A 23-year-old mother from the Bronx, New York, faces charges of attempted murder for nearly causing the death of her four-year-old daughter through the unnecessary administration of seizure medication. Tajahnae Brown made approximately 190 trips to the hospital in a few years, allegedly suffering from Munchausen’s syndrome by proxy, a condition where individuals feign or intentionally induce illness symptoms in someone they are responsible for, often a child, to garner attention.
The incidents began on May 2, when Brown took her then three-year-old daughter to Montefiore Medical Center, asserting that the child required additional seizure medication. Hospital staff administered more doses after her repeated requests. However, the medical team soon discovered that the child had reached ‘toxic levels’ of the medication, indicating potential poisoning.
Brown was informed of the overdose, and her daughter’s medication was discontinued. Despite this, the child’s drug levels decreased and then suddenly spiked again while she was still in the hospital with her mother. Authorities suspect that Brown surreptitiously continued to administer the medication at life-threatening levels.
The hospital staff contacted the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, leading to involvement from the New York City Police Department. An investigation revealed that the mother had taken her daughter to various healthcare providers 190 times to obtain harmful drug prescriptions, repeatedly presenting the same story to different medical professionals.
Tajahnae Brown, who has no prior criminal record, was granted supervised release with electronic monitoring during her arraignment at the Bronx Criminal Court.
