Dorothy Allison - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

jcjh20 · 10-03-2005, 06:53 PM

I'm not sure if this segment has been talked about before (most likely), but i was just watching this today on a DVD and i'm wondering if anyone has any information about what was the outcome of that case at the end of the segment that Dorothy and the police were working on that hadn't been solved yet when the segment was aired? She came up with a name of a suspect (that was beeped out on the episode) but the segment couldn't shed any light on whether this has panned out or not, because it aired prematurely.

DarkDante · 10-30-2005, 11:35 PM

Yeah Lori Zimmerman - The case is still unsolved as of last year - here is some information I've found

Maryland State Police
Open Homicide Case
Lorraine Zimmerman CASE#: P-64-04364

Race: Caucasian
Gender: Female
Age: 15

Time Last Seen: 4/6/1984 at 4:15 PM
Location: Wooded area off Reno Monument Road, 3.6 miles South of Boonsboro, Boonsboro Washington

Details:

Lori Zimmerman had ridden the school bus home from high school 04-06-1984. She had stopped at a friend’s home for about 10 minutes then left. Ms. Zimmerman did not come home that evening. Friends were contacted and they denied having seen Lori. Lori’s mother filed a missing persons report with the Hagerstown Police Department. On 04-14-1984 two persons walking in a wooded area off Reno Monument road discovered the partially clothed body of Lori Zimmerman. Death was attributed to manual strangulation.

----------
Lorraine, 15 and nicknamed Lori, left her high school in Hagerstown, Maryland on the afternoon of April 6, 1984. She went to a friend's house after school and stayed a few minutes before heading home. She never arrived there. On April 14, people walking in the woods off Reno Monument Road in Boonsboro, Maryland found Lori's body. She was partially clothed and had been strangled. As of May 2004, her murder remains unsolved.

everybodylovesrs · 05-01-2009, 03:12 AM

I can't find a single newspaper article on any of the spellings. Dorothy Allison died in 2007 and the obituary said she was usually not that helpful.

shanejm · 05-11-2009, 02:40 AM

I'm not trying to be a smart-ass but...Dorothy wasn't usually helpful with what? The dishes? Taking the garbage out? I mean...we have a couple good cases on the DVD that showed that woman had an ability. She was helpful in those cases...and I have read stuff on her throughout the years that have stated she had a good track record. Not every psychic is 100% correct...and Dorothy Allison was no exception. But she did manage to solve some good cases during her life and to say that the wasn't that helpful is just plain stupid!

everybodylovesrs · 05-11-2009, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shanejm

I'm not trying to be a smart-ass but...Dorothy wasn't usually helpful with what? The dishes? Taking the garbage out? I mean...we have a couple good cases on the DVD that showed that woman had an ability. She was helpful in those cases...and I have read stuff on her throughout the years that have stated she had a good track record. Not every psychic is 100% correct...and Dorothy Allison was no exception. But she did manage to solve some good cases during her life and to say that the wasn't that helpful is just plain stupid!

New York Times said she was inaccurate most of the time.

TracyLynnS · 05-11-2009, 12:02 PM

http://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/20/ny...by-police.html

>>>>Ms. Allison... materialized to offer to solve crimes including the Patricia Hearst kidnapping, the ''Son of Sam'' killings, the murders of children in Atlanta and the death of JonBenet Ramsey. She was not successful in those cases, but her supporters insist that she hit the mark on others.<<<<

yuppielawyer · 05-11-2009, 12:15 PM

Yeah, I don't believe she was psychic at all. I tend to agree with the skeptic quoted in the NYT article, and, I don't my thinking that is "just plain stupid." I think she probably caused more harm than good, sending police on wild goose chases that never paid off.

Mastermind · 05-11-2009, 05:40 PM

I think if there were real psychics, they would be employed by financial brokers, Military intelligence and political govts.

They would not be just reading peoples fortunes and helping police.

I would personally pay Dorothy a lifetime six figure salary if she could be 75% accurate on the stock market!!!!

That being said, while I don't believe that there are any real psychics, I do believe that on a low level there is some form of ESP by animals and humans. I just don;t believe that anyone has harnessed that power to a degree to find criminals.

Apostapler · 05-12-2009, 03:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mastermind

I think if there were real psychics, they would be employed by financial brokers, Military intelligence and political govts.

They would not be just reading peoples fortunes and helping police.

I would personally pay Dorothy a lifetime six figure salary if she could be 75% accurate on the stock market!!!!

That being said, while I don't believe that there are any real psychics, I do believe that on a low level there is some form of ESP by animals and humans. I just don;t believe that anyone has harnessed that power to a degree to find criminals.

