*** PUBLIC EDUCATION CAMPAIGN / MUNCHAUSEN BY PROXY / Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another ***
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Dear Extended Family,
You are receiving this email because you are or were in the immediate or near-immediate circle of our sister, Leigh Christy Brown, who died unnaturally on January 8 of this year.
Please read on to understand the intent and purpose of this message from our family.
Christy Brown died as a result of prolonged parental medical abuse initiated and perpetuated by Lorayne Brown-Shaw. Lorayne has an undiagnosed sociopathic and narcissistic personality disorder co-morbid with Munchausen and Munchausen by Proxy. She is highly dangerous and extremely adept at deceit, misinformation, and manipulation, having caused persistent and grave harm to our niece and fatal harm to our sister, so far undetected by most family, medical personnel, law enforcement, and child advocates.
I understand this may come as a shock to some of you. Many of you are already aware and being as supportive as you can. For that, you have our deepest gratitude.
Although there have been prosecutions in Texas - particularly in Tarrant County where awareness is higher - our chances of successful prosecution of Lorayne and protection and rehabilitation of Christy's daughter Cassie are next to none. We have already spent years of heartache, energy, time, and resources, to no avail. Therefore, there are only four avenues remaining to us at this stage:
Finding solace in each other and in communities of sibling victims
Seeking to shine light on the truth
Contributing to the growing body of research on this form of child abuse, which is the most complex and lethal form of maltreatment
Keeping eyes on Lorayne.
Perpetrators of medical abuse, like any other perpetrator, do not want to go to jail. There is data to suggest that incidences of attention-seeking self-harm and abuse to the victims decrease if the perpetrator believes that people are aware. This includes family members, medical personnel, hospitals and clinics in the area of activity, doctors, child and adult protective services, law enforcement, and pharmacists. That is why we are sending this message.
There is no action you need to take. We are following the guidance provided to us by two internationally-recognized experts:
Dr. Beatrice Yorker, Lawyer, Nurse Criminologist, and leader of the Munchausen by Proxy Task Force
Michael Weber, law enforcement veteran and national expert in the investigation of medical child abuse
Detective Michael Lee, Major Crimes Detective, Educator and Expert Witness
You are absolutely welcome to contact me privately to share your observations, questions, shock, and to process any difficult emotions. I cannot, however, entertain or respond to personal attack, daughter-and-son shaming, or victim-blaming of Christy. Having seen this type of abuse up-close and intimately for decades, we are not in query mode about Lorayne’s activity, nor are we aiming to villainize a person who is clearly very sick but cannot be rehabilitated and remains dangerous. We are activating one part of a broader strategy to prevent and deter further abuse to a vulnerable adult-child still in the home: Christy’s daughter, Cassie.
If you're interested in further resources about this horrific, bewildering, unfathomable type of abuse, these are the APSAC Guidelines on Munchausen by Proxy and this is the APSAC Advisor Focus Issue on MBP. Both have a wealth of resources. Below is a table showing the ways in which illness is fabricated, falsified and induced.
This is for our beautiful sister, Christy, and for her daughter, Cassie Brown.
Sunni Brown and Family