Mother's Trial, A

by Nancy Wright

Describes the ordeal of a woman diagnosed with Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, a disorder that compels mothers to make their children ill, and put on trial for the death of her adopted baby daughter. Reprint.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Mystery, Mental Illness, Drama, Ebooks

Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 1984

Reviews

[Valerity (Val) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't my favorite style of book, one about a crime that's fictionalized, but the story is worth a read. I much prefer True Crime. At any rate, this couple adopts a little girl from Korea and the baby falls ill. She takes the baby to the hospital, but the little girl Tia keeps getting sick, and eventually dies. Within a month, she applies for and is allowed to adopt another baby from the same area which is named Mindy. A few months go by and Mindy falls ill also. When the pattern begins again, Mindy is removed from the family's care, and an investigation is begun into Tia's death.

[Karen Monahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this story was fascinating, but the writing not so much. It did read more like fiction because of the dialogue. However, the medical terminology definitely read like non-fiction. At times, I felt like I was reading a text book and my mind wandered.

Another thing that I found infuriating was at the end of a paragraph or chapter, there would be a cliff hanger, something like "he would receive a phone call that afternoon that would change the whole course of the case!". Then you would NEVER find out what it was! This happened at least a couple times and I found myself going back and rereading because I thought I'd missed something.

All in all, I'm not sorry I read the book. It was interesting and I find myself wondering where they all are now.

If you can get through the medical terms and the cliff hanger that's not really a cliff hanger stuff doesn't bother you, I recommend it!

[♥ Marlene♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it but I do not agree that the author was neutral as some people stated. She seems to know all the conversations that took place between Priscilla and her husband. Well her only source of those talks are those 2. At first while reading I thought this was a fictional book cause of the way it was written. All the talks between man and wife for instance.

I have read a lot of books about Münchhausen by proxy syndrome and Priscilla fits very well into the mold of women who "suffer" from that.

In the book they said there was only 1 case like hers but nowadays we know many women act like her. Are constantly in the hospital, have a lot of control, want a lot of control and a huge need for attention.

Also it was obvious that the child stopped being as sick as she was once Priscilla was out of the picture. That is proof enough for me.
Mindy was able to go to school, well when she was with Priscilla she send nearly her whole life in hospital so I do not understand why people think she is innocent.
No that's not true. I do understand because it is of the way this book was written.
I did enjoy the read though.

[Lynda Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The mother of the title was a nutcase. She had that Munchausen's By Proxy we hear a lot more of these days than they did back in the late 70's when she was trying to kill her adopted kids. You have to wonder why someone would adopt children only to put them through so much. I really felt for poor little Tia. She died a long, painful and lingering death all so her her mother could have heaps of attention showered upon by hospital personnel then the local church and community. Just outrageous. THEN her husband Steve suggests they adopt again....idiot.
She even managed to elicit sympathy and a great deal of additional privilege while she was going through the judicial process.My jaw would hit the floor at how this monster seemed to manage to elicit sympathy from all around her.
I was staggered that the judge in her preliminary hearing stated that "I don't think there has been proved a conscious disregard for life in this matter" !! I don't know how much more disregard she needed to exhibit !
I did get bogged down with all the medical portions of this book and again with the court appearances' portion. I have to wonder how any jury managed to keep up with all the medical jargon and the differing times her kids attended hospital and the medicines they were prescribed, etc.
I felt for the daughter that lived as it seems she ended up with another parent who sounded a little unhinged herself.
The author clearly had a total disregard for the use of apostrophes as there were lots missing. However, this book was certainly well researched. I tried to look up for an update online on this family but I couldn't find anything so it's a shame in her 2012 version she didn't add an extra update chapter to the events of the 70's and 80's.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of those books you cannot put down but hate it at the same time. It is almost inconceivable to me that it is a true story! How horrific for those two babies. What a painful, lingering, sad life for Tia who just needed to be loved. Women with this disease are attention seeking, glory hunting, sad human beings. I hope each one is found out and receives no support from community or friends.

I found the writing to be very wordy and simple at times. The story line was gripping and it was a page turner. Glad I read it but it leaves me feeling very uneasy.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

munchausen by proxy. Totally weird. Sad. Wonder what ever happened to the family

[Jane Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

True crime story about Manchusen syndrome by proxy. Well written at first, but bogged down in middle.

