Victims In Psychic-Inspired Hoax Sue Police

[Ian David]

Victims In Psychic-Inspired Hoax Sue Police

A Texas couple who own a ranch that police searched following false information that was provided by a psychic are suing the police and several major news organizations for defamation.

The case began June 6, 2011, when a psychic called police and described a horrific scene of mass murder: dozens of dismembered bodies near a ranch house about an hour outside of Houston, Texas. There were rotting limbs, headless corpses, and, chillingly, many were children in this mass grave they described.

Deputies from the Liberty County Sheriff's office went to investigate but didn’t see anything amiss. After a second call the following day, dozens of officials from the Texas Department of Public Safety, the FBI, and the Texas Rangers were on the scene -- not to mention cadaver dogs, news helicopters, and gawkers. It all turned out to be a false alarm. There were no dead bodies; the psychic was wrong (or lying).

Though the incident became a national embarrassment, the police refused to apologize, saying that procedures were followed and that the severity of the claims warranted an investigation: Whether a tip comes from an ordinary citizen, an anonymous informant, or a self-proclaimed psychic, information about mass murders cannot be ignored.

<snip>

Bankson and Charlton accuse The New York Times, CNN, Thompson Reuters, ABC News, and other news media of publishing false statements claiming that bodies had been found on their property.

More:
http://news.discovery.com/human/psychic-hoax-mass-grave-120612.html