Sensing Murder
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox television
| image = Sensing logo.png
| caption =
| genre = Documentary
| creator = David Baldock
| developer =
| director = John Keir
| starring = {{plainlist|
- Sue Nicholson
- Deb Webber
- Kelvin Cruickshank
}}
| narrated = Rebecca Gibney (Seasons 1-4); Amanda Billing (Seasons 5-6)
| opentheme =
| endtheme =
| country = {{plainlist|
- Denmark
}}
| num_seasons = 6
| num_episodes = 47
| executive_producer = Philly de Lacey
John McEwen (2006–2010)
| producer = Carolyn Harper
| camera = Multi-camera
| runtime = 65 minutes
| company = {{plainlist|
- Screentime New Zealand
- Banijay Group
Ninox Television Ltd (2006–2010)
}}
| network = TVNZ 2
| first_aired = {{Start date|2006}}
| last_aired = present
}}
Sensing Murder is a television show in which three psychics are asked to act as psychic detectives to help provide evidence that might be useful in solving famous unsolved murder cases by communicating with the deceased victims. The program format was developed in 2002 by Nordisk Film TV in Denmark{{cite web|url=http://www.egmont.com/Press/Press+Releases/Sensing+Murder+an+Export+Success.htm |title=Sensing Murder an Export Success |date=17 May 2002 |accessdate=23 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090301041735/http://www.egmont.com/Press/Press+Releases/Sensing+Murder+an+Export+Success.htm |archivedate=1 March 2009 }} and has been sold to many countries including Australia, Belgium, Canada, Hungary, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and the US. In 2004, Granada Entertainment bought the US rights.{{cite web
|url=http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/multi-platform/news/commissions-sensing-murder-optioned-for-us-market/1092404.article
|title=COMMISSIONS - SENSING MURDER OPTIONED FOR US MARKET.
|date=26 April 2004
|accessdate=23 August 2009
}} The New Zealand (TVNZ 2) series first aired in 2006 and was hosted by Rebecca Gibney. On 17 January 2017, it was announced that Amanda Billing would be the new host for the Australia/New Zealand version.
Format (Australia/New Zealand)
File:Sue Nicholson - Skeptics Conference 2013 2013-09-06 036 (cropped).jpg
Each episode included detailed reenactments of the events leading up to the murder and the murder itself. Sections of these reenactments are then shown throughout the episode to refresh the viewer's memory of the events.
The producers state that the psychics are given no information about the case other than a photo, which some psychics prefer to keep face-down (The idea being that the less information they have, the better their supernormal abilities function). Other psychics choose to look at the photograph. To demonstrate their abilities, the psychics relay their impressions about the case/person which may match details in the case file. The psychics are then asked to provide any extra information they can using their psychic abilities. The show's private detective hosts the next section, in which he is asked to try to investigate any new leads suggested by the psychics and sometimes talk to the families of the deceased.
The show's producers claimed that before each series they tested 70-75 psychics and mediums in New Zealand and Australia with a case that had already been solved. (As claimed during each aired episode.) The most accurate psychics were then shortlisted from which the producers chose two or three of them to attempt to contact the spirits of the murder victims and to get impressions helpful to describe the victim, their circumstances around the murder, and the details of their death (as stated by the featured psychics during each episode). The three that were most often chosen (for all the episodes to date) are Deb Webber (Australian) and Sue Nicholson and Kelvin Cruickshank (New Zealanders).
