lead to the location
of a missing child or adult, or that could help solve a kidnapping or a
murder (let's put the misplaced pets aside for the moment).
In the case of a vulnerable young child like Jessica Lunsford, the
survival clock starts ticking right from the moment she goes missing.
Such a clock has only a few hours on it. Statistically, a child is
kidnapped, assaulted, and murdered in the United States every other
day. It is a startling reality to deal with. How we utilize our law
enforcement investigative resources in the first few hours, days, and
weeks, depends on the quality of information that we are able to
develop from the crime scene; from our investigation of family, friends
and neighbors; and from information provided by the public--- including
all so-called tips.
CLAIRVOYANTS DATE BACK TO NOSTRADAMUS
Clairvoyants are said by some--- usually those who want to believe---
to have the power to see the future, perceiving things beyond the
natural range of the five senses. Television has played and replayed
stories of 17th century clairvoyant Michel de Nostredame, commonly
referred to as Nostradamus. A physician and astrologer, some of his
obscure imagery is said by believers to have predicted events in the
20th and 21st centuries, including the 9/11 attacks on America. For
example, in 1654, Nostradamus wrote:
"Five and forty steps the sky will burn. Fire approaching the large new
city. Instantly a great thin flame will leap, when someone will want to
test the Normans."
This has subsequently been "enhanced and amended" by believers to read:
"In the year of the new century and nine months, from the sky will come
a great King of Terror. The sky will burn at forty-five degrees. Fire
approaches the great new city. In the city of york there will be a
great collapse, 2 twin brothers torn apart by chaos while the fortress
falls' the great leader will succumb; third big war will begin when the
big city is burning."
"Five and forty": How did this rather innocuous sounding number become
45 degrees north latitude, and become close enough to New York City's
location at 40 degrees, 42 minutes north latitude to "confirm" what
Nostradamus wrote some 347 years prior to 9/11? Why not equate this
number to 45 degrees south longitude or even to 5:40 PM?
"Fire approaches the city": What are the chances that some large city
somewhere will somehow have a large fire sometime during its existence?
And on and on, noting that the current information of myth, i.e.,---
that Nostradamus had made a reference to the city of York and to the
Twin Towers being torn apart and World War III beginning, is all a hoax
perpetrated either on, or by, those who seek a reason to believe. But
its origins are still in fiction and are not in historical, scientific,
or investigative fact.
[Check back Wednesday to read the second installment of Clint Van
Zandt's article on psychics and investigations, including his advice
into whether or not you should employ one in your investigation.
(Downloadable facts on child protection and other personal security
issues can be found at www.LiveSecure.org.)
Clint Van Zandt is an MSNBC analyst. He is the founder and president of
Van Zandt Associates Inc. Dr. Van Zandt and his associates also
developed LiveSecure.org, a website dedicated "to develop, evaluate,
and disseminate information to help prepare and inform individuals
concerning personal and family security issues." During his 25-year
career in the FBI, Mr. Van Zandt was a supervisor in the FBI's
internationally renowned Behavioral Science Unit at the FBI Academy in
Quantico, Virginia. He was also the FBI's Chief Hostage Negotiator and
in his current position, was the leader of the analytical team
recognized with identifying the "Unabomber."]
-----------------------------
Shoe leather, not sixth sense, breaks cases open
The truth is out there--- but probably not with mediums
By Clint Van Zandt
MSNBC analyst & former FBI Profiler
Updated: 4:12 p.m. ET March 30, 2005
This article is the second of two parts.
From October 1979 to May 1981, an unknown serial killer was believed to
have murdered 27 African American boys in the Atlanta, Georgia area.
Statistically speaking, most serial killers are white, so law
enforcement initially thought that the killer was likely to be a white
racist.
The police and the FBI received many tips during this investigation,
including those from professed psychics. One such woman called me and
indicated that the killer was a white male who had been interviewed by
a detective early on in the investigation. She said that during the
interview, the killer lit his own cigarette with a match bent in a
particular way from a matchbook. It was a detail the detective would
remember, she said. We spoke to every FBI agent and detective assigned
to the case but no one recalled this incident.
An FBI profiler who was working on the case pointed out the obvious
though--- that since most of the boys were taken from black
neighborhoods where a white man would stand out, the police should be
looking instead for a black serial killer. The killer would then
dispose of his victims in a nearby river to confound the forensic
evidence that could be gathered from the bodies.
Wayne Williams, an African American, was subsequently identified on a
bridge over the river in question, at a time a new body was dumped into
the river. He was arrested, and later tried and convicted. Case closed.
