Kaitlyn's Baby | Episode 6: A problem like Kaitlyn

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A BBC World Service and CBC podcast production. A warning. This episode contains references to sexual assault.

“Okay, so you want me to start right at the beginning?”

So, um, Covid-19. Uh, big time. And women who were pregnant were in an absolute panic. This is Verena Henshee. She's a dueler based in Lincolnshire, England.

3,500 miles away from Brantford, Ontario. So, quite a few of us teenagers got together. And we decided that we would also, an emergency service, that we would prego now offer our number out to a people's contact us so that we could give them some support over the phone.

And I got an early evening call

and it said, "Hello, I'm the first time mine.

I've just turned 39 weeks yesterday." She continued contact me by text many, many times over the next few hours. And then eventually,

“she gets in touch with me verbally on the phone”

and starts to talk with through her neighbour. And begs me to stay with her. Thanks me not to death. And I was up all night, the whole night with her. At some point, as night turns today,

Verena is told that midwives have arrived. And as the sun comes up, the baby arrives too. There is a baby cry.

Then she says, "Oh, feeling a bit, oh, feeling not very good."

Oh, oh. Something seems to be going wrong. There's too much bleeding and the midwives who have been texting with Verena throughout this whole ordeal are apparently worried

and have called an ambulance. She tells me that the baby actually has some congenital heart condition. And it's decided that his chances of survival are all absolutely minimal.

Verena supports her client through this impossible situation. I was with her in total for nine days. I was very, very overwhelmed, very overwhelmed. And then there was something really weird that happened on the ninth day.

I got a message, supposedly, from the midwife, who said, "What do you think? Do you think I should breastfeed this baby?"

“Why is the midwife asking if she should breastfeed this baby?”

And it really quickly unrupples. Like within half an hour, I'm used to it. This story sounds very familiar, doesn't it? Well, here's the twist. This woman targeting Verena the Dula,

it was not Caitlin. For CBC and the BBC World Service, I'm Sarah Trelevin. And this is the con, Caitlin's baby. Episode six, a problem like Caitlin. Unlike Caitlin, this woman in the UK used a fake name.

But just like with Caitlin, we understand that she targeted multiple Dula's and presented as vulnerable and socially isolated. You don't question a grieving mother or someone who's claimed they've been raped,

especially in the context of a society that historically has a narrative of not believing women. This is Dr. Catherine Nunes, a clinical psychologist in the UK who has studied the behavior of people who fake pregnancy. And so you're left with these injured people

How do I stop this happening to me again?

“But also, I believe people and I don't want to let go of that.”

Dr. Nunes worked on a paper about this with Dr. Mark Feldman. Dr. Feldman is the co-author of the book "Dying To Be Ill" and a clinical professor of psychiatry and adjunct professor of psychology at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. And he's an expert in a rare type of personality disorder.

Factitious disorder itself is kind of a strange term, but it refers to people who faint, exaggerate, or actually induce illness in themselves or others because they find it emotionally gratifying. It sounds really perverse, but the primary mode

in these cases is that people enjoy and feel desperate

for attention, sympathy, care, concern that they feel unable to get in any other way.

“And illness is one of the obvious ways in which people”

can get special dispensation. The nature of Factitious Disorder makes it nearly impossible to track. The Cleveland Clinic, a top research hospital, estimates that about 1% of people admitted to hospitals in the U.S. are believed to have the disorder.

But precautions that because patients seek treatment at multiple healthcare facilities and don't typically acknowledge their disorder, the numbers are likely misleading. And Dr. Feldman adds that this disorder is largely underdiagnosed,

suggesting that more people have it than we realize. When being examined by the court-ordered clinician, Caitlin shared that she had been previously diagnosed with

“bipolar disorder, anxiety, depressive disorders,”

and factitious disorder. But because of the deliberateness of Caitlin's actions, the court appointed Dr. rejected the diagnosis of Factitious Disorder, and said her behavior was more consistent with borderline personality. Despite her struggles with mental health,

Caitlin's lawyer didn't petition the court to have her declared not competent. She was considered fit to stand trial and held responsible for her actions. How are you guys doing? I mean, it's weird. Yeah, this has got to be one of the weird things that has ever--

It's January 17, 2024. More than a month since that guilty plea. And I am back outside the same court has. The prosecution and Caitlin's lawyer will be presenting the judge with a sentencing agreement today.

So I saw that police then, I'm going to assume. Caitlin was immediately transferred to that, although I got sick. Caitlin has been in custody for 10 months. Today, her victims and the swarm of media who are also attending are here to find out what will happen to her next.

