sylvia/horneck

[panchov]

What did she do to his parents?

[Lisa Simpson]

Sylvia told Shawn Hornbeck's parents that he was dead. Except, he wasn't dead, just kidnapped.

[RSLancastr]

Read all about it.

Here is the original article, from the day Shawn was found:

http://www.stopsylviabrowne.com/articles/montel_shawnhornbeck.shtml

And the followup article:

http://www.stopsylviabrowne.com/articles/montel_shawnhornbeck2.shtml

[EeneyMinnieMoe]

Since he hasn't done it himself, I have to tout Robert. :D

He was the one who actually broke the story the day the boys were found (if I remember it correctly) and it was thanks to him that it was picked up by The Daily News, Howard Stern, Richard Roeper's column, Anderson Cooper's show, Bill O'Reilly's show and others.

[panchov]

wow, wonder what she was thinking when that poor mom started crying? She must really believe all the stuff she says. Or she's made of steel.

[RSLancastr]

wow, wonder what she was thinking when that poor mom started crying? She must really believe all the stuff she says. Or she's made of steel.Or perhaps she has no conscience, no humanity.

[EeneyMinnieMoe]

Made of steel.

...


"The kid," interrupts Sylvia. She means Shawn Hornbeck. "Yeah, I believed the kid was dead." She shrugs. "What I found out later - Larry King wanted me to come on and explain but I said I'm not going to explain anything - is there were three children missing. I think what I did was I got my wires crossed. There was a blonde and two boys who are dead. I think I picked up the wrong kid."

"Shawn Hornbeck," I say. "Were the other kids missing from the same area?"

"Absolutely," Sylvia says.

"At the same time?" I ask.

"Yes," Sylvia says. "I have a tiny newspaper cutting about them back in my office."

(I later realise that, of course, "three children missing" in the "same area" is annoyingly too vague to be checkable.)

"Then there was Opal Jo Jennings," I say.

Sylvia looks blankly at me.

"Back in 1999," I say.

Sylvia still looks blank.

"You said she was sold into white slavery in Japan but actually she was dead," I prompt.

"I don't remember that case at all," Sylvia says.

"Little girl," I say. "She'd been killed but you said she'd been sold into white slavery in Japan."

"No," Sylvia says. She shakes her head. "Don't remember that. Not at all. All I remember was that kid Van."

"Shawn," I say.

"Van Hornwell?" Sylvia says.

"Shawn Hornbeck," I say.
"Yeah. Hornbeck," Sylvia says. "I don't remember the Japanese girl at all."

...


"But when you're dealing with missing kids and you're wrong," I say, "it's very, very bad."
"Right." She shrugs.

...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2198928,00.html

[DRBUZZ0]

wow, wonder what she was thinking when that poor mom started crying? She must really believe all the stuff she says. Or she's made of steel.

She has basically made her life doing this sort of thing and either distancing herself from the effects or just considering it not-important or whatever. I do agree though that even the worst people usually don't have the ability to look someone in the eye and do this sort of thing.

I think that it's that someone can just grow numb once they realize they have gotten away with the same scam for years. I'm sure a psycologist could have a field day figuring out why they don't care. It could be a sociopathic sort of thing too.

I had actually written about her responses in the past with being outed here:

http://depletedcranium.com/?p=192


Being able to not flinch can be part of being a sociopath or of some very deep problems or just being... for all intents and purposes "evil." I know the word "evil" is considered to be un-objective and emotion-based and name-calling, but I can't think of any other word to describe exploiting missing kids or grieving parents like that.

[panchov]

You pretty much got it ALL covered when you start out by saying you want people to validate or invalidate because some of this stuff can be in the future. How can you possibly go wrong?

[CFLarsen]

You pretty much got it ALL covered when you start out by saying you want people to validate or invalidate because some of this stuff can be in the future. How can you possibly go wrong?

Exactly.

[SeekingTruth]

but I can't think of any other word to describe exploiting missing kids or grieving parents like that.


I can.... NARCISSISTIC

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Individuals with this Cluster B Personality Disorder have an excessive sense of how important they are. They demand and expect to be admired and praised by others and are limited in their capacity to appreciate others' perspectives.
Diagnostic criteria for 301.81 Narcissistic Personality Disorder
(cautionary statement)
A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:
(1) has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)
(2) is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
(3) believes that he or she is "special" and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)
(4) requires excessive admiration
(5) has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations
(6) is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends
(7) lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others
(8) is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her
(9) shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes

ST

[Blackwell]

Made of steel.

It may seem like steel, but she's actually made of a very, very hardened pile of feces.

[alfaniner]

It may seem like steel, but she's actually made of a very, very hardened pile of feces.

