[advocate] This is one of the most screwed-up parts
of the United States system, period.
It's unethical, and it's immoral.
Parents have no rights. Parents have no rights.
I know it would've been kinder for them to shoot you
than to take your child away.
[mother] Why, for so many years, no one has changed this?
This is screwed up.
[advocate] That is why I'm telling you, when you get your child back,
you leave that hospital, and you never ever go back.
[woman] I'm gonna be frank. I'm appalled at what this child has had to go through.
- [child] Monster! - [mother] No monsters. Mommy's here.
[woman] I feel like you had your head in the sand.
[man] I trusted the doctors.
[bailiff] Do you solemnly swear the testimony you give is the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I swear.
[mother] I can't help it. I'm fighting for my child.
How should I feel?
[man, crying] Oh my God.
[911 dispatch] Tell me exactly what happened.
[young woman] You have the audacity to ask me why I'm afraid of hospitals?
You traumatized me!
[bailiff] All rise. This 12th Judicial Circuit Court is now in session.
[child] I miss you, and I hope I get to see you soon.
[mother] I'm sure you will see me pretty soon.
We just have to be patient, okay?
[waves breaking]
[birdsong]
[man] We build a family with love.
- Honesty. - [children shouting excitedly]
Trust.
We, as parents, try to do the best we can for our children.
You do everything for them.
That's what Beata and I did.
But there's nothing that could prepare me
for what I went through with my family.
[sighs]
Nothing.
[court clerk] This marks the beginning of the deposition of Jack Kowalski.
We are on the record. October 25th, 2021, at 9:02 a.m.
[lawyer 1] Mr. Kowalski, I'd like to ask a little bit about your wife.
[Jack] I started falling in love with Beata right away.
She had something special about her.
It was in her eyes.
She was genuine.
She was magic, you know?
Beata came here from communist Poland
when she was 16 years old.
She went to high school in Chicago,
and I remember her telling me
that one of her teachers said she was never gonna make it
because she don't know how to speak English too well.
And that's not the thing to tell Beata, because she didn't take no for an answer.
And yes, I did hear "no" a lot of times where I was wrong.
[laughs]
She put herself through college,
and she became a nurse in the cardiac cath lab
at Loyola University Medical Center.
She proved them wrong.
Beata wanted nothing more than to have her own child.
Right away, she planned how the room was gonna be,
and she would go out and buy clothes and decorate.
From the very beginning, I knew she was gonna be a great mother.
Unfortunately, we had some difficulty having a child.
But no matter how stressful it was, Beata wasn't gonna give up.
- [heartbeat] - She would not give up.
And that's when Maya was born.
[crying]
Beata always made sure that Maya had the best of the best.
Piano lessons. Polish school.
She wrote little notes about everywhere Maya went.
It was just the warm feeling of having more to share in our lives.
And then, two years later, Kyle was born.
Stroke of luck.
No... No trying! [laughs]
- [guitar playing] - ♪ I found myself dreamin' ♪
♪ In silver and gold ♪
♪ Like a scene from the movies ♪
♪ That every broken heart knows ♪
[Jack] In early spring of 2015,
life was good.
Beata was working as an infusion nurse,
helping people with their treatments at home.
I was a firefighter,
and then eventually retired,
and I was able to spend more time with the kids.
We had a beautiful house, beautiful neighborhood.
Dream come true. Paradise.
But then Maya started to get sick.
[court clerk] This marks the beginning of the deposition of Maya Kowalski.
We are on the record. Friday, October 15, 2021.
[lawyer 1] Hi, Maya. Um...
Now, back during the period of time, you know, 2015 to 2017,
I'd like to get an idea of what type of symptoms you had back then.
Do you recall?
I remember I was in a great deal of pain.
My arms, my legs, my feet.
I would always feel very lethargic,
and I wasn't able to move as efficiently anymore.
We didn't know the exact cause, and it got progressively worse.
- [man] When did she start having problems? - [Beata] So...
At first, I didn't think much of it.
I just thought it was her asthma.
- But then she had chest congestion. - [doctor] Mm-hmm.
- Okay. - [Beata] Coughing up yellow-green sputum.
- [doctor] Okay. - [Beata] Sinus infection.
And she couldn't go outside.
Every time she went outside, she started to cough.
[doctor] Mm-hmm.
[Jack] It all started with some breathing problems.
Uh, she had a respiratory infection.
[coughing]
[Jack] She was experiencing headaches, blurred vision.
- Her skin felt like it was on fire. - [Maya wheezing]
[Beata] That doesn't feel good when I touch your legs, right?
[Jack] Her legs were turning in.
- [woman] You can do it. You can do it! - [Beata] You're almost by Mommy.
- [Jack] She couldn't walk. - [Beata] Almost there.
- [Beata] I know. - [Maya] I can't take it!
I can't take it! [crying]
[Jack] I remember hearing her crying throughout the night in extreme pain.
[Beata, faintly] I know.
But we had no answers.