[Carla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting, but dragged at the end, and never discussed what happened later.

[Heather McCoubrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book in 3 nights. The book is well-written and well-researched. I liked the fact that the author wrote the book as a fictional story, even though it was a true story. At times I felt a bit lost on the medical jargon, and found myself re-reading sections to better understand them.

I disliked quite a bit from this story: this book was originally written in 1984, and was updated in 2012 for the Kindle. What would be nice is if the author had included some photos and also an updated status on the main characters of the story.

Second, and this is no fault of the author, the prosecution had absolutely zero proof that Mrs. Phillips was guilty. At no time during my reading of this book did I think that the mother was guilty. I've read so many reviews of this book and a good 80% of people say they think she's guilty and that the prosecution had ample proof of this. Where? I surely didn't find one scrap of evidence to suggest she was guilty. No where does the author tell you how Mrs. Phillips got the salt into the formula. I kept thinking that by the end of the book we would find that Mrs. Phillips had been framed, or even exonerated because of the formula manufacturer's issue.

Third, I felt the DA and the cop focused too intently on Mrs. Phillips and never thought to find a second or third opinion of how the salt entered the formula. I don't know if the author painted it that way, or if that was the way it really happened, but it really bothered me.

Fourth, when the expert witnesses detail all the reasons how Mrs. Phillips and MBP are similar - was I the only one who felt they didn't match up? Where was the testimony that said Mrs. Phillips was ignored as a child? In fact, the author mentioned several times how Mrs. Phillips' mother came to help with the boys during the girl's hospitalizations and during the trial. That doesn't sound like a parent who had no feelings for her child. And where were the instances of Mrs. Phillips being the forefront of life? In my opinion, Mrs. Phillips seemed to be quite a woman of God. She volunteered her time, energy and passion to several causes inside and outside of church. And during the beginning of the book, when the author was detailing Tia's hospital stay, she never made it sound like Mrs. Phillips was trying to become the center of attention. In fact, I thought she sounded like a mother who was concerned for her daughter and intent on getting the best possible care for her. If any mother had spent as much time as Mrs. Phillips in a hospital, dealing and learning every day about her child's illness, surely they would be just as well-versed as Mrs. Phillips. And really, was it too much to think that a mother would have her moments of breakdown? Of not remembering? I mean, come on. We're talking about years of this. Surely no one is perfect.

This book definitely held my attention, but more because I'd hoped that Mrs. Phillips would be found not guilty or acquitted or exonerated. When I got to the end and read how it ended, I was very disappointed. I like true crime stories as much as the next person, but I felt this one definitely could have been better and updated.

I did appreciate the fact that the author didn't go into this story with a bias toward the prosecution, but at the same time, I think she could have presented it better and included more "proof".

[Kaitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finish time: 6 nights. I debated over downloading this book for awhile. The subject matter is tough and I will admit the first few nights, I lost a lot of sleep over it. Once you get past the “fact-finding” it was easier to sleep, but still a very tough subject for all, especially mothers of young kids.

I’m not sure what it was that led me to this book, after a week off from reading. I guess I thought I would dive into something of a different subject matter than I am used to (as I’m making some other changes in my life too!) I do enjoy a book filled with suspense, and this had plenty, but something about it being a true story never sat well with me. The book goes through the life of Priscilla and Steve Phillips and the journey of their two adopted Korean baby girls. Their first, Tia, was in and out of the hospital and eventually died, the doctors and hospitals never coming to a firm conclusion of COD. Shortly after (9 months) they adopted Mindy who subsequently started exhibiting similar symptoms and was too, in and out of the hospital. After awhile, suspicions rose and Mindy was removed from the Phillips, and Priscilla was charged with the death of Tia and endangerment of Mindy.

The book is INCREDIBLY detailed. I had read that in other reviews and concur. It’s not a bad thing, just makes for a long book. And I think what is still not sitting well with me is that you, the reader, must come to your own conclusion. The book is detailed of facts, conversations, and others opinions. There is plenty of courtroom testimony, facts presented, speculation, and the final verdict and sentencing, yet what really happened is for you to decide. I’m an accountant, I like firm answers and black and white, so I turned to Google for some additional research and came up empty. Because of my background and experts not being able to come up with any explanation for the girls constant illnesses, in my heart I believe she is guilty, but still found myself wavering at different points of the book. The book really does a great job of presenting all sides and I did not find leaning one way or the other.

