A 23-year-old Australian woman was sentenced to six years in jail for feeding her healthy three-year-old daughter cancer drugs in order to procure support and donations. The victim, now five years old, has suffered life-threatening illnesses, including bone marrow failure. She faces an increased likelihood to develop certain cancers and her chances of infertility have increased as well.
The mother of two posted videos on YouTube to plead for support and claimed on Facebook that her daughter was fighting for her life. The victim told her grandmother that the pills she took every four hours were to prevent her skin from wrinkling. The court submitted that the victim’s mother bought the chemotherapy drugs online from Canada. The mother hasn’t been named to protect the girl’s identity.
The mother’s lawyer, Catherine Morgan, claimed that her client suffered a rare mental disorder called factitious disorder by proxy, which causes a person to produce or exaggerate the symptoms of someone in their care. The court heard that the mother previously fake symptoms to have her appendix removed, but that fact and Morgan’s defense wasn’t enough to keep her out of prison. She’s already served more than a year of her sentence. The daughter lives with her maternal grandmother who says she’s healthy and happy.
If the characteristics of factitious disorder sound familiar, they are; Munchausen syndrome was the first kind of this order that was identified. There are a slew of infamous cases of Munchausen syndrome. Marybeth Tinning has to be one the worst on record; all nine of her children died in the span of 14 years (1972-1985). Tinning admitted smothering her children after her arrest in 1986, and her husband didn’t suspect a thing. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison. That was it? Perhaps , giving her the electric chair may justify and fit the crime? And save taxpayers’ money?
Anyway, this Australian woman’s actions are obviously vile and abusive. By the time a case like this comes to light, damage is already done.
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