Wendi Scott
Encyclopedia
Wendi Scott is a Frederick, Maryland
mother of two who was charged on November 16, 2007 with sickening her four-year-old daughter in a notable case of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy
.
Scott was charged with first- and second-degree child abuse
, first- and second-degree assault
and reckless endangerment. She was ordered to be held in jail on $75,000 bail. Frederick County
Assistant State's Attorney Lindell K. Angel had urged Circuit Court Judge G. Edward Dwyer to set Scott's bail at $250,000, calling her a danger to herself and others. Defense attorney Mary Drawbaugh had asked for a lower bail, stating that Scott turned herself in and kept her weekly psychiatric appointments.
for about a year between 2002 and 2003 by shaving her head and eyebrows and plucking her eyelashes. She moved about using a wheelchair or walker most of the time, convincing her husband, pastor, and friends that she was seriously ill. While it is unclear if there was a definitive past diagnosis, Angel characterized Scott in the November 16, 2007 hearing as having "a history of Munchausen Syndrome
."
and withdrew blood to make her appear sickly and caused her daughter to suffer from severe diarrhea, blood loss, vomiting, high fever and a rapid heart rate. During this time, her daughter was being treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center
, but doctors there had been unable to find a cause for her symptoms. During three years of inpatient and outpatient treatments at Walter Reed, 72 procedures had been performed on the child, including blood transfusions and bone marrow
tests because of suspicions of leukemia
. Doctors admitted, that, if not for that suspicion, none of the procedures likely would have been required.
In Scott's May, 2008 sentencing trial, Dr. Arthur deLorimier, a lieutenant colonel at Walter Reed, testified that the girl faces increased risks of cancer from repeated radiological tests, is developmentally delayed, and is in danger of future emotional problems.
documenting the travails of parenting a seriously ill child, Angel said. "The doctors are at a loss," Angel said, reading from the journal. "But we will continue to go on, and through friends, the hospital and everyone's prayers, we'll get through this."
on March 13, 2008. In the hearing, Scott's defense attorney acknowledged her client intentionally harmed her child during the six-week period from May 1 to June 12, 2007, and conceded that the state could prove Scott committed the most serious of those acts during this time period.
Judge Dwyer, again presiding, accepted Scott's plea and convicted her of abuse from May 1 to June 12, 2007. As part of the plea agreement, fourteen other charges against Scott were dropped, including allegations of assault and reckless endangerment. While awaiting her punishment, Dwyer ordered Scott to remain on home detention and prohibited Scott from having contact with her children or entering Fort Detrick.
In a six-hour sentencing hearing on May 8, 2008, Drawbaugh urged Dwyer to confine Scott to her home, allowing her to continue intensive psychotherapy to deal with severe mental illnesses. However, after hearing prosecution testimony as well, Judge Dwyer ordered Scott to serve 15 years of a 25-year sentence for the actions to which she had pleaded guilty.
Frederick, Maryland
Frederick is a city in north-central Maryland. It is the county seat of Frederick County, the largest county by area in the state of Maryland. Frederick is an outlying community of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater...
mother of two who was charged on November 16, 2007 with sickening her four-year-old daughter in a notable case of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy
Munchausen syndrome by proxy
Münchausen syndrome by proxy is a label for a pattern of behavior in which care-givers deliberately exaggerate, fabricate, and/or induce physical, psychological, behavioral, and/or mental health problems in others. Other experts classified MSbP as a mental illness...
.
Scott was charged with first- and second-degree child abuse
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
, first- and second-degree assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
and reckless endangerment. She was ordered to be held in jail on $75,000 bail. Frederick County
Frederick County, Maryland
Frederick County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland, bordering the southern border of Pennsylvania and the northeastern border of Virginia. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 233,385....
Assistant State's Attorney Lindell K. Angel had urged Circuit Court Judge G. Edward Dwyer to set Scott's bail at $250,000, calling her a danger to herself and others. Defense attorney Mary Drawbaugh had asked for a lower bail, stating that Scott turned herself in and kept her weekly psychiatric appointments.
Munchausen Syndrome evidenced by Scott in the past
According to court statements, Scott had previously feigned cancerCancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
for about a year between 2002 and 2003 by shaving her head and eyebrows and plucking her eyelashes. She moved about using a wheelchair or walker most of the time, convincing her husband, pastor, and friends that she was seriously ill. While it is unclear if there was a definitive past diagnosis, Angel characterized Scott in the November 16, 2007 hearing as having "a history of Munchausen Syndrome
Munchausen syndrome
Münchausen syndrome is a psychiatric factitious disorder wherein those affected feign disease, illness, or psychological trauma to draw attention or sympathy to themselves. It is also sometimes known as hospital addiction syndrome or hospital hopper syndrome...
."
Daughter's illness and investigation
In the hearing, Angel described how Scott intravenously fed her daughter magnesiumMagnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
and withdrew blood to make her appear sickly and caused her daughter to suffer from severe diarrhea, blood loss, vomiting, high fever and a rapid heart rate. During this time, her daughter was being treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Walter Reed Army Medical Center
The Walter Reed Army Medical Center was the United States Army's flagship medical center until 2011. Located on 113 acres in Washington, D.C., it served more than 150,000 active and retired personnel from all branches of the military...
, but doctors there had been unable to find a cause for her symptoms. During three years of inpatient and outpatient treatments at Walter Reed, 72 procedures had been performed on the child, including blood transfusions and bone marrow
Bone marrow
Bone marrow is the flexible tissue found in the interior of bones. In humans, bone marrow in large bones produces new blood cells. On average, bone marrow constitutes 4% of the total body mass of humans; in adults weighing 65 kg , bone marrow accounts for approximately 2.6 kg...
tests because of suspicions of leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
. Doctors admitted, that, if not for that suspicion, none of the procedures likely would have been required.
In Scott's May, 2008 sentencing trial, Dr. Arthur deLorimier, a lieutenant colonel at Walter Reed, testified that the girl faces increased risks of cancer from repeated radiological tests, is developmentally delayed, and is in danger of future emotional problems.
Online journal
While the child was at Walter Reed, Scott had been posting an online diaryOnline diary
An online diary is a personal diary or journal that is published on the World Wide Web on a personal website or a diary-hosting website.-Overview:...
documenting the travails of parenting a seriously ill child, Angel said. "The doctors are at a loss," Angel said, reading from the journal. "But we will continue to go on, and through friends, the hospital and everyone's prayers, we'll get through this."
Trial and sentence
Scott entered a guilty plea to first-degree child abuseChild abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
on March 13, 2008. In the hearing, Scott's defense attorney acknowledged her client intentionally harmed her child during the six-week period from May 1 to June 12, 2007, and conceded that the state could prove Scott committed the most serious of those acts during this time period.
Judge Dwyer, again presiding, accepted Scott's plea and convicted her of abuse from May 1 to June 12, 2007. As part of the plea agreement, fourteen other charges against Scott were dropped, including allegations of assault and reckless endangerment. While awaiting her punishment, Dwyer ordered Scott to remain on home detention and prohibited Scott from having contact with her children or entering Fort Detrick.
In a six-hour sentencing hearing on May 8, 2008, Drawbaugh urged Dwyer to confine Scott to her home, allowing her to continue intensive psychotherapy to deal with severe mental illnesses. However, after hearing prosecution testimony as well, Judge Dwyer ordered Scott to serve 15 years of a 25-year sentence for the actions to which she had pleaded guilty.