I did find out that the original book was written in 1984, this was just a re-release. At that time the syndrome that many diagnosed Priscilla with (but was never actually given the label of) - Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy – was very new and not much research was published. As I just learned – Munchausen causes a person, in this case the mother, to make her children ill in order to receive attention of others. I would have loved to hear a more recent evaluation by a mental health expert as I’m sure there has been many more cases (sadly) and research over the last 20 years. And maybe another update on the family would have been nice, as the book just ended at the present time (1984).

Well written, tough subject matter, so if you can handle it, it is very interesting and sparks thoughts and conversations you never may have had.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

As many of my friends and family know, I love, love, love psychology. The ins and outs of various psychiatric disorders have always fascinated me. I'm not exactly sure when I was first introduced to Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, but it had to be in my college Psychology classes.

I downloaded this book to my Kindle app I don't know how long ago, but in looking through my list of books to read on there, I came across this one again and figured I'd start it. I didn't realize I'd be drawn in and basically obsessed with finding out what happened next. I thought it would be more dry and harder to get through, more like a biography, but what it turned out to be was SO much more than I bargained for.

Patricia Phillips, mother of 2, in the 1970s adopted a baby Korean girl that they named Tia. Over the course of her short life, Tia spent many, many months in and out of the hospital with severe, unexplained diarrhea and dehydration. When she eventually died, her parents decided immediately to adopt another baby girl. They got Mindy almost exactly 9 months to the day of Tia's death and her first hospitalization was on the anniversary of Tia's death. As doctors treated Mindy for similar symptoms to those of her sister (who was not biologically related), suspicions began to arise. Eventually, Mindy was taken from the custody of her adoptive family when it was discovered that someone was adding high amounts of sodium (some form of salt product, baking soda, etc.) to the baby's formula. Patricia was a very hands-on, demanding, capable mother, often mixing the formula for the baby even at the hospital.

When everything started to come together and the whole picture was looked at from Tia to Mindy, accusations of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy came to the forefront. Patricia was tried for the murder of Tia and for endangering Mindy.

This book was a compelling read, if you go for that sort of thing. My husband couldn't believe I'd keep reading it, telling me I was sick to enjoy it so much. I found it absolutely fascinating, even down to the medical details and trial details that a lot of other readers have complained about. This is definitely a book I'd recommend to friends interested in this type of genre. Absolutely amazing. Now, to go find out where the cast of characters are now!

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

When stories break, I often find it impossible to judge a person's guilt or innocence in the purported crime. I for one would not want to be on a jury that wrongly finds a defendant guilty.

In A Mother's Trial there seems to be damning evidence against Priscilla the adoptive mother of two young girls. Only then did people come forward with their own tales of "I always wondered about her" adding yet another strike against her character. Because a person is different is not indicative of a crime.

I'm not a big fan of books with a lot of legal process. Some of it in this book was understandable while other parts were not. It seemed as though parts of the book were written for an audience with a working knowledge of medical terminology. I appreciated the parts that were explained a bit and also glad for no overabundance of detail. I am however familiar with some medical terms; that helped.

Decent read; kept my interest throughout.

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

True Crime: Priscilla is accused of murdering her first adopted child (approx 18 mo) with sodium overdose, and attempted murder of her 2nd adopted child (also approx 18 mo - sodium overdose). She has two boys of her own.

An "upstanding" citizen in the community, she tends to be bossy and overly assertive, but very community minded.

When the 2nd child became desperately sick, one of the Dr's had a hunch. The child was put in ICU and separated from mom. The child got well. AFter this the child was pulled from the home and the mother was arrested.

As one commentator said, by the end of the story you weren't sure if she was guilty or not. She always claimed not guilty, spent time in jail, but there was never any proving evidence as to how she got the sodium in the girls' formulas.

[Samantha · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just did not really care for this book. There were a great deal of typos and a lot unnecessary peripheral information such as the marital life of the investigating cop, and how the mother was treated in jail. I'm not sure what this book was trying to say. It seems that the book was attempting to establish a way for the reader to be torn on whether this mother was guilty or not, which was to either be on the side of science, reason and facts OR to feel sympathy for the "caring" mother and her family. In this sort of set up I could not muster one iota of sympathy for a nutter who tortures children for attention (or any reason)no matter how many times she cries. Ugh.

