00:00:04
[music playing]
00:00:05
NARRATOR: When a two-year-old
boy was rushed to the hospital
00:00:08
suffering from brain seizures
and breathing problems,
00:00:11
doctors could not find
the cause of the illness.
00:00:14
Blood pressure's
a little bit low.
00:00:16
We're going to make sure we
continue to monitor that.
00:00:19
NARRATOR: But the
boy's sister provided
00:00:21
an important clue, the
possibility of a rare syndrome
00:00:25
few had ever heard of.
00:00:28
[music playing]
00:00:53
In 1987, Ray and Tanya Reid,
along with their two children,
00:00:58
had just moved to
Urbandale, Iowa.
00:01:01
It was Ray Reid's fourth
job transfer in three years.
00:01:05
My husband, every
time we moved,
00:01:07
it was an advancement for him.
00:01:09
And I was ready.
00:01:10
You know, any time.
00:01:11
Anything he wanted to
do, I wanted to go.
00:01:13
NARRATOR: Tanya Reid was a
housewife who stayed at home
00:01:16
to care for her children,
six-year-old Carolyn
00:01:19
and two-year-old Michael.
00:01:21
Just two days after
moving to town,
00:01:24
their youngest child,
Michael, stopped breathing.
00:01:27
Fortunately, Tanya was a nurse
and knew exactly what to do.
00:01:30
She performed CPR
and immediately
00:01:33
took him to the
emergency room of Iowa
00:01:35
Methodist Medical Center.
00:01:37
It was fever of
viral etiology,
00:01:41
dehydration, and vomiting.
00:01:43
That was a pretty standard
diagnosis and situation.
00:01:48
NARRATOR: After
he was stabilized,
00:01:49
Michael was given a complete
physical examination.
00:01:53
He had a prior history
of neurologic seizures,
00:01:55
but doctors could not determine
what was causing them.
00:02:00
A few months later, the
Reids moved into a larger
00:02:03
unit in the same complex.
00:02:05
Ray was working extremely long
hours and Tanya was lonely.
00:02:09
I think, in the beginning,
the relationship was OK.
00:02:12
It was enough for Tanya
because she was working
00:02:15
and she had enough outlets
in her life to, you know,
00:02:18
keep herself busy and
feel that she was happy.
00:02:21
But when she-- you know, as
the relationship went on,
00:02:24
and the years went
by, I think there
00:02:26
was an emptiness and a lack of
true affection between the two
00:02:29
of them.
00:02:30
NARRATOR: Three months later,
Michael had another episode.
00:02:34
He stopped breathing
and turned blue.
00:02:37
His mother called
the paramedics.
00:02:41
When they arrived,
Tanya was on the floor
00:02:43
of the living room
giving Michael
00:02:45
mouth to mouth resuscitation.
00:02:46
We're here to
help you out, ma'am.
00:02:47
Please move aside.
00:02:48
Thank you very much.
00:02:52
He's not breathing.
00:02:58
NARRATOR: At the
hospital, tests could not
00:03:01
determine the cause of
Michael's breathing problems.
00:03:04
The child's pediatrician
speculated that Michael might
00:03:07
simply be holding his breath.
00:03:11
One week later, paramedics were
called to the Reid residence
00:03:14
once again.
00:03:15
Michael had another
breathing episode.
00:03:18
She appeared very calm
for such serious natures.
00:03:21
To be doing mouth
to mouth on a child,
00:03:23
I can-- speaking for
myself, if it was my child,
00:03:26
I'd be a nervous wreck.
00:03:27
NARRATOR: Just
three years earlier,
00:03:29
Michael's older sister,
Morgan, died unexpectedly
00:03:32
at nine months old.
00:03:34
The autopsy said Morgan died
of cardiorespiratory arrest
00:03:38
of unknown origin.
00:03:41
Like Michael,
Morgan had a history
00:03:43
of breathing problems and
numerous hospitalizations
00:03:46
before she died.
00:03:49
Morgan's death was a stressful
time for the Reid's marriage.
00:03:53
We did have stress
when Morgan died.
00:03:56
Any couple will go through
stress when there's a death
00:03:59
in the family, a child death.
00:04:02
And we did stay together
through all that.
00:04:05
NARRATOR: One month later,
paramedics were called
00:04:07
to the Reid's home once again.
00:04:10
Tanya successfully
resuscitated Michael before he
00:04:13
was taken to the hospital.