Producer David Baldock has rejected a paranormal challenge on behalf of the psychics, but does propose possible further tests of the psychics if the Sensing Murder show airs a third series in New Zealand.{{cite web|url=http://www.nzrealitytv.com/2007/09/sensing-murder-responds-to-2-million.html|title=Sensing Murder Responds to $2 million Paranormal Challenge'|work=NZ Reality TV|accessdate=5 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013023242/http://www.nzrealitytv.com/2007/09/sensing-murder-responds-to-2-million.html|archive-date=13 October 2007|url-status=dead}}
The Australian series of Sensing Murder also suffered numerous setbacks including a budget overrun which threatened to bankrupt the producer Rhonda Byrne.{{cite web|title=Decoding 'The Secret'|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17314883/site/newsweek/|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070510044758/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17314883/site/newsweek/|archivedate=10 May 2007|accessdate=21 May 2007|work=Newsweek}}
{{Clear}}
Episodes (Australia/New Zealand)
=Season 1 (2006)=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="width:100%; margin:auto; background:#fff;" | ||
| # | Title | Original air date
{{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 1 |Title= The Patient Killer |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2006|01|10|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= In 1976, thirteen-year-old schoolgirl Tracey Ann Patient was plucked off Auckland's Great North Road. The following morning, her body was found dumped 16 km away in the Waitākere Ranges, having been strangled with a pantyhose tourniquet. Deb Webber and Sue Nicholson investigate. |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 2 |Title= Cruel Intent |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2006|01|17|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= The psychics investigate the unsolved kidnapping of Sharon Wills and Nicola Lynas, and the kidnapping/murder of Karmein Chan. |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 3 |Title= Walk of Innocence |RTitle={{Cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/shows/sensing-murder/olive-walker-799694/|title=Sensing Murder: Olive Walker|website=TV.com}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.psychic.com.au/psychic-tv-news.html|title=Psychic TV News Story: Sensing Murder}} |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2006|01|24|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= In 1970, eighteen-year-old Olive Walker disappeared as she walked across Rotorua to babysit her nieces and nephews. Her semi-naked body was found hours later in a rest area south of the city, having been bashed to death so fiercely that her skull had been smashed into seven pieces. Deb Webber and Adelle Dishcombe investigate. |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 4 |Title= Lost Soul |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2006|01|31|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= In 1985, 25-year-old Luana 'La Verne' Williams disappeared from her Tauranga home. Eight years later her disappearance was upgraded to a murder enquiry. Her body has never been found. Sue Nicholson, Scott Russell Hill, and Kelvin Cruickshank investigate. |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 5 |Title= A Bump in the Night |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2006|04|04|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= In Auckland, on 15 August 1980, 6-year-old Alicia O'Reilly was raped and murdered in her bed, while her 8-year-old sister slept less than a metre away and her mother was sleeping across the hallway. Kelvin Cruickshank and Deb Webber investigate. |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 6 |Title= A Mother's Instinct |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2006|04|11|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= In 1974, Lorraine Wilson and Wendy Evans set out from Brisbane to hitchhike to Goondiwindi. Their remains were found 2 years later in bush at Murphy's Creek, near the foothills of the Toowoomba Ranges. }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 7 |Title= Fallen Angel |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2006|04|18|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= In 1995, Angela Blackmore, a twenty-one-year-old mother with a two-year-old son, was murdered in the kitchen of her home, being stabbed thirty-nine times. The child was not harmed and the killer has never been identified. }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 8 |Title= The Scarlet Letter |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2006|04|25|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= In 1986, Elizabeth Barnard was found dead at her parents' property at Phillip Island. The alleged killer Vivienne Cameron disappeared without a trace on the same night and her deserted car was found near the San Remo Bridge on the island. After an extensive three-day land and sea search, Vivienne's body was never found. }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 9 |Title= Blood Money |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2006|05|02|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= In 1979, a 94-year-old man named George Engelbrecht, was brutally beaten to death in his home in Lower Hutt. Kelvin Cruickshank and Deb Webber investigate. }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 10 |Title= The Last Train Home |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2006|05|09|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= In 1990, 23-year-old Sarah MacDiarmid caught a train from Richmond to Kananook station. She got off the train about 10.20pm and has not been seen since. The psychics investigate to find out what happened. }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 11 |Title= Almost Perfect |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2006|05|30|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= This episode deals with the case of Elmer Crawford. He appeared to be an average family man, but then in 1970, he murdered his pregnant wife and three children, with no apparent motive. Psychics Deb Webber and Barbara Neilson are able to shed some light on this incident. }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 12 |Title= The Last Goodbye |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2006|06|06|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= This episode deals with the case of Catherine Headland a victim in the Tynong North and Frankston Murders. The 14-year-old disappeared in the early 1980s along with five other women, whose bodies were eventually found in the Country Victoria. Police believe the offender is a lone serial killer but despite their best efforts, their killer has never been found and brought to justice. Psychics Deb Webber and Scott Russell Hill are asked to shed some light on this incident. }} |
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=Season 2 (2007)=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="width:100%; margin:auto; background:#fff;" | ||
| # | Title | Original air date
{{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 1 |Title= Insight |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2007|09|04|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= Shows the behind the scenes of the show. |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber=2 |Title= In Too Deep |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2007|09|11|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= Covers the 1999 death of two engineers on a ship in the Persian gulf.{{Cite web|title=Amazon.com: Watch Sensing Murder {{!}} Prime Video|url=https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B07BS4BNLN/ref=atv_sr_def_c_unkc__14_1_14?sr=1-14&pageTypeIdSource=ASIN&pageTypeId=B07BS7MZ7T&qid=1597970481|access-date=2020-08-21|website=www.amazon.com}} |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber=3 |Title= Girl In The Ditch |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2007|09|18|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= 1992 death of 12-year-old Agnes Ali'iva'a.{{Cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/shows/sensing-murder/girl-in-the-ditch-1145097/|title=Sensing Murder: Girl in the Ditch|website=TV.com}} |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber=4 |Title= Taken For A Ride |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2007|09|25|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= 1980 Auckland death of photographer Simon Buis.{{Cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/shows/sensing-murder/taken-for-a-ride-1145101/|title=Sensing Murder: Taken for a Ride|website=TV.com}} |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber=5 |Title= Lost For Words |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2007|10|02|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= Unsolved May 1993 disappearance of 17-year-old prostitute Jayne Furlong. On 20 June 2012, police confirmed that the remains of a body found at Port Waikato were Furlong's.{{Cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/shows/sensing-murder/lost-for-words-1145102/|title=Sensing Murder: Lost For Words|website=TV.com}} |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber=6 |Title= Last Orders |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2007|10|09|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= Murder of Kevin O'Loughlin in Nelson.{{Cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/shows/sensing-murder/last-orders-1145099/|title=Sensing Murder: Last Orders|website=TV.com}} |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber=7 |Title= A Mother's Worst Nightmare |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2007|10|16|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= Disappearance of 2-year-old Amber-Lee Cruickshank.{{Cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/shows/sensing-murder/a-mothers-worst-nightmare-1145103/|title=Sensing Murder: A Mother's Worst Nightmare|website=TV.com}} |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber=8 |Title= Long Way Home |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2007|10|23|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= Unsolved disappearance of 25-year-old Judy Yorke.{{Cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/shows/sensing-murder/long-way-home-1145105/|title=Sensing Murder: Long Way Home|website=TV.com}} |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber=9 |Title= Out of Aces |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2007|10|30|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= Death of conman Garth Doull in Wellington in September 1989. |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber=10 |Title= Into Thin Air |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2007|11|06|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= Disappearance of Jim Donnelly in June 2004. |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber=11 |Title= Psychics Revealed |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2007|11|13|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= Special about the lives of psychics Deb Webber, Kelvin Cruickshank, Sue Nicholson and Scott Russell Hill. |LineColor= }} |
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=Season 3 (2008)=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="width:100%; margin:auto; background:#fff;" | ||
| # | Title | Original air date
