Hypnotized to commit a robbery?
By Porcospino
@Porcospino (31365)
Denmark
March 12, 2013 8:05am CST
I am reading a book about true crime stories at the moment and the book contains is a story about a man who was hypnotized when he committed murder.
He went into a bank and when one of the employees wouldn't give him the money that he asked for he shot the employee. He noticed that another employee was looking at him and shot him as well, and then he ran out of the bank. They caught the man who had commited the robbery and killed the two employees. So far there is nothing unusual about the story, but something unexpected happened.
The man who had commited the robbery said that he had been hypnotized to commit the robbery. He had a friend who was interested in hypnosis and his friend had persuaded him to commit the robbery through hypnosis. This lead to a lot of discusions between doctors and different kinds of experts because some people believed that it was possible to hypnotize another person to commit robbery and murder and other people didn't find it possible.
In the end both men were convicted. The man who was accused of hypnotizing the other man thought that it was unfair and he claimed that he was innocent, but he was sent to prison just like the other man.
What do think about the story? Do you think that it is possible to hypnotize another person to commit a crime?
2 people like this
12 responses
@cherigucchi (15934)
• Philippines
13 Mar 13
There were crimes reported here in our country which they call "budol-budol gang"According to the victims, they could not remember anything at all but only followed everything what the person told them. Most people were actually victimized by this group.
@Porcospino (31365)
• Denmark
13 Mar 13
That sounds scary. It must be terrible to discover that something like that happened to you, if you don't even remember what happened it would be even worse. I haven't heard about similar things in my own country, but I think that it could happen here as well. In the case that I mentioned when I started the discussion one man hypnotized another man and persuaded him to commit a robbery in a bank. That situation is quite unusual, but they did convict both men because they thought that the man behind the hypnosis was guilty as well. He didn't commit the robbery, but he was still involved in it through the hypnosis.
@cherigucchi (15934)
• Philippines
14 Mar 13
That is why we should always be very very careful in talking to strangers. Sometimes these people look like respectable and educated yet behind that facade lurks an evil inside them.
1 person likes this
@yanzalong (19091)
• Indonesia
12 Mar 13
It may be possible but hypnotized robbery is something I have never heard before.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31365)
• Denmark
12 Mar 13
I haven't heard about it either, and I was a little surprice to read that both men had been convicted. They convicted both men because they believed that it was true that one of the men had managed to hypnotize the other man.
@yanzalong (19091)
• Indonesia
13 Mar 13
What about the evidents. Hynotise is not visible and cannot be used as evidents. Don't you think?
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31365)
• Denmark
13 Mar 13
As far I understood from the book the experts arranged a meeting between the two men. They thought that they were alone, but the experts were able to see everything from a hidden window. They watched how the interacted and how one of them constantly looked at the other man and made some movements with his hand and they interpreted that as a sign of hypnosis. They also made detailed assessments of the the men's personalities and through those things they came to the conclusion that one of the men had hypnotized the other man. But it is still a unusual kind of evidence and that is one of reason why this case lead to so many discussions.
@jenny1015 (13359)
• Philippines
13 Mar 13
I do think that it is possible to happen, but I am not sure it is that easy to apprehend a person with such alibi. Can the court actually prove that the suspect was hypnotized? If he was hypnotized, why was he aware about being hypnotized? Coz if he never had any intentions of robbing the bank, he wouldn't have stayed long with that friend. Isn't it that before a person is put into such state, that he is awake and knows that he would be hypnotized?
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31365)
• Denmark
13 Mar 13
The two men had been friends for a long time, and they had experimented with hypnosis in the past. The man who was hypnotized to commit the robbery had agreed to participate in the experiments in the past and he knew very well that his friend was interested in hypnosis, but he didn't know that his friend would hypnotize him to commit a robbery. At least that is what he said after the robbery took place. He felt that he friend took advantage of him when he had agreed to let him hypnotize him and he said that he didn't intend to commit the robbery. Maybe he thought that he would be able to avoid responsibility if he told the authorities that he had been hypnotized, but things didn't turn that way and both men were convicted.
@jenny1015 (13359)
• Philippines
14 Mar 13
I see.... so too bad for both of them as they were not able to get out of the mess with such poor alibi.
Even if it were true, it is really hard to prove it.
1 person likes this
@natliegleb (5173)
• India
13 Mar 13
no not at all for sure and the things which we do are really petty and must be ignored always ,robbery is a crime for ever
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31365)
• Denmark
13 Mar 13
I am not sure that I understand what you mean. You wrote not at all, did you mean that you don't believe in hypnosis or did you mean something different?
@sishy7 (27166)
• Australia
13 Mar 13
What I've heard is people fell victim of a robbery and claimed that they were under hypnosis when it happened. They'd appear willingly withdrawing their own money from an ATM, for instance, and hand it over to the robber under hypnosis. If that is possible, perhaps the story is also possible.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31365)
• Denmark
13 Mar 13
Someone from Mylot experienced the situation that you described and she made a discussion about it. It happened a long ago when I was a new member, so the discussion is probably 4 or 5 years old, but when I read your discussion I suddenly remembered her story. The story shocked me when I read it and I thought it was scary that another person was able to convince her to do those things and she simply did what they said 
I think that the woman who shared her story here on Mylot was from the Philippines, but I don't remember her name. If that ís possible it might also be possible to hypnotize a person to commit a crime I agree with that....
