I recall a case from the mid 90's about a teenage girl who stayed home from school because she wasn't feeling well and her house was broken into and she was assulted and tied up in her bedroom. When she was found she was in shock and suffered severe trauma for what happened to her. And in the weeks and months following her assult she started having unexplainable seizures. Does anyone know anything further about this case?

To my knowledge, it hasn't been solved. There are even some that question whether it happened. There is some guy on here that is obsessed with the girl, Sarah Powell I think, maybe he knows something?

Yes, that was the Sarah Powell case. I tend to believe her story. I could understand it being a coverup initially, but then she continued to have those seizures and panic atacks. That seems like a lot of trouble to go through just to cover up some teenage mischief as her detractors seemed to suggest.

Yes, that was the Sarah Powell case. I tend to believe her story. I could undertand it being a coverup initially, but then she continued to have those seizures and panic atacks. That seems like a lot of trouble to go through just to cover up some teenage mischief as her detractors seemed to suggest.

Yes I agree, I can't see her going to this elaborate ruse just to keep her parents from finding out people were over. Not to mention it would be easy enough to find out just asking around if people were at her house that day. If she had people over it would have been during the day and those people would have been absent from school that day as well. Its too easy to check out. Sounds like a bizarre home invasion to me.

Sounds like a bizarre home invasion to me.

Except apart from tables and chairs etc getting turned over and what-not there wasn't much evidence of it. I don't know what to believe :lol:

Except apart from tables and chairs etc getting turned over and what-not there wasn't much evidence of it. I don't know what to believe :lol:

I haven't watched this segment in a while, was anything missing from the home? Perhaps they were looking for something (like in the Stanley Gryziec segment).

I haven't watched this segment in a while, was anything missing from the home? Perhaps they were looking for something (like in the Stanley Gryziec segment).

I don't believe anything was missing, and I don't think there were signs of forced entry or footprints (it was raining heavily that day). I believe those were the major flaws in her story.

Kamy's comment got me thinking. I vaguely remember that poster too. Didn't he live in the area and try to go meet Sarah or figure out where she worked or something?

Kamy's comment got me thinking. I vaguely remember that poster too. Didn't he live in the area and try to go meet Sarah or figure out where she worked or something?

Found the thread:

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=95420&highlight=Sarah+Powell

I kinda feel bad no one ever responded to him.

Found the thread:

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=95420&highlight=Sarah+Powell

I kinda feel bad no one ever responded to him.

He posted virtually the same thing here.

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?p=2023509#post2023509

How strange...

Found the thread:

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=95420&highlight=Sarah+Powell

I kinda feel bad no one ever responded to him.


I feel bad too, but that's pretty creepy stuff :eek:

This was another one of those cases where you want to believe the person but the evidence just doesn't add up. I too haven't seen it for a while, but I do remember there being some huge holes in the story. I also remember her having a seizure and then crying "I didn't let them in... I didn't let them in" which led some to believe she knew more than she was saying (like possibly the identities of the attackers).

I liken this to Cindy James: if it is fake, shame on that person... BUT if it is real, it's horrible that the story goes unbelieved by many. Unfortunately without enough evidence either way, it's impossible to know which way is the truth.

I agree with Justin and CD that having all those seizures would be a lot of trouble to cover up something like that. I would fully believe her, but the fact that nothing was missing from the house makes the idea of a home invasion really hard to buy. Who knows

The only thing I can figure is that maybe this was an interrupted/attempted burglary and the thieves were just as surprised to see her as she was to see them. Perhaps they had planned on breaking in when no one was home and totally cleaning the place out, or maybe they were after something specific that they knew or were told would be in the house, but weren't entirely sure where (go figure, perhaps a hoard of cash, jewelry, a weapon, or maybe even drugs). But, their plan backfired when they discovered Sarah was home so they weren't able to get the items they were after, or perhaps there weren't valuables in reach or easily accessible, so they panicked, tied her up and took off. I think the fact that she described her assailants as younger people fits this too. These were obviously not professional burglars. Professionals would more than likely have done a better job casing the house and not proceeded with their plans if they discovered someone was at home.

Another possible scenario - was it mentioned in the segment if Sarah had other siblings? Maybe someone had a beef with another member of the house, or with Sarah herself, and this was some kind of bizarre retribution. If this is true, and Sarah knew the offenders or at least knew why they were there, maybe that was why she withheld information and wasn't exactly forthcoming with the police or her parents from the get go. This could be drug or gang related and that is why she didn't fess up.