The crown attorney said that pleading guilty shows remorse. Caitlin's victims, like Shana, were pleased that her guilty plea meant there would be no trial. But it also became clear that certain charges had been dropped. Including the sexual assault charges related to multiple incidents,

like Caitlin asking for massages while naked. All of the sexual assault charges were brought down to what they call it. Indies and acts. So she has no possibility of being on the sex defender registry, which we're all pretty disheartened by.

The courtroom doesn't open until 9.30, but by 9 am, we all move indoors. It's just way too cool to wait outside. It's not only will the sentencing agreement be presented today, but so will the victim impact statements. And I know that there have been a lot of people just in the general public who have had

a really hard time understanding how awful it was. So yeah, I really hope that our victim impact statements helps to communicate that.

This is the duly's chance to finally be heard.

It takes almost two hours to read all of the statements into the record. An November 15th, 2022, I received a message that would change the trajectory of my life. We weren't allowed to record the duly's making their statements in the courtroom.

I've spent the last year in fear for not only myself, but for every duly in the area and across the world.

“There's nothing limiting Caitlin's reach, which is why her crimes are so devastating.”

Her words repeat in my head and her messages haunt the screenshots on my phone. I'm desperate to no longer have to hold onto this trauma as evidence. I'm terrified of the day when she may be released. I thought of seeing her out in public or even a new account popping up online isn't enough to make me physically ill.

Shana later sent me a recording of her statement as well.

Caitlin Brown was my very first client, meaning that any client I ever have

will be affected by what she did to me. Since my time with Miss Brown, I have been fearful of finding new clients. Every new referral I get, I wonder if they are being truthful. I no longer offer virtual support. This means that a large portion of the population no longer has access to my birth duly services

and I have less experience than I could have. This is a loss to the community, not just to me. After reading what I've written so far, one thing jumps out at me. Fear. Caitlin Brown has made me afraid to do the work I am so passionate about.

The trauma that Caitlin Brown caused me and my family is possibly difficult to understand and certainly difficult to describe, but cannot be understated. As the duly spoke, Caitlin sat in the prisoner's box. She was wearing a thick burgundy turtleneck sweater, her brown hair in a ponytail. Her hands and ankles were shackled.

She had turned 25 while in jail. With every word of personal testimony, as the fallout of her actions was described in detail. Her head dipped further and further down. Until two hours later, I couldn't see her face. Caitlin also had a chance to speak for herself.

She stood and after almost a year of silence, finally addressed her crimes. Your honor, I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to speak before the court. A member of our team is reading portions of Caitlin's statement from the court transcript. I stand before you today because of the regrettable decisions I made that cause harm to a lot of people. I know that the words I speak today do not take back what I did.

And I know that they don't automatically create healing. However, it is my hope that the words along with my plan of action show that I have a changed person. My time and custody has allowed me an opportunity to reflect upon what I did. And this also allowed me the opportunity to decide what kind of person I want to be moving forward. While in jail, Caitlin participated in all kinds of programming, much of it religious.

Her lawyers submitted a thick package of certificates she earned behind bars from healthy body image to human trafficking awareness, to managing emotional pain and grieving with God. But I did was ultimately very wrong.

“And I feel a strong sense of shame when I think about the hurt and pain that I've caused.”

I never wanted to be the person I became.

I'm ready to approach these supports with honesty and vulnerability. And I'm ready to show that I'm not going to reoffend. These statements are of course meant to demonstrate an understanding of one's actions. A commitment to reform and a promise not to harm people again. Helpful for Judge Robert G, who has a sentencing agreement on the table.

That agreement suggests that Caitlin spend two years on house arrest, three years probation and lots of therapy. When these kinds of plea deals are reached between the prosecution and the defense, the judge usually accepts the arrangement. But on this day, that is not what happened. World is secrets. We investigate the dark side of the wellness industry following the story for women who joined a yoga school.

Only to uncover a world she never expected.

I feel that I have no other choice.

“The only thing I can do is to speak about this.”

Where the hope of spiritual breakthroughs leads people vulnerable to exploitation. You just get sucked in so gradually. And it's done so skillfully that you don't realise. World of secrets, the bad guru. Listen, wherever you get your baby sees what costs.

Hi, Donovan was here.

We're here to tell you about our brand new podcast.

It's called The Big Five. So, Donovan, what is The Big Five? Yeah, exactly. What is The Big Five? That's what The Big Five is all about.

Every week, Tom and I will sit down with a special guest and dive into new topics.

“Debating things like, what are The Big Five farm animals?”

