This podcast details true crime cases.

It contains adult themes and may contain descriptions of violence.

It is not intended for children.

Listener discretion is advised.

Thank you for joining me for today's episode of Once Upon a Crime.

We're beginning a news series titled Sick and Murdered,

in which I detail cases where a

perpetrator causes a person to fall ill, sometimes even killing them for their own selfish gain.

Sometimes financial gain is the motive, but a more bizarre reason is that some seek special

attention as the family member or caretaker of their victim or victims.

Our first case is the story of a mother who deliberately kept all three of her children sick for many years

in order to receive attention and financial gain for herself.

This fascinating case details a rare psychiatric phenomenon known most commonly as

Munchausen syndrome by proxy. This is Chapter 1, the case of Lori Williamson.

On February 28, 2006, two women walked into the office of the constable of Harris County, Texas,

to undertake a mission that previously they could never have imagined doing.

They were there to report their friend, Lori Williamson, for child abuse.

The women weren't friends, and they didn't even know each other that well.

But over time, both had come to

suspect something terrible about their friend. Darcy Wall, a mother herself and wife of a local

pastor, had been a friend to Lori for some time. Lori had three children, all of whom had several

serious illnesses. Lori was a divorced mother, and many people from her church and community had become friends

...