There isn't much doubt in my mind that the incident happened. The "why" is the intriguing question.

I just re-read the long debate I had with Awsi Dooger awhile back about this case in the thread "Least believable cases in UM." After looking back over it all, I think I may have changed my mind: I think somehing did happen that day, very similar to what she said happened. I was being a little pig-headed back then, I think; Awsi Dooger had the better of that debate.

Now, I agree with justin5256: I'm deeply troubled about why this happened. It really doesn't make sense.

I think I may have changed my mind: I think somehing did happen that day, very similar to what she said happened. I was being a little pig-headed back then, I think; Awsi Dooger had the better of that debate.

Now, I agree with justin5256: I'm deeply troubled about why this happened. It really doesn't make sense.


That's big of you to admit that, mozart. And I mean that... We all get emotional over our opinions sometimes and it can be hard when we have our minds "made up." Kudos for being so honest! :)

Because of the seizures and the weirdness, I honestly wonder if she knew the people that did it (like maybe someone who knew the family was after something specific and figured the family wouldn't be home) or maybe they tried to do something weird to her (sexual or otherwise) that caused her extreme trauma.

I agree that SOMETHING happened since she has obvious physical effects from it. But what that something was and why is the real kicker.

Again, it's sad that a young lady has had to endure that trauma no matter what the cause.

It does kinda make you wonder though; if a person who is deranged enough to fake these seizures also capable of faking a home invasion story..? And we all know UM likes to omit 2 or 3 pieces of key facts to a case, for all we know Sarah Powell may suffer some type of mental disorder. Also I wonder if that is her real name as she was quite an attractive young girl, why would she allow her name to be given out on international TV. I think I've talked myself into something here lol

It does kinda make you wonder though; if a person who is deranged enough to fake these seizures also capable of faking a home invasion story..? And we all know UM likes to omit 2 or 3 pieces of key facts to a case, for all we know Sarah Powell may suffer some type of mental disorder. Also I wonder if that is her real name as she was quite an attractive young girl, why would she allow her name to be given out on international TV. I think I've talked myself into something here lol

Well, I've said before that I think assuming facts not presented in the segment is usually not a good idea. It's a lose-lose situation for both sides of an argument. It is kind of like trying to prove a negative. I can't prove to you she didn't have mental illness, but you can't prove she did. We just don't know that information. So, we have to work with what we do know. What do we know? We have a situation where a girl was found tied up, alone, in her home which had been ransacked. We know she at least claimed to have suffered amnesia that was almost total to the point that she had to relearn the most basic skills like eating and writing. She had to relearn her family history including the names and relationships of those closest to her. We know that she would go on to have numerous bizarre seizures and flashbacks of an attack that she previously claimed to have had no knowledge of. Sorry, but I think it's apparent that something happened to her. I don't claim to know what, but that girl was put through Hell.

As for publicizing her name, maybe that is a little strange. But, I think it is just indicative of the time period the segment was produced and originally aired in. This was before the internet was prevalent and widespread and finding information about people wasn't as simple as a few mouse clicks.

Well, I've said before that I think assuming facts not presented in the segment is usually not a good idea. It's a lose-lose situation for both sides of an argument. It is kind of like trying to prove a negative. I can't prove to you she didn't have mental illness, but you can't prove she did. We just don't know that information. So, we have to work with what we do know. What do we know? We have a situation where a girl was found tied up, alone, in her home which had been ransacked. We know she at least claimed to have suffered amnesia that was almost total to the point that she had to relearn the most basic skills like eating and writing. She had to relearn her family history including the names and relationships of those closest to her. We know that she would go on to have numerous bizarre seizures and flashbacks of an attack that she previously claimed to have had no knowledge of. Sorry, but I think it's apparent that something happened to her. I don't claim to know what, but that girl was put through Hell.

As for publicizing her name, maybe that is a little strange. But, I think it is just indicative of the time period the segment was produced and originally aired in. This was before the internet was prevalent and widespread and finding information about people wasn't as simple as a few mouse clicks.

Assuming the facts not present would be the same as assuming what you see as all facts. Afterall, you are watching a dramatized version of the events. Then you'd have to ask yourself why are we all here discussing some cases which we only know what is shown on the TV screen. Anyways, I'm just saying that it wouldn't amaze me if at the end, it was all faked.