Was Dorothy paid for her police psychic work? If she was not, I am apt to believe that she was at least trying to be as helpful as possible. Even in her segment she admitted there were cases she never had any possible helpful information for.

TracyLynnS · 05-12-2009, 10:04 AM

Apostapler, I read that she was not paid for her work, and did not accept payment to go on tv talk shows, etc. If I read it correctly, it stated that she didn't take reimbursement for her travel and lodging, either. (I think the info is in the link I posted above, but I could have read it elsewhere... I was trying to find info on her because I didn't recall who she was.)

Mastermind · 05-12-2009, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Was Dorothy paid for her police psychic work? If she was not, I am apt to believe that she was at least trying to be as helpful as possible. Even in her segment she admitted there were cases she never had any possible helpful information for.

I doubt the police would ever pay for that service.

Dorothy was not paid but she got publicity which allows her to charge other people for her service.

I'm also sure she got paid for media appearances and books.

Corky Kneivel · 05-12-2009, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mastermind

I doubt the police would ever pay for that service.

Dorothy was not paid but she got publicity which allows her to charge other people for her service.

I'm also sure she got paid for media appearances and books.

Yeah...let me find out that the police are using my tax dollars to pay psychics...shee-yiiiiiit

yuppielawyer · 05-12-2009, 05:47 PM

Yeah, the NYT obit says that she was never paid by police for her work, but that her expenses were paid by talk shows and such when she appeared, and that she wrote a book. I don't think the police could ever justify paying for a psychic, so it's not surprising that she wasn't paid by them. That doesn't mean she didn't have a financial motive, though, although I'm not totally convinced she did. It could have just been to get attention. She did seem to love to offer help in famous cases, none of which she was ever able to help solve.

I guess I'm just really down on psychics, especially on psychics being involved in criminal cases, because I've seen them really tear the hearts out of grieving families, and it really bothers me. If you haven't seen the clip of Sandra Brown on some talk show telling Shawn Hornbeck's parents that he's dead, you should go to youtube and watch it. Of course, Shawn was alive, and, was ultimately rescued after his kidnapper took another kid. Anyway, if you watch that, you'll understand my distrust of psychics in these cases.

Apostapler · 05-12-2009, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yuppielawyer

Yeah, the NYT obit says that she was never paid by police for her work, but that her expenses were paid by talk shows and such when she appeared, and that she wrote a book. I don't think the police could ever justify paying for a psychic, so it's not surprising that she wasn't paid by them. That doesn't mean she didn't have a financial motive, though, although I'm not totally convinced she did. It could have just been to get attention. She did seem to love to offer help in famous cases, none of which she was ever able to help solve.

I guess I'm just really down on psychics, especially on psychics being involved in criminal cases, because I've seen them really tear the hearts out of grieving families, and it really bothers me. If you haven't seen the clip of Sandra Brown on some talk show telling Shawn Hornbeck's parents that he's dead, you should go to youtube and watch it. Of course, Shawn was alive, and, was ultimately rescued after his kidnapper took another kid. Anyway, if you watch that, you'll understand my distrust of psychics in these cases.

I think you mean Sylvia Browne, and I agree she is terrible.

mattc · 09-27-2009, 03:42 PM

The one thing about that segment that I remember most, and it chills me to this day, is that case where the man fell asleep on the subway, and when the doors opened to let a man off on the other side of the track, the man woke up and thought he was at his stop; he stepped off the wrong side and fell into the river below. How scary and random is that!

10-03-2005, 06:53 PM	#1
jcjh20 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Aug 01, 2005 Posts: 22	Dorothy Allison I'm not sure if this segment has been talked about before (most likely), but i was just watching this today on a DVD and i'm wondering if anyone has any information about what was the outcome of that case at the end of the segment that Dorothy and the police were working on that hadn't been solved yet when the segment was aired? She came up with a name of a suspect (that was beeped out on the episode) but the segment couldn't shed any light on whether this has panned out or not, because it aired prematurely.