{{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 1 |Title= Where There's Smoke... |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2008|07|08|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= Covers the death of Blake Stott (19) who died in a car fire. |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 2 |Title= Now You See Me... |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2008|07|15|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= When Alexa Cullen (26) disappeared from her Manaia home in 1995, police initially treated it as a missing persons case. However, three years later, her sister heard rumours that a family member had something to do with the deaf woman's disappearance. Was Cullen murdered or did she just vanish? |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 3 |Title= Vanishing Point |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2008|07|22|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= In 2003, Sara Niethe vanished from the Hauraki Plains. |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 4 |Title= Without Warning! |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2008|07|29|df=yes}}{{Cite web|title=Amazon.com: Watch Sensing Murder {{!}} Prime Video|url=https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B07C1XVY5Q/ref=atv_sr_def_c_unkc__4_1_4?sr=1-4&pageTypeIdSource=ASIN&pageTypeId=B07C2C9V2N&qid=1597970481|access-date=2020-08-21|website=www.amazon.com}} |ShortSummary= Unsolved June 2007 hit and run death of 18-year-old Regan O'Donoghue. Notably, a police detective sat in on the psychics readings. |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 5 |Title= When The Trail Goes Cold |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2008|08|01|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= 62-year-old Kaye Stewart disappeared in June 2005. Notably, the psychics' readings were conducted by the head of the Lower Hutt CIB. |LineColor= }} |
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=Season 4 (2010)=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="width:100%; margin:auto; background:#fff;" | ||
| # | Title | Original air date
{{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 1 |Title= Looking For Justice |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2010|02|11|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= Covers the 1977 murder of Lesley Calvert (33), wife of farmer Lindsay Calvert who was a suspect in her death.{{cite news |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/3342733/Police-reopen-cold-case |title=Police reopen cold case |author=Keith, Leighton |date=18 February 2010 |work=Taranaki Daily News |accessdate=8 November 2011}} Notably, it was the first time a lead suspect in a case asked for the case to be looked at. |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 2 |Title= Stone Cold |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2010|02|18|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= 2004 hypothermia death of Brendan Percy in Oamaru.{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10625505 |title=Hopes TV show will shed light on mystery death |date=11 February 2010 |agency=NZPA |work=The New Zealand Herald |accessdate=8 November 2011}} |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 3 |Title= Seeking Siegfried |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2010|02|25|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= Siegfried Newman, a Katikati man who supposedly died in a fall while in bushland area in 2008.{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10606323 |title=Police revisit missing father case |date=30 October 2009 |agency=NZPA |work=The New Zealand Herald |accessdate=8 November 2011}} Notably, the episode aired exactly two years after he went missing. |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 4 |Title= Lie Of The Land |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2010|03|04|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= About the 2002 drowning death of Waikato man Jason Dark. |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 5 |Title= Where's Granddad? |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2010|03|11|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= Allan Woodford (65) left his home in Mossburn on foot on 20 April 1985.{{cite news |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/1401703 |title=TV show takes on case of missing man |author=Morgan, Jared |date=23 February 2009 |work=The Southland Times |accessdate=8 November 2011}} |LineColor= }} |
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=Season 5 (2017)=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="width:100%; margin:auto; background:#fff;" | ||
| # | Title | Original air date
{{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 1 |Title= Stolen Dreams - Part 1 |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2017|03|02|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= Murder of New Zealander Joan-Marie Wech (19) in Sydney, Australia in 1971.{{cite web|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/83220283/Reward-fails-to-bring-anyone-forward-in-Kiwis-cold-case-murder|accessdate=27 March 2017|title=Reward fails to bring anyone forward in Kiwi's cold case murder|date=16 August 2016|publisher=Stuff.co.nz}} |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 2 |Title= Stolen Dreams - Part 2 |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2017|03|09|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= Part 2. |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 3 |Title= Taken Out - Part 1 |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2017|03|16|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= Reidy's body was found on the outskirts of Ngāruawāhia in 1995, at first thought to be the victim of a hit and run.{{cite web|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=224336|accessdate=27 March 2017|title=Killers evade police cash lure|date=24 October 2001|work=The New Zealand Herald }} |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 4 |Title= Taken Out - Part 2 |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2017|03|23|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= Part 2. |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 5 |Title= Little Boy Lost - Part 1 |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2017|03|30|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= The case of a 9–year–old New Zealand boy, Peter Boland, who disappeared in 1957.