This is really a sad case:
Bizarre Poltergeist: In Jail for Murder
© Jill Stefko
May 9, 2005
In 1986, I first read about Tina Resch, 14, a human poltergeist agent, HAP. The case is of exceptional interest because of the involvement of Dr. William G. Roll, a highly respected parapsychologist and poltergeist expert, who coined the term, recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis, RSPK, for the HAP and because it explores the psychological and physical aspects of the HAP.
In March, 1984, typical HAP activity started in the Resch's home. Lights and clocks were affected. Objects moved by their own volition. Mike Harden and Fred Shannon, from the Columbus, OH Dispatch, visited the home. They observed objects move. Shannon took a photo of Tina, seated in a chair, while a telephone flew across her body.
An electrician examined the electrical system and found no scientific cause for the phenomena. Roll became involved in the case in March. So did James, the self appointed "Amazing," Randi and two scientists from Case Western University. The scientists were allowed in the house, but Randi, a stage magician, whom it was felt would add to the circus-like atmosphere was not. The scientists would not investigate without Randi.
Roll observed the movement of objects, as did others. He suggested Tina be tested by a neurologist for complex brain seizures. The result was that she did not have these, but, might have had mild Tourette's Syndrome.
Tina was asked to go to Roll's parapsychological laboratory in Georgia where she would have more physical tests, tests for PK, psychokinesis, the ability of the mind to affect the body and receive psychotherapy.
I wrote in my first article, "Poltergeists, the Reality, not the Movie," that there is a psychological profile for the HAP. Tina fit it.
Joan and John Resch, stern and strict, were her foster parents. Her mother deserted her when she was a baby.
Tina had a compulsion to express herself talking loudly. When told to be quiet, she remained loud and spouted obscenities. Before she was too big for Joan to deal with, the female slapped her across the face. Later, John would beat her for this behavior.
She was disruptive in class and was harassed by the other children. This led to home schooling. Because of the close parental contact, Tina's behavior escalated. Her privileges were taken away. When this failed, she was locked into her room or beaten. When Tina was given a psychological evaluation, it was discovered that she had a tendency to dissociate and also had poor depth perception. She felt extreme tension in her relationships and had an overwhelming need to express herself, but, when she did so, she was punished severely.
Her life had been full of other tragedies. When she was thirteen, her best friend was killed in a car accident. Her brother, Jack, molested her. She was bullied at school. She suffered John's beatings. She was forced to take Ritalin in the belief she was hyperactive. On March 1st, John attempted to beat her again. The RSPK began.
When she returned home from Durham, Tina felt unloved by the Resches, that they rejected her as her biological parents had and also that she was wrongly blamed for things that went wrong.
The Resches blamed Tina for the neighbors' reactions towards them that changed because of the activity. They were upset by the disruption of family life. Tina had not shown them the respect that they felt deserved.
In 1986, they decided to sell their house and told Tina she had to find another home. Tina's truancy made where she lived a court decision. She had two choices: going to a juvenile detention or live with James Bennett. Bennett told the court he and Tina had eloped. She supported this falsehood. They, subsequently, married.
Things worsened. Bennett was physically violent and she ran to live in a women's shelter. John Resch died in 1987. His mother died shortly after amd left Tina $5,000, which Bennett stole. She divorced him.
In 1988, Tina became pregnant by a man whose name she did not reveal. Her daughter, Amber, was born in that September. For the baby's sake, Tina married Larry Boyer. She had him arrested when he beat her into unconsciousness. She contacted Roll about this time and he suggested she stay with his wife and him.
When she lived with the Rolls, Tina was learning parenting skills and taking nursing and computer classes. The next year, she met David Herrin, divorced father of a three-year-old daughter. Things appeared to be going well for Tina. The couple would spend time at each others' homes.
On April 13th, 1992, Roll was informed Amber was dead.
In the prior week, Tina had discovered bruises on the child's body, but Herrin told her the toddler had fallen. Tina feared that if she took Amber to the hospital, the child would be taken away from her.
Tina had been visiting Jeanne Lagle, friend and therapist, when Herrin called to say he could not waken Amber. They took her to a hospital, where she died.
Upon examination, it was discovered that Amber had suffered physical injuries, some of which were old. There were internal injuries that indicated she was sodomized.
Tina and Herrin were arrested on April 15th for Amber's murder. Her story did not waver. Herrin's was erratic. He said he had never hit Amber, but saw Tina slap her and said that Tina must have hit the child too hard, and as result of this, she died later that day. He finally admitted he had sodomized the child twice and that he hit her during his final interview with the police.
The murder charge meant a possible death penalty for Tina. She was held in jail for two years before the trial. Her PD, public defender, did not make the effort to get her testimony or to find evidence to support her innocence. She was bullied by other inmates. The second time her PD contacted her, about two weeks before the trial, was to inform her that if she pled guilty, the judge would waive the death penalty.
Dr. Roll had contacted people who wanted to help Tina prove her innocence and advised her not to accept the plea bargain. He spoken with an attorney. What she was guilty of was not taking Amber to the hospital sooner. She had not been charged with premeditated murder. The evidence was circumstantial. She had previous record. Herrin had admitted sodomizing the child and to hitting her during the time frame when this could have been fatal. Tina was with others at the time of the incident and had witnesses. Herrin had been fired from his job on the day of the murder and was alone with Amber the day of her death.
Tina decided to plead guilty under the circumstances. October 24th, 1994, she was given life plus twenty years with no chance of parole.
When she was called to testify against Herrin, she was humiliated and vilified when her private life was revealed. He, the child molester, was charged with cruelty to children. His sentence? Twenty years, with possibility of early parole.
