Broken Bond

Broken Bond is the title of Forensic File's third season and the episode was broadcast for the first time on December 17, 1998.

Summary

In 1983, Morgan, the 9-month-old daughter of Ray & Tanya Reid, suffered a sleep apnea episode at her home in Deaf Smith County, Texas and was admitted to the hospital for four days. Morgan continued to experience occasional apnea episodes and suffered a fatal attack on February 7, 1984.

In 1985, Tanya Reid gave birth again, this time to a son named Michael. Michael was hospitalized over 20 times during the next two years. When Michael was temporarily taken away from his mother, he did not experience any seizures or apnea episodes. When prosecutors asked pathologists to re-open Morgan's autopsy records, they discovered that an x-ray taken during the autopsy revealed that she did not die of SIDS but suffered from brain damage consistent with being shaken violently.

Doctors then determined that Tanya was exhibiting symptoms of Münchausen syndrome by proxy. Tanya was convicted for felony child endangerment of Michael and for the murder of Morgan. The murder convicted was later overturned; however, Tanya was convicted a second time.