George Noory welcomed Donna Francart, who discussed her experiences as a deputy coroner, transition into forensics, and encounters with the paranormal. Francart said she entered the field after volunteering with a victim crisis response program, where she provided emotional support to families and began assisting with the removal of bodies. With prior medical experience, she later became a deputy coroner and served for eight and a half years, responding to unwitnessed, suspicious, violent and unexpected deaths. She described the work as emotionally demanding, saying constant exposure to grief, gore and traumatic scenes can take a toll and requires an ability to compartmentalize and process those experiences.
Francart said she had no interest in the paranormal before becoming a deputy coroner and was initially frightened by the subject, but began experiencing unexplained phenomena after working death scenes. She recalled her first striking incident occurring at home when her son noticed the word "hi" scratched in red letters on her back. Francart later consulted a psychic who described a young man connected to a car fatality and provided details she felt matched a recent case. She said apparent spirits sometimes followed her home from scenes and was told that her compassion and respect for the deceased may have made them comfortable around her.
Among her more frightening experiences, Francart described seeing humanlike apparitions appear several feet in front of her and encountering what she called astral spiders, including spiderlike forms that appeared in her bedroom and then vanished. She said she initially wondered whether she was dreaming but began researching the phenomenon after the experiences continued. Francart also said coroners, nurses, morgue attendants, funeral directors and other professionals have contacted her with accounts of their own unexplained experiences around death, leading her to conclude that she is not alone in encountering such phenomena.
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Open Lines followed in the latter half of the program. Fred in Indiana, a former deputy coroner and law enforcement officer, said Donna Francart's experiences resonated with unexplained activity he has encountered. He described seeing a faceless figure in khaki pants and a green polo shirt beside his bed, only to have his hand pass through it when he tried to push it away. Fred said his wife had seen the same figure, along with other apparitions, and Francart's account of spiderlike entities particularly struck him because he has repeatedly seen a similar dark, spider-shaped form crawl up his wall and disappear at the ceiling.
Ruth in Maryland told George about what she called "pennies from heaven," saying she has found thousands of pennies along a gravel road at her campground, with more appearing after heavy rains. She explained that the coins apparently came from the remains of a nearby structure destroyed by fire and spilled onto the road while the debris was being removed. Among her discoveries were pennies cut in half, a tiny pin and a pewter owl, followed by an owl ring that Ruth recognized as one she had previously given to the woman who lived there.
Brad in Wisconsin shared stories from his late father, a longtime coroner who had previously worked in law enforcement. Brad recalled his father describing how, while returning from an autopsy with another person, the deceased suddenly lifted himself up and then fell back down, a startling movement his father attributed to a possible reflex. He added that despite the disturbing scenes his father encountered during his career, cases involving children affected him most deeply, including a vehicle fire in which officers were unable to rescue a child trapped inside.
The final half hour was a replay from 2/22/2019 featuring spiritual warrior Bill Bean.
News segment guests: Heidi Hollis / Kevin Randle