Question

Research at least two news stories involving possible cases of Munchausen by proxy syndrome. What happened in these cases? How were they different and how were they similar? Was the parent(s) prosecuted/convicted of any crime? Do you agree with the outcome of the case?

Answer 1

Sally Clark case

In 1996, Sally Clark’s son Christopher who was eleven weeks old at the time died suddenly. On the 13^th of December, Sally put Cristopher to bed in the evening. After she checked on him after a few hours, she found him to be unconscious and rushed him to the hospital. Christopher was pronounced dead at the hospital. The cause of death was believed to be a breathing problem. Sally gave birth to her second son, Harry in 1997.When he was 8 weeks old, she found him unconscious in his bouncy chair. Investigators became suspicious since Sally was home alone with her son when it happened. They did not believe that it was not possible that two babies could have died in the same manner and arrested her for murdering her two sons. The prosecution relied heavily on testimony by Sir Roy Meadow, a British pediatrician and expert on Munchausen's syndrome who believed that the deaths fit the criteria of factitious disorder. Meadow testified in court that the odds of two babies in the same home dying of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) were 1 in 73 million. The prosecution used this statistic and painted Clark as a lonely drunk who resented her children because she had to give up her high-paying job as a lawyer to stay at home. Clark was convicted in 1999, receiving life in prison. During her second appeal in January 2003, her conviction was overturned when it became known that Meadow had made a mistake in his calculations and the pathologists had failed to turn over a report showing that Harry had suffered from a bacterial infection, meaning that he had probably died of natural causes.

Blanca Montano case

Blanca Montano was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2013 for her role in the death of her infant daughter. Blanca Montano was charged with child abuse after her daughter was found to be suffering from nine different and apparently aggravated infections after being admitted to the hospital for flu-like symptoms in February 2011.Investigations revealed that she had been infecting her daughter with fecal matter and various other bacterias while her daughter was in the hospital.

The cases are similar in terms of how investigators actively looked for evidence of abuse.

The cases are dissimilar since the testimony was statistically wrong and problematic in the Clark case since the research wasnt accurate enough at time while the conviction in the Montano case was only possible because of the increased research in the field.

I agree with the outcome in the Montano case while the Clark case shows us the importance of accountablity for expert witnesses along with the need for a higher bar for testimony.