The Big Five types of hat. The Big Five guys named Paul. Martin, Revere, Mescal, McCartney, John Paul. The debate is settled by a listener from somewhere across the country. It's like a game show.

It is a game show. The Big Five, available now, wherever you get your podcast. Judge G has presided over Caitlin's case from almost the beginning. He's the one who has to decide if the deal in front of him is acceptable. To help with that, her lawyer shared details of Caitlin's life.

A submission from her mother describes her childhood as normal.

“But following her parents break up, her mother says her daughter experienced separation anxiety.”

She says Caitlin's dad often canceled visits and left Caitlin feeling abandoned. Caitlin would also constantly call her mother while she was at work. Desperate to be reassured that she was coming home. Caitlin's dad has since died. According to her medical records from the time she was 17 until she was 24,

Caitlin went to the hospital more than 170 times. The court ordered examiner believes most of those visits were probably based on lies. All of this led Judge G to ask which of her diagnoses he should accept as real. I don't mean to, you know, try to pick on her. These are Judge G's words, read by a colleague.

Warm bears her in front of crowded people, but she's fundamentally dishonest. And her whole history is filled with deception and manipulation. I wasn't able to discuss Caitlin's case with her own doctors, but I did speak to Dr. Feldman. He has not spoken directly to Caitlin, but he has spent a lot of time studying people he says are like her. He says he was surprised that the court hadn't accepted the diagnosis of factitious disorder.

But I had never spoken to her.

And so I'll defer somewhat to the evaluator who actually met with her and reviewed her records which I have not done. Dr. Feldman has spent years studying fictitious disorder and speaking to patients who have it. He says in his experience, many cases are never diagnosed. There's a real knowledge deficit when it comes to factitious disorder, both in terms of what it is and what it is not. And people are uncomfortable with it.

They view it as extraordinarily rare. They, it's under detected. Though it's rarely diagnosed, but based on my 30 years of experience, it's much more common than we think. Because most of the examples go unidentified. These people are also master, con artists, and have great verbal skills.

And can make it seem like there are other reasons for their behavior that are more acceptable. And maybe make even more sense to them than factitious disorder.

“And do these patients typically know that what they're doing is wrong even as they continue doing it?”

Yes, they do. They know it's wrong. Many of them tell me that they don't view themselves as bad people. They view themselves more as desperate people as who needed just a little attention. An individual has to decide to either falsely report, exaggerate, or self-induced illness. And you can tell from the extent of planning that occurs in so many of these cases,

the planning can go on for weeks, months, or years. They've made serious decisions to badly victimize and string along. Otherwise loving and caring people, and I can't forget that personally. I view it as essentially untreatable, and I think it has to be referred to instead the police and the criminal justice system to stop the kinds of escalation and damage that occurred in this case.

Here's what the Court Ordered Report said.

Ms. Braun demonstrates a limited insight, poor self-control, severe emotional dysregulation, and a surprising lack of empathy or remorse for her behavior. Despite being under the care of both a psychiatrist and psychotherapist at the time,

Untreated, her risk for reoffending would be considered high.

The joint plea agreement between the defense and prosecution argues that instead of being locked up, Wakaylan actually needs a specialized treatment that's not available in jail. It's called dialectical behavior therapy, a highly targeted, often years long treatment, designed for people with personality disorders. But the judge presses.

It's clear he's not totally sold on this deal. Judge G wants to know if this type of therapy is even available in Katelyn's town.

“If it is, can she get a spot? Is there a waiting list?”

I asked Shana, which she thinks should happen to Katelyn. My biggest worry since it happened to me has been that she's going to do it to other people. And that's the only reason that anybody went to the police. That's the only reason that I have been doing interviews and have been sharing my story. It's not fun to share my story.

I don't like doing it, but I feel of responsibility at this point to get it out there. So the ideal for sentencing for me would be like locking her up long enough. That she can't do this anymore.

“Like at least to the point where like she's 50 and obviously can't pass as a pregnant woman anymore.”

I just don't believe that she can be rehabilitated. I don't think that she is going to do the work herself to get rehabilitated. Everyone who attended the sentencing hearing that January was there to find out what would happen to Katelyn. But in the end, no one was going to get that answer that day. When we were all called back into the courtroom that afternoon, Judge G announced he needed more time.

Katelyn was sent back to jail and the judge ordered both lawyers to come up with a better plan. Something that might serve Katelyn's mental health needs, but also provide protection to the community. A conditional sentence or house arrest would require Katelyn to live with her mother, Kimberly Ross.

“Kimberly would be responsible for making sure that Katelyn adhered to the rules set out by the judge.”