00:04:15
Numerous medical
workups had been
00:04:17
done to try to find
a cause of this,
00:04:19
including a number of
pediatric specialists
00:04:22
and pediatric subspecialists,
and nothing had been found.
00:04:26
NARRATOR: Doctors
were mystified.
00:04:28
What was wrong with Michael?
00:04:31
I think doctors
don't want to admit
00:04:34
that they're
infallible, that there's
00:04:36
something they can't find.
00:04:38
NARRATOR: Soon, doctors looked
deeper into Michael's breathing
00:04:41
problems.
00:04:46
Doctors at Iowa
Methodist Medical Center
00:04:49
couldn't find the cause of the
seizures and breathing problems
00:04:52
two-year-old Michael
Reid was experiencing.
00:04:55
A few days after they
returned to Iowa,
00:04:58
Michael stopped breathing again.
00:05:01
Tony Collins and the other
paramedics were baffled,
00:05:04
and their logbook showed it.
00:05:07
Things didn't fit together
that a kid would hold
00:05:09
his breath long enough
to make him have
00:05:13
seizures or quit breathing.
00:05:17
NARRATOR: Then, on Sunday,
February 7, while Ray
00:05:20
Reid was relaxing downstairs.
00:05:22
TANYA REID: Come upstairs!
00:05:23
Michael's in trouble!
00:05:26
NARRATOR: He heard Tanya
scream from the master bedroom.
00:05:30
What's wrong.
00:05:31
- He's not breathing.
- What happened?
00:05:32
I don't know.
00:05:33
Call an ambulance.
00:05:34
I'll be right back.
00:05:35
NARRATOR: It had happened again.
00:05:36
Michael was having
another breathing episode
00:05:39
and was rushed to the hospital.
00:05:42
The nurse on duty noticed
something unusual.
00:05:46
On Michael's cheek were some
red parallel scratch marks,
00:05:50
scratches that looked
like they had been
00:05:52
made by the boy's fingernails.
00:05:56
To the nurse, it
looked as if Michael
00:05:59
had tried to remove
someone's hands
00:06:02
from around his neck and mouth.
00:06:05
Oh, nurse, I seem to
have cut my fingers.
00:06:06
NARRATOR: Just a
few moments later,
00:06:08
an interesting coincidence.
00:06:11
Tanya Reid asked the nurse
to look at her finger.
00:06:14
It was bleeding.
00:06:16
I don't think I probably would
have noticed if this had been
00:06:18
my child that I had a
scratch on my finger,
00:06:21
and I certainly wouldn't
have mentioned it to anybody.
00:06:25
NARRATOR: Michael was
only two years old and too
00:06:27
young to talk, so it was
impossible for doctors
00:06:31
and social workers
to interview him.
00:06:33
But the scratch marks
on Michael's face
00:06:36
and Tanya's bleeding
finger led doctors
00:06:39
to suspect a rare form
of child abuse called
00:06:42
Munchausen syndrome by proxy.
00:06:45
It first appeared in the
medical literature in 1977
00:06:49
and was named after Baron von
Munchausen, an 18th century
00:06:53
soldier famous for
fabricating fabulous tales
00:06:57
of his battlefield exploits.
00:06:59
Munchausen syndrome by
proxy describes adults
00:07:03
who either fabricate
or actually cause
00:07:06
illness in their own children.
00:07:08
They do this because they
crave the attention and concern
00:07:11
of the medical staff,
emergency personnel, and even
00:07:15
family members and friends.
00:07:17
When a social worker interviewed
the Reids at the hospital
00:07:20
about the possibility of child
abuse, Tanya was furious.
00:07:25
Angry and hurt that
it would even be--
00:07:28
surprized, shock.
00:07:31
You know, what-- every
term probably went through,
00:07:34
every form of emotion there is.
00:07:37
NARRATOR: Tanya was given
a lie detector test.
00:07:41
When she was asked if
she ever intentionally
00:07:44
caused harm to her children,
she said no, and passed.
00:07:49
In addition to the
scratches on Michael's face,
00:07:53
there was a pattern
to the episodes,
00:07:55
a pattern that was
cleared to paramedics
00:07:58
from their time-dated logbook.
00:08:00
These calls were
happening on the same days,
00:08:02
and roughly the
same time of day,
00:08:05
and that struck me odd as well.
00:08:08
NARRATOR: Almost exclusively,
the calls to the paramedics
00:08:10
were on Tuesdays
and Fridays, always
00:08:13
at about the same
time of the day,
00:08:15
in the late afternoon
or early evening.