{{cite web|url=http://photonews.org.nz/gisborne/issue/GPN39_19570919/t1-body-d37.html|title=Search for lost boy|accessdate=30 March 2017|date=19 September 1957|publisher=Gisborne photo news}} |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 6 |Title= Little Boy Lost - Part 2 |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2017|04|06|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= Part 2. |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 7 |Title= Out of the Dark - Part 1 |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2017|04|20|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= 2008 murder of a 46-year-old Napier grandmother.{{Cite web|title=Amazon.com: Watch Sensing Murder {{!}} Prime Video|url=https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B075JQKY95/ref=atv_sr_def_c_unkc__7_1_7?sr=1-7&pageTypeIdSource=ASIN&pageTypeId=B075JQPZ7J&qid=1597970481|access-date=2020-08-21|website=www.amazon.com}} |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 8 |Title= Out of the Dark - Part 2 |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2017|04|27|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= Part 2. |LineColor= }} |
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=Season 6 (2018)=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="width:100%; margin:auto; background:#fff;" | ||
| # | Title | Original air date
{{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 1 |Title= Paula Brown (part 1) |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2018|07|19|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= About Paula Brown, a hairdresser who disappeared from Sydney's downtown after a night out with friends. |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 2 |Title= Paula Brown (part 2) |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2018|07|26|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= Part 2. |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 3 |Title= John Reynolds (part 1) |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2018|08|02|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= About murdered Christchurch scrap-metal dealer, John Reynolds.{{Cite web|url=https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/sensing-murder/episodes/s6-e3 |title=Sensing Murder – Season 6, Episode 3 |access-date=2020-08-21|website=www.tvnz.co.nz}} |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 4 |Title= John Reynolds (part 2) |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2018|08|09|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= Part 2. |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 5 |Title= Cynthia Greenwood-Smith (part 1) |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2018|08|16|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= About Cynthia Greenwood-Smith (53) and her disappearance from her Gold Coast home.{{Cite web |url=https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/sensing-murder/episodes/s6-e5 |title=Sensing Murder – Season 6, Episode 5 |access-date=2020-08-21|website=www.tvnz.co.nz}} |LineColor= }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber= 6 |Title= Cynthia Greenwood-Smith (part 2) |RTitle= |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2018|08|23|df=yes}} |ShortSummary= Part 2. |LineColor= }} |
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Awards and nominations
- 2006 Qantas Media Awards
- WINNER:Best Director, Non-Drama
- WINNER:Best Reality Format
- 2008 Qantas Television and Film Awards
- WINNER:Best Format-Reality Series
Books
- Sensing Murder (released in 2008)
- Walking in Light, autobiography of Kelvin Cruickshank (released in March 2009)
Case developments
The murder of George Engelbrecht was profiled in Season 1, the episode concluding with a shot of Engelbrecht's unmarked grave. The story caused a big public response, and the local community, Glover Memorial and JR Croft Funeral Directors together decided to organize a tribute. On 5 July 2006 there was a public unveiling of a headstone for Engelbrecht.{{Cite web|url=http://www.glovermemorials.co.nz/care.htm|title=Glover Memorials Homepage|website=www.glovermemorials.co.nz}}
It was reported during the first episode of Season 2 (entitled, Sensing Murder: Insight) that after the episode about Luana Williams screened, Sue Nicholson received a threatening phonecall from an unknown male claiming to know where Luana's missing remains are located. The psychics identified McLaren Falls as Williams' burial site in the show. Afterwards police received a report of a skull at the falls.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503343&objectid=10935403|title=Human skeletons found at falls|last=Tiffen|first=Rachel|date=2006-02-07|work=The New Zealand Herald |access-date=2018-08-05|issn=1170-0777}} However, this skull was several kilometres from the site identified by the psychics, and was part of a historical burial of three people, not the remains of Williams. Williams' disappearance remains unsolved.{{Cite news|url=https://nzmissingpersons.info/2017/08/29/luana-williams/|title=Luana Williams|date=2017-08-28|work=New Zealand Missing Persons|access-date=2018-08-05}}
The case of Angela Blackmoore, a 23 year old pregnant mother of 1, was solved in 2010, with further arrests in 2023. David Hawken, Rebecca Wright-Meldrum and Jeremy Powell were all convicted (the episode was Fallen Angel).
The Australian series was filmed between 2003–2004, and all the cases are still unsolved. Recent episodes in New Zealand have generated unsubstantiated leads, however, the episode that screened on 16 Oct 2007 on TV2 in New Zealand claims to have identified the particular killer and the case has since been reopened by Police.
