Who a Mother with Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy Who May Have Developed into a Serial Killer: A Case Study

Abstract

Factitious disorder imposed on another (FDIA) or Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSBP) is a kind of child abuse. The perpetrator, usually the mother, intentionally causes an illness or psychological symptoms in the child or invents a history of disease. While, in the literature, some FDIA patients have killed more than one child of their own have been reported, no case in which any patient showing FDIA symptoms turned into a serial killer by killing other people's children. In this paper, we presented a case of FDIA in which the patient may have turned into a serial killer. The case who is 27 month-girl was admitted to Gazi Medical Hospital with the complaint of seizure. The mother was diagnosed as the FDIA in this hospital, two months later, it was learned that the mother had killed her neighbour's child and that she confessed her crime after she was captured. Having examined the history retrospectively, it was discovered that there may also have been other unexpected deaths related with the mother. The suspicious death was lack of evaluated beceause of considered as an accidental event or fate by police. We think that cultural dilemmas could be the reason of delayed explaining of the events. The purpose of this case presentation is to increase the common awareness that FDIA patients could be dangerous for the other children as well as their own ones.

"A-13-Year-Old Bangladeshi Girl Presented with Haematochezia: A Case of Munchausen Syndrome"

“…The factitious condition known as Munchausen syndrome primarily manifests as physical signs and symptoms that should prompt hospitalization or doctor visits. Bleeding is a common complaint among Munchausen syndrome patients, and because it is a concerning sign, it frequently necessitates thorough testing and hospitalization [7,8] Keeping up the lie even though there is no obvious benefit or reward, d) The behavior can't be explained by another mental disorder, like a delusional disorder or another psychotic disorder [9]. There were a few case reports in which patients presented with a variety of gastrointestinal symptoms, including anorexia, abdominal pain, hematemesis, and haematochezia [10,11].…”

A kivetített Münchausen-szindróma vizsgálata a szociális szakemberek szempontjából

“…A nő orvosai ezután fogtak gyanút, hogy a korábban említett gyermekek halálához is köze lehet. Az anya esetében a kivetített Münchausen-szindróma diagnózisa is beigazolást nyert, s a nőt végül a gyermekbántalmazás mellett emberölés vádjával életfogytiglani börtönbüntetésre ítélték (Akkoca et al, 2015).…”

“…A résztvevők többsége látott összefüggést a szociális háttér, s legfőképp a családi háttér és a kivetített Münchausen-szindróma kialakulása között. A szakirodalomban említett több esettanulmány is bemutatja ezt a tényezőt, így elmondható, hogy a családon belüli bántalmazó közeg is hozzájárult a gondviselők tetteihez (Akkoca et al, 2015;Sahin et al, 2020).…”