A look at the claims, predictions and behavior of a media "psychic".
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A look at the claims, predictions and behavior of a media "psychic".
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Sylvia Browne: "I have never nor ever will charge..."Browne says that she never charges for missing person and homicide cases. Is this true? 
Pam and Craig Akers: "...we were told if we wanted to talk with her additionally, that we could at her normal standard fee." BackgroundIn late January 2007, Browne put a statement up on her site's home page, in the "Message From Sylvia" box. It was obviously in response to all the negative publicity she had received regarding her having told Pam and Craig Akers that their son Shawn Hornbeck was dead. Shawn was of course, found quite alive. Here is a portion of Browne's statement (emphasis mine):
This article will examine these claims made by Browne in that statement:
The ClaimsOnly Through Law EnforcementFirst, her claim to only work on these cases "strictly through law enforcement" seems to be disproved by the dozens of missing persons and murder cases she deals with on the Montel Williams show year after year. There are entire episodes of Williams' show devoted to Browne talking to the families of missing persons. Many examples of this have been documented on this web site. I have seen several of these episodes, and have yet to see a single law enforcement agent involved. It appears to be just Browne, Williams, and the missing person's family members. No Charge For Homicide CasesDoes she ever charge for working on a homicide case? This article in the Baton Rouge Advocate seems to indicate that she has:
So, Browne does charge law enforcement when they want help quickly. I don't know how often police aren't in a hurry with a missing person or murder case... No Charge For Missing Person CasesOn the January 22 2007 broadcast of CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 show, Pam and Craig Akers (parents of Shawn Hornbeck) stated that after their reading, they were told that Browne would help them further only if they paid her:
Browne and her people strenuously deny this. In fact, it was probably this statement by the Akers which motivated Browne to put these claims up on her web site. Were the Akers correct? They do not state who it was that told them that Browne would only help them further for a fee. Was it Browne? Someone on her staff? Someone on Montel Williams' staff? I doubt it was Browne, or the Akers would have said so. If it was someone on Browne's or Williams' staff, were they incorrect in saying what they said? There is no way to know for certain, but given what we found about the previous claim, I don't find it hard to believe that Browne would have such a policy. If she can charge law enforcement for help with a murder case, why wouldn't she charge a family to help with a missing person? AnalysisTo sum it up: Browne's statement that she only works on these cases through law enforcement appears to be false, given all of her Montel Williams "families of the missing" episodes. Her claim to have never charged law enforcement for help with a homicide or missing person case is proven wrong by the newspaper article quoted above. Her claim to never charge for working on a missing person case is seriously challenged by the Akers' claim that they were told she would help them find their son's body for $700 an hour. ConclusionWas the homicide case an "exception" to Browne's "no charge rule? Quite possibly. If the Akers' story is correct, was it another "exception?" Quite possibly. But if there are exceptions to the rule, Browne's statement ("I have never nor ever will charge anyone who seeks my help regarding a missing person or homicide") is at best, incorrect, and at worst, to use her phrase, "a boldface lie." I think that Browne assumes that the people who frequent her web site will take her statements at face value, and will not look more deeply into those statements. This web site tries to look more deeply into those statements, as it does with all of Browne's claims, and shows the results for others to examine and evaluate. My thanks to QG for bringing the newspaper article to my attention. EpilogueAt the end of Browne's statement above, she says:
...to which I will only say:
Related LinksClicking on any of these links will load a separate browser window for viewing the linked page. StopSylviaBrowne.com is not responsible for the content of any of these linked pages.
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