In our season finale, we see Sophie Hartman follow in the footsteps of the Kowalski family, Andrea’s sister Megan Carter and others, as she files a lawsuit against Seattle Children’s and the others who investigated her for Medical Child Abuse. Journalist Olivia LaVoice shares her thoughts about how this has all played out. We hear Sophie rebranding herself as a ‘falsely accused’ mother in a visit to her home congregation in Kalamazoo and examine the crossover between evangelical Christianity, the parents' rights movement, and medical child abuse cases. We reveal what we know about where Sophie and the girls are today. *** Links and Resources: Learn more about our featured non-profit and mutual aid organizations: https://www.nobodyshouldbelieveme.com/nsbm-supports/ Check out You Probably Think This Story's About You: https://brittaniard.com/podcast Click here to view our sponsors. Remember that using our codes helps advertisers know you’re listening and helps us keep making the show! Subscribe on YouTube where we have full episodes and lots of bonus content. Follow Andrea on Instagram for behind-the-scenes photos: @andreadunlop Buy Andrea's books here. To support the show, go to Patreon.com/NobodyShouldBelieveMe or subscribe on Apple Podcasts where you can get all episodes early and ad-free and access exclusive ethical true crime bonus content. For more information and resources on Munchausen by Proxy, please visit MunchausenSupport.com The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s MBP Practice Guidelines can be downloaded here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Full Episode
True Story Media. Before we begin, a quick warning that in this show, we discuss child abuse, and this content may be difficult for some listeners. If you or anyone you know is a victim or survivor of medical child abuse, please go to munchausensupport.com to connect with professionals who can help.
In April of 2009, Sophie Hartman left her small Christian college in Michigan to become a missionary in Zambia. While there, she encountered two sisters in an orphanage, C and M. And in May of 2015, after going numerous rounds in court with the Zambian government, she won the right to take the two sisters into her home.
In March of 2021, after her younger daughter had endured countless doctor's visits, testing, and two surgeries, a court in Washington State, where Sophie had resettled them, took them away. And in May of 2021, almost six years to the day after the adoptions were finalized, Sophie was charged with assault of a child in the second degree.
But after a costly and bitterly fought year-long battle, Sophie got her daughters back. That following summer, the criminal charges were dropped. This season, we followed the long and windy road of this case and how it collided with my own family.
And after reading hundreds of pages of documentation, listening to many hours of police interviews, and our tireless researcher scouring the internet for the truth, there's so much of this case that remains unknown. One of the biggest mysteries is how a judge could look at all of this and still decide to return Sophie's children to her care.
I spoke to Olivia LaVois, the reporter who broke this story, to try and unravel the way this case played out. I think the justice system, for those people who haven't interacted with it, is so much more complex than I think people realize.
No, absolutely. And it just goes to, like, the case being dismissed does not give you the answer as to if she did it or not. You know, it just doesn't. I think we all wish that it could because we want to know. Like, it's just human nature. You want to know. Right. Is the child sick or not?
People believe their eyes. That's something that is so central to this topic because we do believe the people that we love when they're telling us something. If we didn't, you could never make it through your day. I'm Andrea Dunlop, and this is Nobody Should Believe Me. Hello, it's Andrea. The episode you're about to hear was originally the finale of our season.
However, in the weeks since the release of the premiere, one of the sources that I'd been speaking to for months decided that she wanted to go on the record. So we will be airing my in-depth conversation with her next week. And trust me, you will not want to miss it. Well, friends, it's 2025. It's here. This year is going to be...
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