Murder Victim's Brother Says That Evidence Found By Worsley Paranormal Group & Their Theory Is Dead Wrong.
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Monday, September 3rd, 2012
Article By: Phillip Brunelle
www.HauntedSociety.com
MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM --- A brutal crime against five children nearly five decades ago is making UK news headlines this week... after [potentially] new evidence was discovered by ghost hunters from the Worsley Paranormal Group.
Between 1963 and 1965, convicted killers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, murdered five children. The bodies of three children were discovered buried on Saddleworth Moor, near Manchester UK, and the body of a fourth child was found at the home of Ian Brady. The body of the fifth child, Keith Bennett, was never found, nor was the spade, which was said to be the murder weapon.
When such a brutal crime against children occurs, it captivates the attention of everyone, but when aspects of a murder remain unsolved for decades, such as undiscovered remains of a murder victim and a missing murder weapon, the case gets the attention of psychics and paranormal investigators.
The Worsley Paranormal Group has been conducting paranormal investigations in the Saddleworth Moor area for several months. Erica Gregory, the founder of the Worsley Paranormal Group, uploads and shares videos of the group's paranormal evidence on YouTube and on Facebook, and even here on Haunted Society, which includes possible EVP (electronic voice phenomenon) evidence from Saddleworth Moor.
During their last paranormal investigation of Saddleworth Moor, the ghost hunters of Worsley Paranormal Group said they found evidence beyond the paranormal. The group discovered an old spade, which they believed could have been the missing murder weapon used by Ian Brady, in the murders of five children.
The paranormal group turned the spade over to Steve Kershaw, a forensic expert at Manchester Metropolitan University, who said that despite extensive testing, it's not possible to link the spade to Ian Brady, or the murder victims.
"Even if we had lots more time, and even if we had established that it was a spade from the 60s or predated the 60s, we would not have necessarily established if it has anything to do with Ian Brady." Steve Kershaw said, he continued saying, "The only way we would have been able to tell is if it had DNA on it, and that's harder to tell with the handle gone, and with the spade being so corroded."
The discovery of the corroded spade, that was found buried in Saddleworth Moor, has put the Ian Brady case back into news headlines, and has sparked some harsh words by Alan Bennett, the brother of Keith Bennett, one of the murdered children whose body has never been found.
Calling Alan Bennett a skeptic, or stating his dislike for the ghost hunters of Worsley Paranormal Group, would be putting it lightly. "This is complete nonsense... as is the Worsley Paranormal Group’s theories and activities" Alan Bennett said, speaking on the discovery of the buried spade.
"They're all over the internet, chasing anybody who they think will listen to them. They post videos claiming to have picked up Keith on a ‘ghost box’ machine, all of which I find totally disgusting." Alan Bennett said. "It seems now they have gone to the news, just like the other ‘oddballs’ in the news lately. They have seen their moment to jump on the bandwagon with all the recent publicity about the case." Alan Bennett continued.
Aside from Alan Bennett claiming that the Worsley Paranormal Group is doing more publicity hunting than ghost hunting, he also cited the group has become aggressive with him. "They know my thoughts on their ‘findings’ and when they realized, finally, that I could not take them seriously, they got very angry to the point of being abusive." Alan Bennett said.
The Worsley Paranormal Group posted a public statement on their Facebook Page, denying Bennett's claims, and said they have never met Alan Bennett. This, of course, motivated Phillip Brunelle, Founder of Haunted Society, and a news journalist on all things paranormal, to dig a little deeper, to complete this story of a spade... or spade of a story.
Erica Gregory, founder of Worsley Paranormal Group, in a hesitant statement, said "We have done nothing wrong". Sensing that Erica Gregory was apprehensive about speaking with me, I assured her that I'm only hoping to prevent a one-sided story, basing it solely on facts. She continued on... denying the allegations that her team of ghost hunters had been abusive toward Alan Bennett. "As for getting aggressive with him, that's totally ridiculous, we are nice people. He should have never said these things when he has no knowledge what-so-ever on the subject." Erica Gregory said.
