Nobody Should Believe Me

Everyone in Brittany Philips’ life was worried about her daughter, Alyssa. Brittany was always talking about her child’s health issues, and complaining that she couldn’t keep food down—but it didn’t add up with what people were seeing. Still, no one quite knew how to intervene. It didn’t help that Brittany was a bulldozer, bullying anyone who disagreed with her and always causing maximum drama.

Season 2 delves deep into a chilling case that exposes the shocking realities of Munchausen by Proxy and how it can show up. Unlike the charismatic manipulator in Season 1, Hope Ybarra, Brittany didn't need charm; she used force to get what she wanted. She wasn’t fooling anyone, but it still felt like no one could stop her.

***

Follow host Andrea Dunlop on Instagram for behind-the-scenes photos: @andreadunlop

Buy Andrea's books here.

To support the show, go to https://apple.co/nobodyshouldbelieveme to listen on Apple Podcasts and just click ‘Subscribe’ on the top of the show page to listen to exclusive bonus content and access all episodes early and ad-free or go to Patreon.com/NobodyShouldBelieveMe.

For more information and resources on Munchausen by Proxy, please visit MunchausenSupport.com

Download the APSAC's practice guidelines here.

***

Click here to view our sponsors. Remember that using our codes helps advertisers know you’re listening and helps us keep making the show!

***

Note: This episode contains sensitive content related to child abuse. Listener discretion is advised.

***

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Andrea contemplates what the future looks like for survivors of Munchausen by Proxy, she gets an unexpected message from two young women who’ve lived it. After appearing with Marc Feldman on a podcast, Andrea hears from twin-sisters who survived MBP.

Liz and Erica Handt were taken from one terrifying situation to another when the foster mom who adopted them turns out to be abusive, telling the girls they had Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and dragging them from specialist to specialist. The twins' story is harrowing but ultimately hopeful as they're now thriving.

* *

Follow Andrea on Instagram for behind-the-scenes photos: @andreadunlop

Buy Andrea's books here.

To support the show, go to https://apple.co/nobodyshouldbelieveme to listen on Apple Podcasts and just click ‘Subscribe’ on the top of the show page to listen to exclusive bonus content and access all episodes early and ad-free or go to Patreon.com/NobodyShouldBelieveMe.

For more information and resources on Munchausen by Proxy, please visit MunchausenSupport.com

The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s MBP Practice Guidelines can be downloaded here.

For more about the Handt twins: https://lotusesinbloom.com/

Erica’s Instagram: Erica Blake (Handt) (@erica_a_blake) • Instagram photos and videos

Liz’s Instagram: Liz | Mental Health + Healing (@lizhandt) • Instagram photos and videos

***

Click here to view our sponsors. Remember that using our codes helps advertisers know you’re listening and helps us keep making the show!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We gather top experts Bea Yorker, Dr. Mary Sanders, Detective Mike Weber, and MBP survivor Jordyn Hope to discuss the Netflix documentary “Take Care of Maya” and the complicated case it covers.

***

Follow host Andrea Dunlop on Instagram for behind-the-scenes photos: @andreadunlop

Buy Andrea's books here.

To support the show, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or go to Patreon.com/NobodyShouldBelieveMe where you can listen to exclusive bonus content and access all episodes early and ad-free.

For more information and resources on Munchausen by Proxy, please visit MunchausenSupport.com

The full APSAC guidelines for professionals can be accessed here.

***

Click here to view our sponsors. Remember that using our codes helps advertisers know you’re listening and helps us keep making the show!

Note: This episode contains sensitive content related to child abuse. Listener discretion is advised.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Andrea has made an intense connection with Hope Ybarra's family, and asked experts, doctors, and the detective so many of her burning questions about Munchausen by Proxy. But she's become increasingly fixated on talking to Hope herself as she comes to realize that it may be her only chance to get the insights she needs. In this stunning season one finale, Andrea travels to Mountain Home, Idaho, to meet with Hope Ybarra.

