So you think you've seen everything... /Runaway Balloon

[The Judge]

I couldn't get the news report you quoted, Ursa, and I've no knowledge of the case myself, but I do know that this kind of behaviour can be the main symptom of, and caused by, a mental illness - formerly known as Munchausen Disease by Proxy. People afflicted with it are effectively drawn to 'create' ill-health, usually in their children, because of their need for attention. Even though the judge is talking jail in this case, I still wouldn't rule out the mother having a mental illness of some kind - it would be interesting to know exactly what reports have been ordered by the court.

As for the balloon case, I personally wouldn't spend a great deal of time trying to parse a potentially nervous 6 year old's conversation, and I certainly wouldn't rush to judgement about his parents absent any corroborating evidence of wrongdoing.

J

[Ursa major]

It seems to have disappeared from the BBC website, J. But I think it was more a case of greed. A figure of £20,000 was mentioned, but I can't be sure what this related to or whether it was annual or cumulative.


EDIT: I found a copy of the BBC report on news Sniffer (whatever that is), which had the phrase:

Police said she was claiming up to £20,000 a year in disability living allowances and a Motability car.

[The Judge]

That definitely puts a different complexion on it, Ursa. It might also relate to the attempting to pervert the course of justice conviction mentioned, if she was, say, suing the hospital for alleged negligence or something of that kind based on her lies about the child's health. Did the report mention what had happened to the child? I hope he's with a responsible member of the family now, and not placed in care.

J

[Ursa major]

I think the child is with foster parents.

[Karn Maeshalanadae]

I honestly don't know what the hell ANYONE in the family was thinking, really. I've always had an interest in psychology, and even took a class on Human Behavior-which I realize is not a degree, but still-and these peoples' actions have baffled the hell out of me.


"Let's throw our baby in front of a bus to get on the news!" is the sort of scenario that comes to mind with people like this. It's terribly, terribly disgusting.

[dustinzgirl]

Well that case just sounds like outright greed to me, while Munchhausen by Proxy is more about getting emotional gratification although in a backwards way. Munchhausen is more relative to poisoning your child to get attention from family, friends, doctors.

[Vladd67]

Mother pretended son was diabled for six years to claim £130,000 benefits - Telegraph
130000 pounds (212 511 Dollars) sounds like greed to me.

[Karn Maeshalanadae]

Almost a quarter million U.S. dollars. *Nods slowly*

What the hell is wrong with these people?!! Jesus Christ, can nobody learn how to properly raise a family and not exploit them in any way anymore?


People like this should be beaten, shot, stabbed, hung, drowned, gassed, and made to listen to Michael Bolton music in the Grand Canyon at full volume.

[Teresa Edgerton]

Much closer to $200,000 than $250,000, however, and over six-and-a-half years. I don't think the money could have been her only motivation.

Originally Posted by Vladd67

130000 pounds (212 511 Dollars) sounds like greed to me.

She could have started doing it for the attention, though, and found out that the money was a welcome extra.

I mean, she seems to have worked so hard at making her child ill and keeping up the pretense, she might have managed to come by that much money honestly over that period of the time with about the same amount of effort and ingenuity.

I'm guessing she enjoyed having a sick child and gaining sympathy and admiration for taking care of him. There are easier ways to con the government, that don't involve (what amounts to) torturing your own child. So I think she must have found the situation quite gratifying apart from the money.

Which sounds like The Judge is right, and the mother probably is mentally ill. In which case, MSBP could be the answer. Or, she enjoyed tricking everyone, and is a sociopath willing to abuse her own child.

Now that she's no longer in a position to harm her children, I think the next question might be how she managed to fool the medical establishment that long and that dramatically. I mean, the article explains how, but I want to know why she was able to do it. Doctors know that these things happen, and should be able to recognize some of the warning signs.

It seems to me that as evil or as sick as she might be, the doctors and administrators were not paying close enough attention to what was happening. This looks to me like one of those situations where there is plenty of blame to pass around.

[Vladd67]

'Balloon boy' family to be questioned by police over 'hoax' - Telegraph
Chickens....Home...Roost?

[Grimward]

Originally Posted by Teresa Edgerton

My husband builds crossbows and arrows (actually, for the crossbow, they're called bolts), too! He mostly only shoots at regular targets these days, but every so often somebody paints an orc for one of the competitions, and I once made a giant spider. (My sister called up the night I was working on it. My mother asked her to ask me what I was doing. "Stuffing a spider."

*Goes to Ace's Tower and leaves cannister of lightly baked potato product for eight-legged occupant, the true (if unintended) victim here.*

No wonder she took a trip....

Regarding the actual story, one can only shake their head....I've been doing that for 3 days now.

[Karn Maeshalanadae]

Yeah, that's about all I have left as well, Grim. Hoax has been called, brought to light, the little brat was discovered safe at home the entire time, and the only thing a person can do about it now is shake their heads and sigh about it.

Costs for the search had reached over a million U.S. dollars and the little brat was safe in his attic. *Shakes head* Disgusting.....

[dustinzgirl]

I wouldn't say it was his fault, really.

[Ursa major]

And it seems the authorities have a different set of "culprits" in mind:

A sheriff in the US state of Colorado says the parents of a boy mistakenly believed to have been carried away by a helium balloon will face charges.

Sheriff Jim Alderden was speaking after interviewing the parents of Falcon Heene, aged six, for a second time.

"We were looking at Class 3 misdemeanour, which hardly seems serious enough given the circumstances," Sheriff Alderden said.

A search warrant is being obtained for the couple's home in Fort Collins, and Sheriff Alderden raised the possibility of federal charges, saying that he was talking to the Federal Aviation Administration

BBC NEWS | Americas | US balloon parents 'face charges'

[Sparrow]

Sometimes when things appear obvious, they aren't, and other times like with "Balloon Boy", it seemed like a hoax from the beginning and it turns out it was.


I would hope social services removes those three brats from the house until their parents get a court ordered mental evaluation. It looks like if they're convicted it could mean jail time and one hell of a fine.
I guess they found out the hard way that reality tv has a downside.