Offering a possible explanation for the upset statements made by Alan Bennett, Erica Gregory said "There are reasons for this anger from the brother [Alan Bennett], and it's partly to do with psychic mediums". Erica Gregory went on to explain, "His mum believed in them, but he doesn't".
Winnie Johnson, mother of the murder victim, Keith Bennett, fought a long campaign to get Ian Brady to reveal the location of her son's body. Last month, authorities discovered new information that Ian Brady revealed to a mental health advocate, leading to possible locations of Keith Bennett's body. However, exactly one day before she was told about this new lead in the case, Winnie Johnson died.
In a continued defense of her ghost hunting team, Worsley Paranormal Group, Erica Gregory said "Our work is based on physical evidence", but Erica Gregory denies ever saying that any paranormal evidence, more specifically EVPs, was the voice of murder victim, Keith Bennett.
There's a lot of explanation about what didn't happen in this story, and on that note, when the Manchester Police were contacted for a statement regarding the spade that Worsley Paranormal Group discovered in Saddleworth Moor, a police spokesperson told Haunted Society Paranormal News that they had no knowledge that the group had found a spade.
Further investigation into this story revealed that the Worsley Paranormal Group personally handled the spade, and turned it over to forensic expert Steve Kershaw, for an independent forensic analysis. This mean that even if Steve Kershaw had discovered pertinent clues when testing the spade, linking to the murders, legally, the chain of evidence would have been tainted. The proper procedure for finding potential evidence should always result in someone keeping clear of it, and the authorities being informed about the discovery.
"This ‘find’ is of no help to us." Alan Bennett said, he continued, "A spade may well have been found again, as many have been before, but it does not tie in with any of the other information or evidence we have relating to Keith. Their need for publicity and their desperation to get anyone to listen to them is evident from their pursuit of various individuals on the internet, usually as uninformed or as crass as themselves."
In response to the statements by Alan Bennett, Worsley Paranormal Group founder, Erica Gregory said "He has made us more determined to do even more now, and finish this." and in the ending of her emailed statement, she continued, "You can show our videos, and see what opinion you get, that's okay as long as you present us as normal, and not mad, that's not what we are."
A follow-up email was sent to Erica Gregory for a statement on her handling the Saddleworth Moor spade, why the group didn't contact the police, and to get clarification about contact that the group did have with Alan Bennett, but no further comment was given by Worsley Paranormal Group.
We have asked for opinions on our Facebook Page Here, before publishing this news story, to see what other people thought about presenting unsolicited paranormal evidence to the family of a murder victim, and Nikki Weslowsky - Peterson, Co-Founder of Northern Paranormal Investigations, located in Vancouver BC Canada, said "I don't think that any psychic or paranormal investigator should ever give unsolicited paranormal evidence to a victims family or friends". Nikki Weslowsky - Peterson continued, saying "If a person feels they have pertinent or comforting information, they should contact local authorities involved in the case and let them decide what to do with that information."
Now, we are asking you, where are the boundaries when it comes to paranormal investigations, or the appearances of psychics, with cases such as this? When is it okay to present the family of a murder victim with unsolicited paranormal evidence, or to conduct a search for physical evidence, and independent forensic testing on evidence that might be linked to a case? Please take a minute to comment below with your opinion. If you're not yet a member of Haunted Society Paranormal Network, Join Here. This is a free social networking website dedicated to the paranormal, and a trusted source of paranormal news.
