Documentary on mother who faked son's illnesses raises questions about how hard it presses her
New documentary Love You to Death revisits the case of Lisa Hayden-Johnson, convicted of child cruelty after years of fabricating her son's illnesses. The review says the film restores nuance lost in tabloid coverage but fails to challenge Lisa with tough enough questions.
A new UK television documentary, Love You to Death, examines the case of Lisa Hayden-Johnson, who was branded "Britain's Most Evil Mum" by tabloids after her trial and conviction for child cruelty. For years she fabricated illnesses in her son Matthew, subjecting him to more than 300 medical encounters, nine general anaesthetics and four operations by the age of nine, along with unnecessary use of a wheelchair, feeding tube and oxygen tank.
The film features interviews with Lisa herself, Matthew, and his older sister Laura, who recalls being something of a "trial run" for her mother's fabrications before Matthew's birth. Laura's suffering came largely from growing up in a household organised around a supposedly gravely ill and disabled sibling.
The documentary traces the story from Matthew's premature birth in 2001, seven weeks early, through Lisa's claims that he suffered from numerous food allergies and failure to thrive. He became locally known as "the boy in the buggy," with the community rallying to support the family. Lisa repeatedly pushed for Matthew to be referred to Great Ormond Street hospital for further investigation, despite the reluctance of the family's main clinician and growing suspicion among ward staff.
Eventually another doctor, noticing inconsistencies accumulating in Matthew's medical notes, raised concerns with the clinician, leading to Lisa being reported to police. Investigators worked on the presumption that Lisa had a condition then known as Munchausen's syndrome by proxy, now called fabricated or induced illness, in which a parent invents or causes illness in a child to gain attention.
The review criticises the film for not probing deeply enough into why medical staff took so long to act, despite mentions that nurses had raised concerns much earlier. Lisa maintains in the film that she did nothing wrong and that everything was meant to help her son; she has no contact with her children now, which distresses her. Matthew and Laura speak of her with regret and a wish that she would accept responsibility, though they view her as mentally ill rather than "evil." The review notes the film rarely presses Lisa on specific issues, leaving significant questions unanswered.