00:08:19
For the most part, they
coincided with the days
00:08:21
and times Ray Reid was at work.
00:08:25
The Reids were convinced that
Michael had a similar condition
00:08:28
to the one that killed their
daughter, Morgan, while they
00:08:31
were living in Texas.
00:08:33
To find out, medical
detectives in Iowa
00:08:37
decided to conduct
their own investigation
00:08:40
into Morgan Reid's death.
00:08:46
Morgan Reid was just nine months
old when she died in 1984.
00:08:51
Morgan's medical records
revealed repeated visits
00:08:55
to the hospital
emergency rooms in Texas
00:08:57
for breathing problems and
seizures before she died.
00:09:02
The cause of death listed
on Morgan's autopsy report
00:09:05
said cardiorespiratory
arrest of unknown origin.
00:09:11
But three other words,
in the report leaked out,
00:09:15
acute subdural hematoma,
a swelling in the brain
00:09:19
which contains blood.
00:09:21
At the bottom of the page,
the pathologist had written,
00:09:25
no evidence of child abuse.
00:09:28
Iowa's medical
examiner was alarmed.
00:09:31
The autopsy mentioned
having to fairly
00:09:35
fresh subdural hematomas,
blood clots around the brain
00:09:40
putting pressure on the brain.
00:09:42
Two distinct ones.
00:09:43
He called them
recent clotted blood,
00:09:45
but there was no evidence
of healing in this case.
00:09:47
So he found a finding
that is abnormal.
00:09:52
NARRATOR: Dr. Bennett did a
little investigating of his own
00:09:56
and discovered that
before Morgan died,
00:09:59
her doctors noticed retinal
hemorrhages, bleeding
00:10:03
in the back of her eyes.
00:10:05
This told Dr. Bennett that
Morgan's airway might have been
00:10:09
obstructed purposely
when someone was trying
00:10:12
to cause unconsciousness.
00:10:15
Dr. Bennett did not
believe that Morgan's
00:10:17
death was of unknown origin.
00:10:20
He was convinced it was murder.
00:10:25
The retinal hemorrhages
and subdural hematomas
00:10:27
came from trauma, specifically,
the violent shaking
00:10:30
of shaken baby syndrome.
00:10:32
Once those words
of shaken baby
00:10:34
are spoken as the
cause of death,
00:10:36
there's no doubt
it's a homicide.
00:10:38
NARRATOR: Because of Morgan's
death, prosecutors in Iowa
00:10:42
now fear that Michael's
life was in danger.
00:10:45
Michael had been
hospitalized 18 times
00:10:47
in three different states.
00:10:49
His sister Morgan
was hospitalized
00:10:52
20 times before she died.
00:10:55
Every single episode
noted Tanya's claim
00:10:58
that she performed mouth
to mouth resuscitation
00:11:01
before emergency
personnel arrived.
00:11:04
No one but Tanya
had ever witnessed
00:11:06
the onset of a seizure
or breathing problem
00:11:09
in either child.
00:11:10
We literally papered the
office wall with flow charts
00:11:15
and timelines so we could
look for this pattern
00:11:19
that eventually resulted.
00:11:23
NARRATOR: Prosecutors searched
the medical literature
00:11:26
and discovered some
common elements
00:11:29
among those suspected of
Munchausen syndrome by proxy.
00:11:34
Most are women.
00:11:36
They demand more and more
tests and second opinions,
00:11:39
even after nothing
has been found.
00:11:41
The child's illness does
not occur when in day care
00:11:44
or with a babysitter.
00:11:46
There is a family
history of other siblings
00:11:49
with the same problem or an
unexplained sibling death.
00:11:54
Suspects have an
emotionally distant
00:11:56
relationship with their spouse.
00:11:59
1/3 are in the medical
field, mostly nurses.
00:12:04
The profile was a remarkable
portrait of Tanya Reid,
00:12:08
including the fact
she was a nurse.
00:12:11
And that's not
really a surprise,
00:12:12
because if you were going
to go to a physician
00:12:15
and make up something
about your child,
00:12:18
if you knew nothing about
medicine whatsoever,
00:12:20
it's going to be harder to make
any kind of a convincing story.
00:12:23
Whereas if you have some sort
of nursing background or health
00:12:26
background of some sort
and you go to a physician,
00:12:29
you might be able to lie about
something more convincingly.