Like a coprolite?

[JoeTheJuggler]

You pretty much got it ALL covered when you start out by saying you want people to validate or invalidate because some of this stuff can be in the future. How can you possibly go wrong?

My favorite is when she says something that is obviously wrong (the readee shows a blank face or looks confused because on the Montel show they're instructed never to say that she's wrong), so she quickly asks, "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

That always gets a "Yes" (meaning, "Yes I understand what you said, but they told me not to point out that what you said is wrong.")

Cue the "applause" sign, and you can sell it as a hit.

[panchov]

Joe this is a perfect example of what we are talking about in the other thread. I would love to see her prosecuted, but how?

[Blackwell]

Like a coprolite?

Exactly.
But not as pretty.

[JoeTheJuggler]

Joe this is a perfect example of what we are talking about in the other thread. I would love to see her prosecuted, but how?
No it's not. On that thread, we're discussing whether what psychics do is fraud, not whether or how it can be prosecuted.

[panchov]

No it's not. On that thread, we're discussing whether what psychics do is fraud, not whether or how it can be prosecuted.

If it's fraud, it can be prosecuted.

[RSLancastr]

If it's fraud, it can be prosecuted.There is fraud in the dictionary sense, and there is fraud in the legal sense.

I firmly believe that what Browne does is fraud in the dictionary sense.

Whether or not it is also fraud in the legal sense is less clear to me, and would be a matter for the courts to decide.

[Alice Shortcake]

I wish the families of Shawn Hornbeck and Opal Jo Jennings would sue Browne for the mental torture she's put them through. :mad:

[DRBUZZ0]

I can.... NARCISSISTIC

Narcissistic Personality Disorder


She may have a personality disorder but the action itself and the pain that these things cause, along with the potential for real damage to the investigation, if the parents insist that they are followed up is still evil. Well, that is if anything is evil

[JoeTheJuggler]

I wish the families of Shawn Hornbeck and Opal Jo Jennings would sue Browne for the mental torture she's put them through. :mad:
I think the only tort that covers anything like that is Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress. They could never prove that Sylvia intended to cause distress. (Ha--to do that, she'd have to have psychic knowledge that Shawn was alive when she told them he was dead!)

For it to be fraud, they'd have to prove damages ($$$), and the family didn't pay SB for this reading (although they alleged that someone on her staff offered her services for a fee). This may be the real reason why she doesn't charge (so she says) for her "help" in missing persons cases.

[JoeTheJuggler]

If it's fraud, it can be prosecuted.
That's not true.

There are plenty of crimes committed that can't be prosecuted for any number of reasons.

Probably the biggest one is lack of evidence (insufficient evidence does NOT mean a crime has not been committed).

Another one, which we already mentioned, is that victims of psychic fraud (victims who were duped out of their money) are often reluctant to admit it.

Another (not so much related to "can't" as much as "won't" prosecute) is that prosecutors are politicians and often can't afford to do unpopular things even when it's right and just and legal.

As I mentioned in both these threads now, for a civil case, the person bringing the suit has to be able to prove damages. (You asked why "we" can't sue Sylvia--I for one have never been bilked out of any money by her, so I can't sue her.)

[LuxoDave]

Made of steel.

...


"The kid," interrupts Sylvia. She means Shawn Hornbeck. "Yeah, I believed the kid was dead." She shrugs. "What I found out later - Larry King wanted me to come on and explain but I said I'm not going to explain anything - is there were three children missing. I think what I did was I got my wires crossed. There was a blonde and two boys who are dead. I think I picked up the wrong kid."

"Shawn Hornbeck," I say. "Were the other kids missing from the same area?"

"Absolutely," Sylvia says.

"At the same time?" I ask.

"Yes," Sylvia says. "I have a tiny newspaper cutting about them back in my office."

(I later realise that, of course, "three children missing" in the "same area" is annoyingly too vague to be checkable.)

"Then there was Opal Jo Jennings," I say.

Sylvia looks blankly at me.

"Back in 1999," I say.

Sylvia still looks blank.

"You said she was sold into white slavery in Japan but actually she was dead," I prompt.

"I don't remember that case at all," Sylvia says.

"Little girl," I say. "She'd been killed but you said she'd been sold into white slavery in Japan."

"No," Sylvia says. She shakes her head. "Don't remember that. Not at all. All I remember was that kid Van."

"Shawn," I say.

"Van Hornwell?" Sylvia says.

"Shawn Hornbeck," I say.
"Yeah. Hornbeck," Sylvia says. "I don't remember the Japanese girl at all."

...


"But when you're dealing with missing kids and you're wrong," I say, "it's very, very bad."
"Right." She shrugs.

...




Wow... just wow...