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Suffer the Little Children

Episode 58: Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (Part 1)

Suffer the Little Children

Suffer the Little Children Pod

Social Sciences, True Crime, Society & Culture, Science

4.6993 Ratings

🗓️ 21 April 2021

⏱️ 51 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Most of us have heard of Munchausen syndrome by proxy thanks to its prevalence in popular culture, including TV, movies, books, and, of course, news articles, but what is it exactly? Is it a crime, a cry for help, a mental disorder, or something else entirely? 
For the first time, to raise awareness of this insidious form of child abuse, I will cover Munchausen syndrome by proxy as a broad topic spanning several episodes instead of concentrating on one case. In part one of the series, I’ll tell you what studies and experts have to say about this commonly misunderstood condition, and I’ll also tell you the first part of the story of 5-year-old Garnett Spears. Garnett’s death in January of 2014 was the culmination of five brutal years of unnecessary surgical procedures, medications, hospitalizations, induced illnesses, and gratuitous suffering at the hands of his mother, and the egregiousness of Garnett’s story has made his one of the most well known cases of Munchausen syndrome by proxy to date. 
This is part 1 of the baffling phenomenon of Munchausen Syndrome by proxy. 
Links mentioned in the episode:
Dr. Marc Feldman’s latest book
Dr. Feldman’s bio
Andrea Dunlop’s latest book, We Came Here to Forget
John Glatt’s book, My Sweet Angel: The True Story of Lacey Spears, the Seemingly Perfect Mother Who Murdered Her Son in Cold Blood
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This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited, and produced by Laine. 
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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Oh, he's cute. Mr. I can never sleep when I'm traveling. He's hugging his pillow like a sloth on a branch.

0:10.0

He couldn't sleep before. Now listen to him. Sounds like an elephant with a chest infection.

0:15.0

Well, they call him a dreamer. And now they're right.

0:19.0

All aboard, Mr. I can never sleep when I'm traveling.

0:23.0

Find all the comfort you need in the quiet lounge.

0:26.0

Piando Ferries, a true crime podcast. My name is Kevin and I will be your

0:47.4

host on this journey. We will be covering some of the most heinous, some of the most unthinkable, and some of the most

0:55.7

monstrous crimes to ever be committed against humanity.

0:59.9

We will be covering cannibalistic serial killers, decades old unsolved mysteries, cold cases,

1:07.0

missing person cases, and everything in between.

1:12.1

The jury room podcast is available on most major

1:15.0

podcasting platforms. Please make sure you go subscribe and leave a review.

1:31.0

This podcast contains descriptions of violence against children and adult language and is not suitable for all audiences. listener discretion is advised. Ooh Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, Hi everyone and welcome to suffer the little children the true crime

2:16.7

podcast giving voices back to the victims of child abuse and shining a harsh

2:20.4

spotlight on the parents guardians and caretakers who silenced them.

2:24.0

I'm your host, Lane, and this is episode 58, Munchausen Syndrome by proxy, part one.

2:30.0

Most of us have heard of Munchausen Syndrome by proxy thanks to its prevalence in popular culture, including TV, movies, books, and of course news articles.

2:39.0

But what is it exactly? Is it a crime, a cry for help, a mental disorder, or something else entirely?

2:45.0

For the first time, to raise awareness of this insidious form of child abuse,

2:49.0

I will cover Munchausen Syndrome by proxy as a broad topic spanning several episodes instead of concentrating on one case. and misunderstood condition and I'll also tell you the first part of the story of

3:03.4

five-year-old Garnett's Spears. Garnett's death in January of 2014 was the

3:08.5

culmination of five brutal years of unnecessary surgical procedures, medications, hospitalizations, induced illnesses,

...

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