Mike Weber

This presentation examines the proper investigative procedures for law enforcement and Child Services when investigating a case of Munchausen by Proxy. The Hope Ybarra investigation, one of Weber's earliest Munchausen by Proxy investigations, is used to illustrate both proper and improper investigative techniques for both law enforcement an Child Services. Hope Ybarra presented her daughter as ill for all 6 years of her young life. Hope falsified medical history in order to obtain a gastric feeding tube placement. Hope didn't stop there. Weber will take you down the winding evidentiary road that led to the discovery that Ybarra had faked cystic fibrosis in the victim, introduced pathogens she obtained from work into the victim, and used an unneeded central line to remove the victim's blood in order to present the victim as anemic. You will see parts of Weber's interview of Hope, which led to admissions. You will here from Hope in a prison interview after the conviction.

Mike Weber will examine the proper investigative procedures for law enforcement and Child Services when investigating a case of Munchausen by Proxy. Weber will use the case of Elisabeth Hunnicutt as a training tool. Hunnicutt, a military wife of 2 boys who starved the youngest until and feeding tube was placed and then used the powerful sedative clonidine to drug the youngest and then use those symptoms to present the youngest as having hydrocephalus, causing a intracranial pressure monitor to be needlessly placed inside the victim's skull. We will discuss the father's journey, which included pushing police for 6 months before a offense report was finally generated and having to spend $80,000 in family court, even after Elisabeth had been arrested and charged in two states for child abuse.

This presentation is designed for school teachers, school nurses, in home health care, day care employees, church staff, nannies, and any other professionals who may care for children, if even for a couple of hours at a time. Weber will explain what this form of abuse is and will then go through numerous red flags for recognizing this abuse. It is important to remember that a red flag is just that and nothing more. A full review of medical records by a medical professional and a competent law enforcement investigation are needed to confirm this abuse, but this presentation will let these professionals know when to consider this abuse and when to alert authorities.

Ellen Rupp-Jones was a Registered nurse in East Texas, a former military flight nurse that served in Iraq, a diabetic, and mother to a 7 year old with MODY Diabetes. Her former fiance had been killed while on active duty in Iraq. Ellen went on local news to solicit donations for an alert dog that could tell when her daughter's sugar levels were low. The daughter had documented hypoglycemia that was trated at several hospitals in the North and East Texas area. A fateful conversation with the endocrinologist at Cook Children's Hospital raised suspicions wth the doctor, who check and found the child had never actually received a diagnosis of MODY diabetes. Come with us as we unravel the multiple lies that Ellen RUpp-Jones perpetrated on family members, medical professionals, and media members in order to abuse her daughter.