Assuming the facts not present would be the same as assuming what you see as all facts. Afterall, you are watching a dramatized version of the events. Then you'd have to ask yourself why are we all here discussing some cases which we only know what is shown on the TV screen. Anyways, I'm just saying that it wouldn't surprise amaze me if at the end, it was all faked.

I didn't mean to imply that what we see in the reenactments is all the facts. Obviously, stuff gets left out or changed for various reasons. I wouldn't be surprised if UM does take artistic license with some of the stories. As viewers, it is nearly impossible to accurately weed this out, because there are things that the victims, police, family know that we will never be privy to.

That being said, the segment gives us a set of "facts" to work with. It may not be a complete or accurate set, but it's really all we have. Based on this presentation, I have come to believe that Sarah Powell was the victim of intruders. The evidence presented in the segment suggests this. Now, there may be other evidence, as you suggested, that she does have mental illness and this is stuff that UM didn't tell us. I am not saying that is an unreasonable assumption on your part. However, I wouldn't feel comfortable arriving at this conclusion because it is unsupportable by any of the information we have access to.

I didn't mean to imply that what we see in the reenactments is all the facts. Obviously, stuff gets left out or changed for various reasons. I wouldn't be surprised if UM does take artistic license with some of the stories. As viewers, it is nearly impossible to accurately weed this out, because there are things that the victims, police, family know that we will never be privy to.

That being said, the segment gives us a set of "facts" to work with. It may not be a complete or accurate set, but it's really all we have. Based on this presentation, I have come to believe that Sarah Powell was the victim of intruders. The evidence presented in the segment suggests this. Now, there may be other evidence, as you suggested, that she does have mental illness and this is stuff that UM didn't tell us. I am not saying that is an unreasonable assumption on your part. However, I wouldn't feel comfortable arriving at this conclusion because it is unsupportable by any of the information we have access to.

I pretty much agree, all we can do is comment on what was actually shown. I'm just not as sure that this really happened as you.

Some kind of dissociative disorder and she and the family don't want to admit she could be that wacked.

If I remember the case, they're was actually some things missing from the house.

Am i correct?:confused:

Wouldn't she have had serious bruising on her skull from the hit on the head?
Wouldn't there be some marks on the window where they broke in?

It is hard to believe there seems to be no news about this case here at sitcomsonline...

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[QUOTE]Wouldn't she have had serious bruising on her skull from the hit on the head?

Good point. But, i am assuming that she had X-rays done to see if there was any damage to the skull or her brain.

Wouldn't there be some marks on the window where they broke in?

Yes, if they had to force the window open. Course if it was already open there would be no marks. She could also have let them on purpose or inadvertently through the front door.

I am split 50-50 on this case.

1.I do think it is possible for Sarah Powell to have kept this up as an act ofr this long. You would be shocked how far some people would go to protect a lie.

Plus, she may have liked the attention and some of the power this gave her over her parents. For example, if her parents had an argument with her all she would have to do would be to fake a seizure to get them to sympathize with her. Think of it as a similar situation to those puritan kids in the Arthur Miller play "The Crucible".

2. On the other hand, i have to think that some half-way decent psychologist would see through the charade and would have notified the parents at some point. Then again if the psychiatrist is getting paid, maybe he doesn;t want to kill the goose that lays the golden egg.

I could be wrong, but didn;t neurologists say there was nothing wrong with her brain?

I don't believe this case. She seems like she made it up for attention. The lack of any evidence or witnesses (the break in was in broad daylight and nobody noticed anything?) just makes this hard to believe. I can believe she faked the seizures, there really are crazy people like that out there. Also, the fact she was remembering more after every seizure leads me to believe she was making it up as she went along. I actually sympathize with the law enforcement on this one

I don't believe this case. She seems like she made it up for attention. The lack of any evidence or witnesses (the break in was in broad daylight and nobody noticed anything?) just makes this hard to believe. I can believe she faked the seizures, there really are crazy people like that out there. Also, the fact she was remembering more after every seizure leads me to believe she was making it up as she went along. I actually sympathize with the law enforcement on this one
yes,I agree,LE knows the signs of someone faking it,and I think she did;I don't know why.perhaps she just wanted the attention,or she was looking for something and didn't find it...made the messes and they became too much for her to clean up alone.the key is that ONE lie begats another..and another..and so on.
I don't buy that the invaders *just happened* to come in *her window.IF someone was there..SHE let them in,imo.maybe they were ALL looking for something..drugs she had hidden and forgot where they were...etc.but she knows more than she is saying,IMO.