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Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy: Broadening The Scope Of Child Abuse, Michael T. Flannery

University of Richmond Law Review

In July 1989, five-month-old Ryan Stallings spent two weeks in a hospital after suffering abdominal pains. Ryan was subsequently placed in a foster home when police suspected that he ingested antifreeze while in the care of his mother, twenty-four-year-old Patricia Stallings. Police became suspicious of Patricia because Ryan could not walk and thus was unlikely to ingest antifreeze accidentally. Patricia was allowed to visit Ryan once every week while he remained in foster care under the supervision of the Missouri Division of Family Services. Shortly after her visit on August 31, 1989, Ryan was readmitted to the hospital with symptoms …