Paranormal News Article Written By Phillip Brunelle, The Founder of Haunted Society Paranormal Network & Haunted Society Paranormal News Journalist. Phillip Brunelle Is Also A Lifestyle & Entertainment Journalist For Google News & Technorati News -- Email Phillip Brunelle Here -- Send News Tips Here
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Comment by Martha Decker on September 21, 2012 at 4:42pm Coming at this with my law enforcement background my mind is shouting at them to, "not touch potential evidence." They can photograph and document it's location, but by them touching and removing it for "independent" testing they totally destroyed any potential for it to get linked, if there ever was anything to link it. That was irresponsible for the group to do. Granted not everyone thinks like a cop but most people do have some common sense. As far as contacting the families of crimes, I'm not sure what I would do. I like to go to crime scenes and try to obtain or observe unexplained activity but I don't know if I would necessarily take it to the victim's family. That would really depend on each circumstance and whether it's compelling enough information to possibly take to the police and let them go from there.
Comment by Spooky Rodgers on September 17, 2012 at 3:11pm I agree with Jackie. If you think you found evidence of a crime...DON'T TOUCH IT! Call the police. And to approach the family without being ask is unprofessional and unforgivable. I believe these people are just trying to make a name for themselves and if they keep going the way they are...people will avoid them like the plague.
Ditto to Jackie Milligan, pretty and SMART!
Comment by Jackie Milligan on September 6, 2012 at 11:58pm As you mentioned in your article, potential evidence should never EVER be handled in any way. That completely ruins it's ability to be used as evidence. Imagine that the spade they found was actually the murder weapon, taking it from the scene, handling it and then on top of everything else that was done wrong, it wasn't even turned over to police! It could never have been used for evidence, Really bad choices made in a rush by a group that let excitement of the find cloud their thinking.
As far as contacting a family who has not solicited your help? No, not ever. This is real lief, not television and we aren't 'ghost whisperers' being contacted by some spirit asking for help with a problem. We are here to gain knowledge but to bring possible hope to a hurt and grieving family, opening old wounds, causing heart ache and pain so you can pat yourself on the back? That's crass and completely out of line. If you have something that could help police, go to the police, let the authorities handle it.
Comment by Dee on September 6, 2012 at 8:40pm Excellent article Phillip! I enjoyed the read and the comments.
Comment by Sonshine Paranormal on September 6, 2012 at 4:43pm i agree that this group was way out of line on this .Some teams out there get upset with me when i go to there sites and look at what they are calling paranormal evidence and i leave a comment that isn't what they wont to hear they get very irate and with out even check out our work they start a bash campaign against me and my group. I think its because they want so bad for something to happen to them they start seeing things that aren't there or don't do controlled testing to confirm there findings before they post them like (smoke fog light reflections etc.) they see something that they cant explain so it must be paranormal with out going out of there way to debunk it witch is what we as paranormal investigators have a duty to do.
Just because you have never seen it doesn't mean its paranormal .for this group to go to the family and say they have the murder weapon or evps photo evidence with out contacting the authorities first is ridiculous. they should have never done any thing like that unless the family are the clients that called them and contracted them to try to find such evidence.This group has overstepped their boundaries in hopes of fame and recognition and it makes us all look bad. shame on them. I for one hope that other teams learn from this mistake and don't make the same mistakes.
Comment by Brian Clark on September 5, 2012 at 7:58am I will address the core question, which is : what should the boundaries be.
Being the founder of a paranormal organization; I myself will say point blank "Its not a science". No matter how compelling the evidence is regarding any case. Even if the information captured in static noise or (EVPs) completely supports the case that it leaves goosebumps on everyone's skin, it is still not proof nor evidence which can validate itself into a science. Science is something which has been deemed measurable and consistent, not just across one person but across the masses. Math is a science, 1+1 will always result in 2 no matter if you were taught from a school in America, or if you were taught in Bangladesh. And in a case like this, consistency is something that needs to be kept intact.
When you are dealing with paranormal groups, or psychics you always need to be cautious because the personal observations from one group to another can vary greatly - and that variance can also sway from one member of a particular group to another person in the same group. This leaves the door open to many different variations of interpretation - but all of which are speculative, and cannot be considered guaranteed proof of anything. Back in the days when paranormal investigations were first getting started, groups were not using digital anythings - they were using reel-to-reel tapes, frequency scopes, and flash bulb film cameras but the primary focus of the investigations were based solely on measurable events of the paranormal - not running around trying to be obnoxious in finding cold spots or ghost farts and using this evidence as proof.
