Münchausen, She Wrote: Mother Convicted of Killing Her Son and Poisoning Her Daughter Receives Pair of Life Sentences
By Kristen Hinman, Thursday, Aug. 13 2009 @ 12:10PM
St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Jack Garvey this morning sent Judy Pickens away for two life sentences in prison, to run consecutively. Garvey also sentenced Pickens to an additional 157 years, to run consecutively after the two life sentences.
​Pickens (the subject of a recent Riverfront Times feature story, "Münchausen, She Wrote") was convicted of second-degree murder and five other felonies by a St. Louis jury on June 19. A five-day trial revealed that the 38-year-old mother of three had poisoned her four-year-old son, Mikal, and five-year-old daughter, Kheematah, with her blood-pressure medication. Mikal died as a patient at St. Louis Children's Hospital on October 9, 2004. Kheematah survived repeated poisonings, according to court testimony.
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In Pickens' case, a St. Louis psychologist, Michael Armour, who conducted a psychological examination of Pickens, determined she had engaged in Münchausen syndrome by proxy, according to court records. It is the first case in Missouri in which testimony on Münchausen syndrome by proxy has been allowed as a motive.
Much more at link:
http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/da...dren_receives_life_sentences_judy_pickens.php
I did not find her in the DOC system, so am wondering if she is in a mental facility. She was going to appeal, so I will check for that to see if it was overturned.