[Billie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story about the possible poisoning of children by their mother and the subsequent trial, etc., Munchausen by Proxy.

I could've done with about half the details on the trial itself...it drug out too long and was too full of details that added nothing to the story.

I also would've appreciated more of an epilogue...or perhaps an update to the book. I'd have like to know more of "what happened after...". Decent read.

[Jeanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a compelling story about a mother who may have been poisoning her adoptive children. However, the author tells the story, then retells it through court transcripts and by the end, I just wanted it to be over. The trial portion of the book was dry and too long.

[Rhamel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow. I can't believe people would do such things. This book is full of medical/legal lingo that sometimes can get a little dull but the story behind it was interesting. I still don't know what to believe though after finishing it.

[Fishface · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this many times. I hope this is a rare case. The story of a social worker, in fact a Children's Protective Services worker, convicted of murdering one of her own children.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Difficult read based on topic. I happened to be in the hospital with Tia during my illness in 1976. Kaiser San Francisco Pediatric's was usually for Kaiser Pediatric Patients who were too ill or needed specialized care that their local Kaiser Facility was not equipped to handle. I had a very unusual autoimmune case that was destroying my kidneys that required 3 long stays at Kaiser SF in 1976. During that year Tia and I spent a lot of days together on the pediatric unit in Kaiser San Francisco. We were across the hall from each other. There was a comradery among the parents who would talk to each other and give each other hope and encouragement. Doctors tried desperately to diagnose and find the proper treatments for the pediatric patients. Cancers, drug overdoses, strange diseases that didn't have a typical treatment. I watch my roommate with severe asthma almost suffocate to death when they worked with her for hours trying to get her through a few terrible asthma attacks. Kids in body casts from shoulders to thighs. These were not your average pediatric patients having tonsillectomies, ear tubes inserted or a minor injury that may require surgery.
There were so many memories that were triggered while reading the book. Since the book was true with only a couple of name changes I recognized some of the doctors and nurses. I remember specific details of procedures and setbacks that Tia experienced. I remember her main line being pulled, her numerous lines and iv's. I remember stopping to say hello and smiling and waving through the window of Tia's room or saying hi to Tia and her mom at Tias door. I remember on good days Priscilla would carry her around while pushing an iv pole to say hi to the fellow patients. Because Tia was such a ray of sunshine she was easy to remember.
The book itself can be slow in parts but this has a lot to do with the subject and the nature of the story. I thought the author went into great detail explaining the test results and progress of Tia's disease, keeping in mind the era this took place doctors didn't have computers on every desk which could allow them to research illnesses in a matter of minutes with a few swipes on a key board. They discussed with their fellow collages and called other specialist at other big hospitals. They looked at medical books. Munchausen by Proxy which Priscilla was thought to suffer from was only being recently discussed. Child Abuse in the form of exterior bruises or breaks were more common. For anyone to think an intelligent well educated mom would do something so heinous to their child obviously didn't come up on their radar. The Doctors tried hard to find the physical issues that was causing Tia and Mindy's illness. They were trying to find a disease or name so they could cure or treat their patients. In order to understand the story you have to know the entire story keeping in mind what was available to the medical staff at that time.

[Amira Jernigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

“A Mother’s Trial a True Story“ by Nancy Wright is a very descriptive, yet actually interesting telling of the crimes that are supposedly committed by Priscilla Phillips. The way that it is described is very impressive for a true story, which is commonly put in a very “boring” format, and personally I would rate this book in this genre a 4.5 stars. She was a woman that from the outside seemed to be a perfect mother of her own two sons, as well as her first adopted child from Korea, Tia Phillips. She was a social worker, a loyal wife, and very avid enthusiast for her local church. When her young daughter, Tia, took on some life threatening symptoms of an unknown disease, she spent what seemed like every living moment of her life at the hospital tending to her child’s needs and to show her own love and affection towards the child. Sadly, after a very long battle of this life-threatening disease, young Tia died at the tender age of around three years old. The family, which included Priscilla herself, Priscilla’s two biological son’s, Erick and Jason, and her husband Steve, were distraught. Not only them, but the whole hospital, and surrounding communities were distressed at the death of this young and bright individual. Soon thereafter, the family had consulted with the adoption agency to adopt another Korean baby girl, her name was Mindy Phillips. This was only 33 weeks after the death of the child, not even a full year. When they got Mindy in their house, she began to develop the same symptoms that her deceased, and non blood-related sister had from another unknown disease that was at the beginning speculated as the same one Tia had. This is when things began to become sort of dubious. The once perfect mother is now seen as a monster and Mindy is taken away and temporarily put into a foster home. After this, she goes through many trials at court that of course have many people for Priscilla, but also has about an equal amount of opponents.