10-30-2005, 11:35 PM	#2
DarkDante Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 27, 2002 Posts: 1,569	Yeah Lori Zimmerman - The case is still unsolved as of last year - here is some information I've found Maryland State Police Open Homicide Case Lorraine Zimmerman CASE#: P-64-04364 Race: Caucasian Gender: Female Age: 15 Time Last Seen: 4/6/1984 at 4:15 PM Location: Wooded area off Reno Monument Road, 3.6 miles South of Boonsboro, Boonsboro Washington Details: Lori Zimmerman had ridden the school bus home from high school 04-06-1984. She had stopped at a friend’s home for about 10 minutes then left. Ms. Zimmerman did not come home that evening. Friends were contacted and they denied having seen Lori. Lori’s mother filed a missing persons report with the Hagerstown Police Department. On 04-14-1984 two persons walking in a wooded area off Reno Monument road discovered the partially clothed body of Lori Zimmerman. Death was attributed to manual strangulation. ---------- Lorraine, 15 and nicknamed Lori, left her high school in Hagerstown, Maryland on the afternoon of April 6, 1984. She went to a friend's house after school and stayed a few minutes before heading home. She never arrived there. On April 14, people walking in the woods off Reno Monument Road in Boonsboro, Maryland found Lori's body. She was partially clothed and had been strangled. As of May 2004, her murder remains unsolved.

05-01-2009, 03:12 AM	#3
everybodylovesrs Member Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 12, 2008 Posts: 526	I can't find a single newspaper article on any of the spellings. Dorothy Allison died in 2007 and the obituary said she was usually not that helpful.

05-11-2009, 02:40 AM	#4
shanejm Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Mar 28, 2009 Posts: 55	I'm not trying to be a smart-ass but...Dorothy wasn't usually helpful with what? The dishes? Taking the garbage out? I mean...we have a couple good cases on the DVD that showed that woman had an ability. She was helpful in those cases...and I have read stuff on her throughout the years that have stated she had a good track record. Not every psychic is 100% correct...and Dorothy Allison was no exception. But she did manage to solve some good cases during her life and to say that the wasn't that helpful is just plain stupid!

05-11-2009, 12:02 PM	#6
TracyLynnS Don't Look Up Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 07, 2009 Posts: 3,107	http://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/20/ny...by-police.html >>>>Ms. Allison... materialized to offer to solve crimes including the Patricia Hearst kidnapping, the ''Son of Sam'' killings, the murders of children in Atlanta and the death of JonBenet Ramsey. She was not successful in those cases, but her supporters insist that she hit the mark on others.<<<<

05-11-2009, 12:15 PM	#7
yuppielawyer Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Oct 06, 2008 Posts: 184	Yeah, I don't believe she was psychic at all. I tend to agree with the skeptic quoted in the NYT article, and, I don't my thinking that is "just plain stupid." I think she probably caused more harm than good, sending police on wild goose chases that never paid off.

05-11-2009, 05:40 PM	#8
Mastermind Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 16, 2008 Posts: 1,843	I think if there were real psychics, they would be employed by financial brokers, Military intelligence and political govts. They would not be just reading peoples fortunes and helping police. I would personally pay Dorothy a lifetime six figure salary if she could be 75% accurate on the stock market!!!! That being said, while I don't believe that there are any real psychics, I do believe that on a low level there is some form of ESP by animals and humans. I just don;t believe that anyone has harnessed that power to a degree to find criminals.

05-12-2009, 10:04 AM	#10
TracyLynnS Don't Look Up Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 07, 2009 Posts: 3,107	Apostapler, I read that she was not paid for her work, and did not accept payment to go on tv talk shows, etc. If I read it correctly, it stated that she didn't take reimbursement for her travel and lodging, either. (I think the info is in the link I posted above, but I could have read it elsewhere... I was trying to find info on her because I didn't recall who she was.)

05-12-2009, 05:47 PM	#13
yuppielawyer Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Oct 06, 2008 Posts: 184	Yeah, the NYT obit says that she was never paid by police for her work, but that her expenses were paid by talk shows and such when she appeared, and that she wrote a book. I don't think the police could ever justify paying for a psychic, so it's not surprising that she wasn't paid by them. That doesn't mean she didn't have a financial motive, though, although I'm not totally convinced she did. It could have just been to get attention. She did seem to love to offer help in famous cases, none of which she was ever able to help solve. I guess I'm just really down on psychics, especially on psychics being involved in criminal cases, because I've seen them really tear the hearts out of grieving families, and it really bothers me. If you haven't seen the clip of Sandra Brown on some talk show telling Shawn Hornbeck's parents that he's dead, you should go to youtube and watch it. Of course, Shawn was alive, and, was ultimately rescued after his kidnapper took another kid. Anyway, if you watch that, you'll understand my distrust of psychics in these cases.

09-27-2009, 03:42 PM	#15
mattc Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Nov 16, 2008 Location: Virginia Posts: 273	The one thing about that segment that I remember most, and it chills me to this day, is that case where the man fell asleep on the subway, and when the doors opened to let a man off on the other side of the track, the man woke up and thought he was at his stop; he stepped off the wrong side and fell into the river below. How scary and random is that!