00:12:33
NARRATOR: And investigators were
suspicious because no one other
00:12:38
than Tanya had ever witnessed
either of her children
00:12:41
having a seizure.
00:12:43
I was the one that
was always there.
00:12:46
In the circumstances, yeah, I
think any woman whose husband
00:12:50
works and she is a
home-- stays home
00:12:52
and takes care of the kids,
it's gonna happen that way.
00:12:55
NARRATOR: The Polk
County Juvenile Court
00:12:57
determined that Michael was
at risk living with his mother
00:13:01
and he was turned
over to foster care.
00:13:05
For the next two months,
Michael had no seizures at all.
00:13:11
But prosecutors weren't
sure they could prove felony
00:13:15
child endangerment against Tanya
Thaxton Reid in a court of law.
00:13:24
On August 10, 1988,
Tanya Thaxton Reid
00:13:28
was arrested and
charged with felony
00:13:31
child endangerment in the
case of her son, Michael.
00:13:35
The trial began a
little more than a year
00:13:38
after the hospital
nurse saw the scratches
00:13:41
on little Michael Reid's face.
00:13:45
Munchausen syndrome by proxy is
extremely difficult to prove.
00:13:49
There usually aren't
any witnesses,
00:13:52
and juries have difficulty
understanding a parent's need
00:13:56
for this type of attention.
00:13:58
If we have a problem with a
broken bone and understanding
00:14:01
how that's physical
abuse, imagine
00:14:03
we come in with something called
Munchhausen syndrome by proxy,
00:14:07
which is hard to spell,
and we're not quite
00:14:09
even sure how to pronounce it.
00:14:11
NARRATOR: When the trial
began, prosecutor Melodee Hanes
00:14:14
presented what
she believed to be
00:14:16
a pattern of abuse
which began with Morgan
00:14:21
and continued with Michael.
00:14:23
Hanes argued that Tanya Reid
intentionally suffocated
00:14:27
Michael on 18 separate
occasions before reviving him
00:14:32
and taking him to the hospital.
00:14:35
She also pointed out
that Michael did not
00:14:37
have any breathing problems
or seizures during the time
00:14:41
he had been in foster care.
00:14:44
The defense presented
a report from the court
00:14:46
appointed psychologist
which said that Tanya
00:14:49
was completely normal.
00:14:51
They also argued what
Tanya had claimed
00:14:54
all along, that there
was a genetic cause
00:14:57
of Michael's seizures.
00:14:59
The Texas neurologist
testified that both Michael
00:15:03
and Morgan had
abnormal brains, which
00:15:06
possibly caused the seizures.
00:15:09
Then, on the morning of
March 2, Tanya Thaxton Reid
00:15:14
took the witness stand
in her own defense.
00:15:17
We were so nervous
about what was going on,
00:15:21
and sure enough, she.
00:15:22
Took the witness stand
and you can never
00:15:24
be sure until they do that.
00:15:26
And she got up there
on the witness stand
00:15:28
and she looked very
prim and very proper,
00:15:32
and she sounded like the
very best PTA suburban mom
00:15:36
that you could find.
00:15:38
NARRATOR: Tanya Reid denied
killing her daughter, Morgan.
00:15:42
ATTORNEY: Did you kill him?
00:15:43
No, sir, I definitely did not.
00:15:46
ATTORNEY: Did you
shake her to death?
00:15:48
No, sir.
00:15:49
ATTORNEY: Did you bring
about these seizures?
00:15:52
No, I did not.
00:15:55
NARRATOR: Then, Melodee Hanes
began her cross-examination.
00:15:59
MELODEE HANES: Don't you think
it would be an awfully big
00:16:01
coincidence to know another
child, unrelated to you,
00:16:04
in your care that
had the same problem?
00:16:07
TANYA REID: It-- it would.
00:16:08
I don't know if it's
a coincidence or not.
00:16:12
MELODEE HANES: Has
that happened to you?
00:16:14
TANYA REID: Not that I know of.
00:16:15
MELODEE HANES: You
have never been
00:16:17
in charge of another child
that has had a similar problem
00:16:20
to what your children have had?
00:16:23
TANYA REID: Not that I can
remember right off, no.
00:16:26
When she said no,
I could have kissed
00:16:29
her because it was such a lie.
00:16:33
It was such an egregious lie.
00:16:36
NARRATOR: Hane's staff
had done their homework.