PSYCHIC STYLES
Some psychics claim to see remote images. Some "read into the future"
by looking at the palms of our hands (chiromancy) or tea leaves
(tasseography). Some rely on information from "spirit guides" and may
even practice cleidomancy, divination through interpreting the
movements of a key suspended by a thread from the nail of the third
finger on a young virgin's hand while psalms are recited. Others hold
an object related to the crime in their hands and get impressions of
the victim, the crime, or the criminal (psychometry). One psychic
network claims success in just over 20 percent of their cases,
something that appears far less successful than that of a mere guess in
a 50/50 situation.
It's possible that some psychics are just really good interviewers or
body language-readers. Some of them will roll out names and numbers,
waiting for some response from the person, and then they will enhance
that point of information to fit the situation.
My point is this: If psychics were truly successful and if their
results were not simply the consequence of trickery (at worse) or good
interviewing skills (at best)--- then why don't law enforcement
agencies have psychic detective squads, a real X-files Unit, or other
ways to integrate these paranormal investigative capabilites?
REASON TO BELIEVE
You know, we all want to believe in something. Some want to believe
that Elvis is alive and a part of the Federal Witness Protection
program. Others want to believe that TWA 800 did not explode in mid-air
in July 1996 due to an electrical/fuel tank problem, but instead had
been shot down by a U.S. Navy missile as incorrectly offered up by
former White House press secretary Pierre Salinger. Some choose to
believe that unidentified black helicopters frequently carry Russian
Special Forces troops (Spetsnaz) across America for secret night time
training missions. That Area 51, also known as Groom Lake, not only
housed the development of the B-2 stealth bomber and the F-117 stealth
fighter, but (as watching reruns of nine years of Agents Fox Mulder and
Dana Scully will show you) was also the secret storage location for
alien spacecrafts that have crashed over the years, perhaps including
the very aviators that manned these intergalactic flying machines.
Each of us can believe what we choose, but in the criminal justice
field, crimes are solved by investigation and information--- not by
rubbing sticks together, huddling over a Ouija Board, or talking to a
spirit guide. A 17th-century dowsing sleuth was tested in Paris and
failed every test given to him. A 1991 test of a London-based police
psychic concerning her ability to use psychometry to solve crimes
suggested that she had no such skill. And a standing $1 million reward
for anyone who can prove paranormal power still remains unclaimed.
What happens many times is that professed psychics allow themselves the
benefit of 20/20 hindsight. After the case is solved, they make their
previously vague predictions somehow fit the crime and the criminal.
I've had psychics tell me the victim was killed near a body of water
(the murder took place along Lake Michigan, come on... ); that the
victim was buried in a shallow grave (most killers don't necessarily
take the time to dig a "deep" grave); or that the victim was in a
remote location (that's right, we haven't found her yet, so she could
be somewhere remote).
A LAST RESORT IN AN HOUR OF NEED?
Lastly, many, particularly parents of a missing or kidnapped child,
turn to psychics and other claimed paranormals as a last resort in
their greatest hour of need. I would never deprive any parent the
opportunity to avail themselves of every legitimate investigative tool
that could help them find and save their child.
But to seek the counsel of psychics outside of law enforcement is
simply not wise. There are many in this world who will tell you
anything to gain your confidence--- or access to the contents of your
checking account. In such emotionally-charged situations, one's common
sense must run alongside one's overwhelming concern.
Trust the police and know that you can sleep at night by having done
everything you could to support the investigative efforts in your loved
one's behalf.
Yes, the truth (about crime) is out there somewhere, but it will
probably not be found by mediums visualizing the crime scene, nor will
they be in those who claim to see through the eyes of the killer.
Whether they profess to see dead people or simply rely on a claimed
sixth sense that the vast majority of us do not possess, psychics'
track record hovers around mere chance rather than statistical
certainty. I'd dance with the devil or talk to anyone who had
information that could possibly save the life of a missing child, but
until psychics establish the track record of multiple successes like
those of criminal analysts, I wouldn't bet the farm on their ability to
name the next Pope, or tell us who really shot JR or JFK.
[(For information on "Protecting Children from Predators" and other
home, travel and personally related security issues, see
www.LiveSecure.org)
Clint Van Zandt is an MSNBC analyst. He is the founder and president of
Van Zandt Associates Inc. Dr. Van Zandt and his associates also
developed LiveSecure.org, a website dedicated "to develop, evaluate,
and disseminate information to help prepare and inform individuals
concerning personal and family security issues." During his 25-year
career in the FBI, Mr. Van Zandt was a supervisor in the FBI's
internationally renowned Behavioral Science Unit at the FBI Academy in
Quantico, Virginia. He was also the FBI's Chief Hostage Negotiator and
in his current position, was the leader of the analytical team
recognized with identifying the "Unabomber."]
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