In a situation where there has been a considerably traumatic experience to a family - everything presented should remain unbiased and speculative ; and allow the family to draw up their own opinions. I personally have a hard time understanding why a paranormal organization would be involved in a case like this unless they were acting upon their own behalf, perhaps out of their own morbid curiosities. Or perhaps they did want to genuinely help the family, but it really does not fit the bill for what paranormal investigators should be doing out there.
I could find a dirty sock in the middle of the woods in Florida, which fits the description of a girl gone missing in California - and present it to the family and authorities as definitive evidence, but the odds of it being related is little to none. The same goes for any other physical evidence - unless it's proven without a doubt, it should be left in complete doubt - and this specifically is what plagues many investigation groups out there in the world today. Too many want to turn over all evidence as factual without any reservations, and this is just not the way it works or at least should work in the paranormal field.
Science and Spirit do not coincide - they collide. Science dictates that all things which occur have a rational and scientific explanation. While I personally do not embrace that, from my own personal experiences and investigations which I have been a part of - I will say that the boundaries of science and spirit are being interwoven by paranormal research, and they honestly need to remain independent of one another to prevent situations like the one listed in the article. No matter how great the hunch is, it is still a hunch and should not be offered up until proven otherwise - and shame on anyone who does anything other than that.
Comment by Paranormal Knights Uk on September 4, 2012 at 1:06pm I agree with what Tracey says on how it should have been handle , at the end of the day Paranormal Teams like ours are under enough scrutiny over working within our field this is a learning curve not just for the team involved but for all teams out there to stop and think before they act "learn by other mistakes " that's what i always say, i have worked within the paranormal field since 1998 and i have met some amazing an outstanding teams who have all phased out due to a stupid little error on there part, because of our field of work one minor error could count as one big catastrophe for the teams name, i feel this team did nothing wrong except not think before they acted and i believe there was no malice intended and as for this caption he said about the team becoming aggressive this total misconduct from any paranormal Team out there so as the law states innocent until proven guilty .. all in all i feel this team did nothing wrong - it was inexperience in dealing with this type of situation that cause the problem, not inexperience from the team themselves and Alexis as for "Psychics" as you put it, i have to disagree with you there sorry, we have a psychic who works with us and he does not take any charge for helping us out both on ghost tours and clairvoyance events everyone he gives readings too can commend him enough for his work, his payment which he keeps telling us is the satisfaction that he has given someone the reading they wanted to here , i am not trying to shoot down Alexis,yes i do agree there are a few Charlestons our there trust me Ive met a few but please please don't tar every psychic with the same brush just because there's bad ones out there . thanks for reading... Andy
Comment by Alexis E. McKenna on September 4, 2012 at 12:05pm Actually I can understand this guys being upset with these so called "psychics", I myself find it very difficult to believe anything that comes out of their mouths. Like him I find many of them are frauds and predators preying on vulnerable people at their worst time. Those who are true psychics are only looking for their 15 minutes of fame and fixing to make a profit any way they can.
Comment by Tracey Jones on September 4, 2012 at 11:41am As a fonder of a Paranormal team Myself, I find the entire episode very distasteful, The 'Moors Murders@ were and still are a very contraversal and touchy subject, I can understand teams doing investigations up on the moors purely because of what occured there, but to post your findings on such a sensitive subject is very unprofessional, The way to have gone around it would have been to firstly contact the family, and if as stated they were not interested then the Team should have stopped the investigation at once.. As for handling potential evidence anyone with an ounce of common sense knows not to touch.. and to inform the relevant authorities immediately, A good Team should never disclose any personal information about there investigations without the correct authorisation from those involved.. It may well be that the oversite on the correct procedure was outweighed but their alledged evidence still it was a bad call by the Founder..
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