In this intense, emotional back-and-forth, we hear straight from Hope what life is like for her after being released from prison. We find out what she's up to and what she hopes for from the future. Hope listens to her own family—all of whom she's estranged from with the exception of Robin—talk about what she was like before everything fell apart. She insists that she still loves her children, despite what she did. We see the human being behind the monstrous acts that splashed Hope's story across headlines and landed her in prison for a decade.

Andrea asks Hope what might have been done to help her and what she might say to her younger self if she could go back. Finally, she tells Hope that if she really wants her family back, she should get treatment and offers to help her if she wants that.

Hope is friendly and warm in person, but Andrea is left with the unsettling truth that she hasn't changed.

* *

Follow Andrea on Instagram for behind-the-scenes photos: @andreadunlop

Buy Andrea's books here.

To support the show, go to https://apple.co/nobodyshouldbelieveme to listen on Apple Podcasts and just click ‘Subscribe’ on the top of the show page to listen to exclusive bonus content and access all episodes early and ad-free or go to Patreon.com/NobodyShouldBelieveMe.

For more information and resources on Munchausen by Proxy, please visit MunchausenSupport.com

***

Click here to view our sponsors. Remember that using our codes helps advertisers know you’re listening and helps us keep making the show!

The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s MBP Practice Guidelines can be downloaded here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Susan Stevenson. Susan Cook. Susan Kendzia. Susan Lee. All of these names belong to the same woman. You’d never know by looking at this charming, gray-haired 62-year-old southern grandmother that she has spent decades leaving a trail of illness, abuse, and death in her wake. Even though the words “Munchausen syndrome by proxy” have hovered over Susan’s head since the mid-1980s like a dark cloud, she has been permitted to continue committing countless alleged atrocities against children and others for over forty years with little to no consequence.

Over the course of this miniseries, I will expose Susan’s alleged misdeeds with the help of those who were fortunate enough to survive her, and I will speak out for those who weren’t.

In today’s episode, I will tell you about two baby boys who were adopted into the Kendzia home nine months apart and who died under similarly suspicious circumstances, also nine months apart.

This is Part 1: Michael and Kevin.

Photos related to today's episode can be viewed on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sufferthelittlechildrenpod

You can also follow the podcast on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sufferthelittlechildrenpod Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/sufferthelittlechildrenpodcast Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/STLCpodTumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/sufferthelittlechildrenpodPinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/sufferthelittlechildrenpodTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@STLCpod

My Linktree is available here: https://linktr.ee/stlcpod

Visit the podcast's web page at https://www.sufferthelittlechildrenpod.com.

Please help make the show my full-time gig to keep the weekly episodes coming! By supporting me on Patreon, you'll also access rewards, including a shout-out by name on the podcast and exclusive gifts. Pledges of $5 or more per month access ad-free versions of my regular Wednesday episodes. Pledges of $10 or more per month access a small but growing collection of Patreon-exclusive bonus minisodes! Visit www.patreon.com/STLCpod. (www.patreon.com/STLCpod)

You can also support the show at Ko-fi.com/STLCpod.

This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited, and produced by Laine.

For more stories like this one, visit https://sufferthelittlechildrenblog.com.

Music for this episode is from https://audiojungle.net.

Subscribe to Suffer the Little Children:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/suffer-the-little-children/id1499010711Google Podcasts: https://playmusic.app.goo.gl/?ibi=com.google.PlayMusic&isi=691797987&ius=googleplaymusic&apn=com.google.android.music&link=https://play.google.com/music/m/I5mx3lacxpdkhssmk2n22csf32u?t%3DSuffer_the_Little_Children%26pcampaignid%3DMKT-na-all-co-pr-mu-pod-16Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/suffer-the-little-childrenSpreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/show/suffer-the-little-children Pandora: https://www.pandora.com/podcast/suffer-the-little-children/PC:61848?part=PC:61848&corr=podcast_organic_external_site&TID=Brand:POC:PC61848:podcast_organic_external_siteSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0w98Tpd3710BZ0u036T1KEiHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/77891101/ ...or on your favorite podcast listening platform.

Click here to view our sponsors. Remember that using our codes helps advertisers kno...