Criticisms
Sensing Murder was based on a Danish television programme Fornemmelse for mord which is on record as having failed to produce any results.{{cite web|url=http://www.randi.org/jr/112103.html|title=Aftonbladet report - Sensing Murder|work=SWIFT Newsletter|accessdate=21 May 2007}}
Australian police dismissed the show and said that they "only deal in factual evidence not psychic"{{Cite news | last = Crawford | first = Carly | title = Yard hunt for clues on Sarah | publisher = Sunday Herald Sun (Melbourne, Australia) | date = 26 September 2004 | url = http://infoweb.newsbank.comP/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_action=doc&p_topdoc=1&p_docnum=1&p_sort=YMD_date:D&p_product=AUNB&p_text_direct-0=document_id=(%201055641EA6BE8035%20)&p_docid=1055641EA6BE8035&p_theme=aggregated4&p_queryname=1055641EA6BE8035&f_openurl=yes&p_nbid=L6EB5BTVMTE4MDAxNzU2MC43MDU1NjA6MTo4OnJmLXNscTE5&&p_multi=AHS | accessdate = 25 May 2007 }}{{Dead link|date=April 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
A source within New Zealand police has said "spiritual communications were not considered a creditable foundation for investigation"{{Cite web|url=http://www.bayofplentytimes.co.nz/localnews/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3670861|title=Police reject psychic advice|work="Bay of Plenty Times" (NZ newspaper)|accessdate=21 May 2007}}
The findings of recent episodes are disputed by skeptics and police, who do not officially believe in psychic detection and are in most cases not willing to follow up investigations conducted by private investigators on behalf of the show's producers.Sensing Murder screened 17 October 2007
The show was exposed on a 2007 episode of Eating Media Lunch, in a section called "Sensing Bullshit", which showed footage from the Australian TV show Caught on Hidden Camera where Deb Webber answered questions about a presenter's fictional sister.{{Cite web|title=New Zealand Reality TV: Deb Webber Exposed on YouTube |url=http://www.nzrealitytv.com/2007/10/deb-webber-exposed-on-youtube.html |accessdate=3 January 2008 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071104165007/http://www.nzrealitytv.com/2007/10/deb-webber-exposed-on-youtube.html |archivedate=4 November 2007 |url-status=dead}} It was further satirized in the season finale, where host Jeremy Wells humorously highlighted the fact that not a single case had been solved.EML Awards 2007 TV2 Series 7, Episode 9, 7 December 2007.
Television New Zealand was criticized after the network used their Breakfast show to cross-promote the show, with vague claims about the whereabouts of missing toddler Aisling Symes.{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10602517 |title=TV psychic row breaks out as police search for missing girl |author=Nippert, Matt |date=11 October 2009 |work=The New Zealand Herald |accessdate=8 November 2011}}
On 20 June 2012, the New Zealand Police confirmed that a recent discovery of a body at a beach in Port Waikato ({{convert|90|km|abbr=on}} from Auckland), was that of Jayne Furlong. Furlong's case had previously been featured during the second season of the Sensing Murder series in 2007.{{cite web|title= Police reveal mystery skeleton's identity|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/7137376/Police-reveal-mystery-skeletons-identity|work=20 June 2012|date=20 June 2012|publisher=Stuff |accessdate=21 June 2012}} The New Zealand Skeptics claim that it is evidence that the TV psychics were incorrect about the location of Furlong's body, since they had claimed in the episode that she was located either in the Auckland Domain or on a demolition site in Auckland.{{cite web|title=TV psychics 'exploited' Furlong – NZ Skeptics|url=http://www.3news.co.nz/TV-psychics-exploited-Furlong--NZ-Skeptics/tabid/423/articleID/259028/Default.aspx|publisher=3News.co.nz|accessdate=30 June 2012}}
Psychic skeptics have been fast to highlight that this show reinforces the fact psychics are a myth and the utter failure of Sensing Murder to resolve any murders, find missing bodies or come up with any factual evidence is evidence of this.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.sensingmurder.co.nz/index.html Official website of 'Sensing Murder' NZ]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080705031251/http://www.nzrealitytv.com/search/label/Sensing%20Murder NZ Reality TV episode recaps and discussion of Sensing Murder]
- [http://www.sillybeliefs.com/murder.html Analysis of NZ 'Sensing Murder']
- [http://vicskeptics.wordpress.com/2006/01/30/sensing-murder/ Victorian Skeptics 'Sensing Murder' Overview]
- [http://vicskeptics.wordpress.com/2005/05/27/sensing-nothing/ Victorian Skeptics 'Sensing Murder' Review]
- [http://seven.com.au/todaytonight/story/?id=16000 'Sensing Murder' Psychic defends her record]
- {{IMDb title|0805944}}
Category:Nine Network original programming
Category:2006 Australian television series debuts
Category:2018 Australian television series endings
Category:2000s Australian crime television series
Category:2010s Australian crime television series
Category:New Zealand reality television series