Staying off the internet, wearing a GPS tracker, and only leaving the house for things like seeing doctors or buying groceries.

But as Judge G grappled with the evidence presented to him, there's something he never heard in court.

Something the Dula's told me. They said Katelyn's mother was at the house when Katelyn was pretending to be in labor. Katelyn and I were sort of hanging out in her bedroom and laboring in there, or we were going for walks outside. And like her mom would come for walks with us. I've seen pictures taken by Shana, where Katelyn is doing something called curb walking.

It's a technique people use to help induce labor, walking with one foot on the curb, the other on the road. In this picture, Katelyn is sweaty and clearly appears to be in distress, completely exhausted. And her mother is right there, walking next to her. Yeah, her mom was like fully there and involved in everything that was happening. The Dula's are convinced that Kimberly Ross knew what was going on.

But there was no discussion in open court about whether she's an appropriate guardian. She was there on that day of her daughter's sentencing, wearing oversized glasses, her hair tied back in a slick bun. Her expression, impossible to read. I mean, there's still no judge needs to know that if he puts her on house arrest with her mom, in her mom's home. It's not suitable.

It's not. We put these allegations to Katelyn's mother, Kimberly Ross, and she is declined to comment for this podcast.

Finally, a month later, on the morning of February 14th, 2024, Judge Robert G. announced his decision.

Despite his reservations, Judge G. accepted the joint sentencing submission.

He called the sentence "distasteful," but said his hands were tied.

“The 21 offenses committed by the accused, Katelyn Braun, have caused significant long-lasting harm to her victims.”

Again, this is my colleague reading the judge's words. I'm also unsure, counselor adequately assessing Ms. Braun's risk to the community. But again, the case law dictates, I'm required to accept their position. Judge G. also said Katelyn would be required to engage with some form of therapy, but it wasn't clear what that might look like. The judge only did that because he felt like he needed to, like his hands were tied.

Because it was a joint submission. He knew that that was not giving anyone justice. But he had to do. The duelists were left wondering if house arrest with her mother and going to therapy would work.

“Could Katelyn stop herself from doing it all over again?”

I honestly never thought that I would be making another video like this.

We got an answer, even sooner than expected. I didn't think I'd have to use this platform in this way again. But I cannot supply and say, or do nothing. That's Amy Silva on TikTok, again. In the last week, I have had people reach out to me that they have been getting scammed.

In April of 2024, while on house arrest, Katelyn contacted another dula and a family helpline worker in search of emergency pregnancy support, sending one of them almost 600 tax messages over three days.

“For the first time that we're aware of in these two cases, Katelyn used a pseudonym.”

Two months later, she was arrested again and sent back to jail. Because she committed these crimes while on house arrest, breaching the terms of her release,

Katelyn will now serve the remainder of that first sentence in custody.

On January 7th, 2025, Katelyn pled guilty to a total of four new offenses. Two counts of false pretenses within tentative fraud, one count of intent to harass, and one count of intent to injure or alarm. The Crown and Defense have again stated their intention to provide a joint sentencing submission. This time, they're asking for three years in prison, which will be served after Katelyn completes the sentence

for her original conviction, which has just over a year remaining. So, Katelyn is potentially facing up to four years of incarceration. As of this recording, the judge is still reviewing the sentencing proposal. And we are no closer to solving a problem like Katelyn. We made numerous attempts to contact Katelyn Braun.

This included, writing to her in prison, outlining the allegations made through the series, and inviting her to respond to what has been said. She made it clear to me that she didn't want to be involved with the podcast. The invitation remains open to Katelyn, should she change her mind and wish to respond. To be continued

You've been listening to The Con, Katelyn's Baby, produced by CBC and the BBC World Service. The series is written, researched and produced by me, Sarah Trelevin, and produced, written and edited by Kathleen Goldhardt. Our senior producer is Veronica Simmons.

Extra production support from Andrew Friesen and Alexis Green. Sound design and scoring by Mitchell Stewart.

The fact checker is Emily Mathew.

“Our podcast art was designed by Natalie Weinberg.”

Our cross promo producer is Amanda Cox.

Our video producers are Evan A. Guard,

Tamina Aziz, and John Lee.

“Special thanks to Evan Kelly, Jason Paris,”

Damon Fairless, Kelly Goldhardt-Killick, and Falen Johnson. Our executive producers are Cecil Fernandez and Chris Oak. Tonya Springer is our senior manager.

“RF Naurani is the director and Leslie Merklinger,”

is the executive director of CBC podcast. For the BBC World Service, Kat Collins is the senior producer, and John Manel is the podcast commissioning editor. A BBC World Service and CBC podcast production.