I think that the woman who shared her story here on Mylot was from the Philippines, but I don't remember her name. If that ís possible it might also be possible to hypnotize a person to commit a crime I agree with that....1 person likes this
@ruchadhawal31 (228)
• India
13 Mar 13
Hey... It is true. My uncle has experienced it. He was hypnotised by a thief. My uncle himself gave all his valuables to him. When he gained conscious he was lying near a garbage bin. No one tried to help him. He had nothing, not even the money. He somehow managed to go home. He hardly remebered anything.
But people can do anything for money. This was very shocking incident..
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31365)
• Denmark
13 Mar 13
That must have been a very scary and shocking experience for your uncle 
I am sorry to hear that he had to go through something like that. It must be terrible to wake up and discover that you have lost everything and discover that you don't remember much from the incident. As I wrote in one of the other comments a simila thing happened to a woman from MyLot. She described her experience several years ago when I was a new member, but I still remember her story, because the story shocked me when I read it. I haven't heard similar stories from my own country, but that doesn't mean that it couldn't happen here.
I am sorry to hear that he had to go through something like that. It must be terrible to wake up and discover that you have lost everything and discover that you don't remember much from the incident. As I wrote in one of the other comments a simila thing happened to a woman from MyLot. She described her experience several years ago when I was a new member, but I still remember her story, because the story shocked me when I read it. I haven't heard similar stories from my own country, but that doesn't mean that it couldn't happen here.
@KrauseHome (36445)
• United States
13 Mar 13
I have heard of things like this happening before with other things where people are often hypnotized and do not remember it. I am glad they charged both people with murder as that was right. Just wonder why someone would do something like that and then try and act so innocent like what did they do wrong?
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31365)
• Denmark
13 Mar 13
The person who hypnotized the other man tried to avoid responsibility. He pretended that he wasn't involved in the crime at all and that the other person made up the things about the hypnosis, but they didn't believe him and he was convicted just like the other man. This case lead to a lot of discussions in my country because some people didn't agree about the hypnosis. Some people thought that it was impossible to persuade another person to do things that they didn't want to do and other people thought it was possible to hypnotize another person and make them do that kind of things.
@ptrikha_2 (49753)
• India
13 Mar 13
In a TV series "Savdhaan India", I saw a similar case where a trained Hypnotist left his main work, and
started a training college for music teaching. Yet teaching music was a disguise for hypnotizing students- many of whom were girls to start hating their parents, and even try to kill them, and take away money. Yet, this plan was busted and the hypnotist was arrested as well.
Yes, I do believe such things can happen, yet with a strong will one can avoid and confront such devious people.
1 person likes this
@mrswhitfield (2044)
• Indonesia
12 Mar 13
I don't have any idea about how hypnotize works because I have no experience about it. But watching from TV shows someone can be commited to do something they were never do before or afraid of by hypnotize them. But I don't know if someone who has been hypnotize could remember that someone has hypnotized her/him before.
@Porcospino (31365)
• Denmark
13 Mar 13
I don't know much about hypnotism either and I have never tried it. I have only seen people on tv get hypnotized or read about people who got hypnotized. A friend of my mother has tried it. She had a pohbia and she decided to try hypnotherapy. It worked very well and today her phobia is gone. I think that it could be fascinating to try it myself. In the case that was mentioned in my book one man hypnotized another men and made him commit a robbery. That case lead to a lot of discussions in my country because some people didn't believe that it was possible to hypnotize another person and make him commit a robbery, but in the end both men were convicted.
@roshigo58 (4856)
• Pune, India
12 Mar 13
Hi,
It is very interesting story. It's very surprising that a man was hypnotized to make robbery..I think it is impossible. that man may be telling lie. Many psychological problems can be cured by the hypnotism. Mind can be controlled by it. But it is unbelievable that hypnotism can be used in robbery and murder.
1 person likes this
@elsino91 (440)
• Poland
12 Mar 13
I think the story sounds interesting and it must be a good book you picked. Honestly though I would need to see someone hypnotized like that in order to believe it. Because I just don't believe that another person can take control of someones brain like that and make them do things against their will.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31365)
• Denmark
13 Mar 13
I also think that the story is interesting, and I was surpriced to read the details of the story because I have never heard about something like that before. I know that hypnosis is used in other situations for instance if a person has a phobia that they would like to get rid of, but in this case hypnosis was used in connection with a crime and that is unusual. I am not sure what to think about the story, but I think that is true that it would be easier to believe in it if I saw a person who was hypnotized like that. I have no personal experience with hypnosis, but I would like to try it one day and I think that I would also be able to understand it better if I have tried it myself.
@extremefun4fun (2908)
• India
15 Mar 13
Well, those who are master in hypnotize can do such of thing. and I think yes it is possible. I have seen once when my brother hypnotize, he used to do strange thing.