00:16:39
In 1974, when Tanya
was 15 years old,
00:16:43
she was babysitting a child
who had stopped breathing.
00:16:46
Tanya immediately
called paramedics,
00:16:50
saving the child's life.
00:16:52
Tanya became a
local hero and won
00:16:55
the town's Good Neighbor Award.
00:16:58
MELODEE HANES: Mrs.
Reid, would you
00:17:00
tell the court what you
received a good neighbor
00:17:03
award for in 1974?
00:17:07
And I'm handing you
state's exhibits 14 and 15.
00:17:12
TANYA REID: I was
babysitting Scott Simmons,
00:17:15
and the child quit
breathing on me at the time.
00:17:19
Mark Pennington is an
outstanding trial attorney,
00:17:23
but I have never seen a defense
lawyer turn whiter than a sheet
00:17:27
like he did at that very moment.
00:17:30
And I was never
really sure if he
00:17:32
actually did know about that.
00:17:34
NARRATOR: The prosecution
was able to prove
00:17:36
that there had been a lifelong
pattern of abusive behavior.
00:17:41
On April 28, 1989,
Tanya Thaxton Reid
00:17:46
was found guilty of felony
child endangerment in the case
00:17:51
of her son, Michael.
00:17:53
She was sentenced to
10 years in prison.
00:17:57
Not long afterwards,
Tanya Reid was
00:17:59
indicted in Texas for the
murder of her daughter, Morgan.
00:18:04
PAUL HOUSTON:
Somehow, Tanya Reid
00:18:05
had become overly
aggressive with Morgan
00:18:10
and we felt that possibly
what had happened
00:18:14
here was that in an effort to--
00:18:18
to block Morgan's air,
she may have gone too far,
00:18:22
and she could not get the
child to start breathing,
00:18:26
in desperation, frustration,
picked Morgan up and shook her
00:18:30
violently to start
her breathing again,
00:18:34
and that, in turn, caused
the subdural hematoma.
00:18:38
NARRATOR: On December 13, 1993,
the Texas jury found Tanya
00:18:43
Thaxton Reid guilty of murder.
00:18:47
She was sentenced to
62 years in prison.
00:18:50
The verdict was
upheld on appeal.
00:18:53
Despite the convictions,
Tanya Reid continues
00:18:57
to maintain her innocence.
00:18:59
Yes.
00:19:01
Always will.
00:19:02
I'll maintain it forever.
00:19:04
I'm having to do my
time, and I accept that.
00:19:07
I don't have to like it,
but I have to accept it,
00:19:10
which I have.
00:19:12
Most of them
deny, and they deny
00:19:14
even in the face of evidence.
00:19:16
I mean, you could
show videotape,
00:19:18
if you had the
type of Munchausen
00:19:20
by proxy where
there was some act
00:19:23
that you could capture on film.
00:19:25
If you showed it
to them, typically,
00:19:27
they'll continue to deny
that that's going on.
00:19:30
NARRATOR: The Iowa trial
and trials in Texas
00:19:32
broke new ground in child abuse
cases across the United States.
00:19:37
MELODEE HANES: Justice was done.
00:19:39
I felt a sense of
retribution for Morgan.
00:19:42
But there is a poignant
sadness to all of it.
00:19:45
It-- it had destroyed
their entire family and so
00:19:49
many lives.
00:19:51
NARRATOR: Ray and Tanya
Reid are now divorced.
00:19:54
Ray remarried.
00:19:56
Michael and his older
sister, Carolyn,
00:19:58
both lived with their
father and his new wife.
00:20:02
Tanya Reid is eligible
for parole in 2009.
00:20:06
It disturbs me
that she is probably
00:20:09
going to go through life
denying what she did,
00:20:12
even though the court in Iowa
has convicted her of child
00:20:19
abuse, two juries here in--
00:20:21
in Texas have convicted
her murder, and, you know,
00:20:26
her son was taken from her
and never had another episode.
00:20:31
It's a strange syndrome
where someone just will
00:20:36
never admit what they've done.
00:20:39
She was offered a deal where
she could have served maybe
00:20:41
eight or 10 years
if she just admitted
00:20:44
that she had done this, and
she chose not to do that.
00:20:48
And this is the price
that she's paying.
00:20:49
I mean, she will sit there
every day for 50 or 60 years,
00:20:53
or whatever good behavior she
gets, and she will remember it,
00:20:56
and you know that
she knows she did.
00:21:00
She killed her baby.
00:21:03
[music playing]