As said before, the book is very detailed and an interesting read for anyone who is into any sort of mystery book. The way the book is set up is pretty splendid to read. The fact that it is a true story but it is also includes a real story rather than just the facts makes this book much more interesting. In many other books about true stories (without the truth being skewed) they are simply boring, and people are not very interested in reading them. This occurrence is often in part due to the lack of emotion or thoughts. Yet another reason that this happens is because many names are thrown in without a real understanding of who they are, what they look like, believe in etc. Priscilla especially has a very defined character in the book, and lets the reader have a connection to the main character, even though it is still a true story. Therefore, this automatically makes this book seem better in comparison to others already with it having these two things. Also, the whole way the book goes from part of Mindy’s story to the background of the family (including Tia), and then back to Mindy and the trial, is great way of organizing the information.

[Jamie Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was interesting. Hard to read in some places due to the nature of the subject. I was reading about the awful case of Sally Clarke (England) and came across this book, some of the evidence in the Phillips case was from the same doctor, Roy Meadows, who has been struck off by the GMC as a result of the Clarke case. Three other English mothers jailed on his evidence for killing their children due to Munchausen by Proxy have also been released upon appeal.

The Phillips case was a long time ago now, I think it would have been good if the e-book had given updates because there were on going legal points relating to the manufacturing of the formulas and the fact that the mother was never officially diagnosed as having MbP. There's not much of information on the internet about the aftermath of this case.

Some of the punctuation was a bit weird but it's well written in the sense it handles the medical and legal jargon in a way that's relatively easy to follow. The author did a good job of reporting a very sad story in a very fair and compassionate manner.

[Angel **Book Junkie** · Rating 2 out of 5]

I rarely rate a book a 2. But, this one.. I struggled to read. I felt it was all over the place.
I also was a little upset with the hospital. If one child had already passed, then why in the world were they constantly letting this woman they suspected of killing another child be with this child alone? What about CPS? I mean don't they have a duty to report? It was just strange if the doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong. Why didn't they try to pinpoint the sickness when Priscilla was there? I am so confused. I mean I could tell from the beginning this woman was guilty but goodness gracious.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tough decision/no direct evidence

Good book. Tough story/life for the family. If I had been a juror, I would have had to do a lot of praying to make a definitive judgement in this case. However, I am certain that these jurors were able to do so since they were privy to much, much more information than can be shared in a book.

[Jose Lacasse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting

I had at times a hard time in following the story and did many back and forth in rereading parts of the book, but the story kept my interest in finding out in how the justice, medical and prison system can all fail in protecting young children.
We are all responsible in trying to protect the innocent. We can all do better.

[Sarrah Chang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and needed to finish

The story itself kept me wanting to read more. However, at times it felt as if the author expanded upon areas that didn't need it and ignored areas that did.

[Mindy Pollock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting I don't know what was going on with the second adoptive family. I think Priscilla was guilty, but it seems the second adoptive mother wasn't too good either. I really am sad what both girls had to go through

[Helen Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just my opinion but I almost gave up during the trial sequence. I realize this is what a realistic court case is like but I found that part hard to follow and very lengthy. I stuck with it and glad that I did. Very sad story and I learned a lot about this syndrome.

[JO ANN Stange · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Helped me understand this terrible disease that I knew very little about,I never really decided if the ending was really a ending for another child?

[Patrice Hundstad · Rating 3 out of 5]

rehomed

[amy Lalone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another book on mommy killers

Mom's that kill their kids. The trial that takes place and the final results. It was predictable. But I did like it