Texas couple looks to collect nearly $7million owed them in lawsuit against 'psychic' who said there was a mass grave in their backyard
By Daily Mail UK, 13 June 2013
After winning a lawsuit last month, a couple in Texas are looking to collect $7million from the psychic who defamed them
Joe Bankston and Gena Charlton sued the offending psychic, Presley 'Rhonda' Gridley for defaming them when she told police in June 2011 that there was a mass grave in their backyard.
Gridley, a self-described 'psychic' and 'reverend' told police that they would find a mass grave with 25 to 30 bodies in their backyard, with the bones of missing children in the walls and 'stuff written all over the walls in blood.'
No bodies: When Gridley told police that they would find a mass grave in Bankston and Charlton's backyard, it set off a media frenzy - but no bodies were ever found
Not-so-psychic: Police investigators and media reporters thought it was going to be a big story, but it turns out Gridley's claims were false
Investigation over: Police gather near Bankston and Charlton's backyard while investigating Gridley's tip
When the police started their investigation, they repeated Gridley's claims to the local press who reported them as facts.
When the investigation ended with no bodies in sight, Bankston and Charlton sued Liberty county, various media outlets and Gridley.
'Over the course of the day, media defendants began to exaggerate and eventually make up facts about Plaintiffs, including that a mass grave existed on the property, including the bodies of children,' the suit said.
Now that they have settled with the county, and the case against the media outlets dismissed - Gridley is the only one left to deal with.
'Whether it will be collectible, we're going to pursue that,' Dallas attorney Andrew Sommerman told the Houston Chronicle.
In May Judge Ginsberg ruled that Gridley and 'intentionally published an unambiguous statement by oral publication' falsely claiming that the couple had a mass grace. Gridley 'acted with reckless disregard for the truth' which defamed the couple, presented them in a false light, and damaged their reputations.
Ginsberg awarded Bankston $2million for past mental anguish and damage to his reputation, with an additional $1million for the emotional/reputational distress he will suffer in the future. Charlton received the same amounts with an additional $99,000 in past lost wages and $750,000 in future lost wages.
But so far Gridley, who lives in a town about a half-hour outside Austin, hasn't shown up to any of her hearings - despite being subpoenaed. She wrote a letter to court saying, 'I have no knowledge and am not aware of any situation or circumstance that would require me to appear, or give a deposition.'
PhOtOs-Couple Win $7Mill For Mass Grave Accusations From Psychic
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