That was not acceptable for us.
- [Maya coughing] - [horn blares]
- [coughing continues] - [Beata] Maya.
- [Maya whimpering] - [Beata] Be strong.
[Maya] I'm trying to be strong.
[straining and coughing]
[Jack] We went to doctor after doctor,
one hospital to another,
trying to get an answer.
And as a nurse, Beata was very thorough,
so she documented every doctor visit
from the very beginning,
but they just put their arms up in the air and said, "There's nothing we can do."
"We don't know what it is."
[doctor] I hear your story.
I understand she's been going through a heck of a lot of stuff,
but I'm still not certain of what we're dealing with,
to be honest with you.
- A kid can tell you, "I can't breathe..." - [Beata] Mm-hmm.
[doctor] How do I know she's not having an anxiety attack?
- [Beata] Well... - [doctor] There's a lot of question marks.
[Beata sighs]
[typing]
[doctor] Just give me one second.
[door closes]
- [Beata sighs] - [Maya] Mom, it's not anxiety.
- [Beata] I know, baby. I know. - [Maya whimpers]
[Beata] He's just trying to figure it out. You just stay as calm as you can.
[Jack] We knew, as parents, something was wrong,
and they are not doing enough.
So when Beata got home, she didn't go to bed.
She researched.
And that's when she ended up finding Dr. Kirkpatrick.
[man] Maya, is it okay if we can use this video to educate other children?
- Yeah. - [man] Okay, good.
Let's go over your history a little bit.
Approximately three months ago,
you started having some pain down in your feet here, okay?
You see how her legs are turning in?
We call that dystonia, okay? Dystonia.
In fact, it's so bad right now she can't even bear weight safely, okay?
- Ready for testing? - [Maya] Yeah.
[Kirkpatrick] Take that right hand, as best you can,
and see how far you can get it before you have to stop, okay?
Is that... That's it, right there? Very good, Maya.
Now we're gonna ask your mom to help you.
She's gonna get over here, and she's gonna hold your foot up
and try to wiggle your toes as best you can, okay?
Can you try that?
You giving it everything you got there?
- Mom, you don't see any movement, do you? - [Beata] No.
[Kirkpatrick] Okay, Mom. Good job.
Maya, would you like to have a blanket...
[Kirkpatrick] When I first saw the Kowalskis in September 2015,
it was obvious what the problem was with Maya.
It was clear and simple CRPS,
complex regional pain syndrome.
[narrator] This videotape has been prepared
in consultation with Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick.
[Kirkpatrick] What is complex regional pain syndrome?
The best way to think about it is the way it evolves.
Let's say you have an injury.
You know that probably in a week or two, the pain's gonna go down,
the swelling's gonna go down, the redness and all that's gonna go down.
But what happens in these patients with CRPS
is that it actually intensifies over that period of time.
[narrator] Published case studies indicate
that the incident of CRPS increases dramatically
between nine and 11 years old,
and it is found predominantly in young girls.
[Kirkpatrick] The patients describe it primarily as a burning sensation.
That their skin becomes exquisitely sensitive to light touch.
[woman 1] Picture a floating feather, soft to our touch.
Patients say this feels more like
a knife stabbing their body.
The syndrome was first described over 100 years ago,
but it was only recognized in modern medicine in the 1990s.
Still, many don't know the problem exists, and many of those suffering were told
the problem was psychological and imagined.
[Kirkpatrick] After my initial evaluation for Maya,
it was clear to me that, because of the magnitude of her symptoms,
the lesions, this burning sensation in her legs,
and the pain throughout her entire body,
that Maya had advanced CRPS
that we had to right away get aggressive with and get under control.
We've treated over 3,000 patients with complex regional pain syndrome.
And we know what the best therapy is for it.
It's called ketamine.
[woman 2] A drug typically known for its recreational use in clubs
is now making another name for itself among pain-management specialists.
It's called ketamine, and medical experts are using it
to treat patients suffering from chronic pain.
[Kirkpatrick] Ketamine is a safe, effective treatment
for advanced complex regional pain syndrome.
Because when the ketamine gets into your body,
it actually stimulates the brain and kind of resets everything.
It tends to increase your blood pressure, increase your circulation,
and increase your breathing.
With Maya, we first tried the outpatient procedure
at a relatively low dose...
- [Kirkpatrick] Any pain? - Um...
...but it was not working.
Just here...
So I discussed with the mother and with Maya
the idea of the ketamine coma procedure.
[anchor] Some patients are taking control of their pain by going into a coma.
Here, doctors use up to 50 times the typical dose
to induce a five-day coma.
You see enough patients, you know how they deteriorate.
Nothing is working.
Surgery doesn't work, drugs don't work, nerve blocks don't work,
and you do this one thing, and it works.
[anchor] Dr. Kirkpatrick says
the experimental treatment is only available in Mexico.
When this was told to me, that we would have to go to Mexico,
I... I was in disbelief.
[Kirkpatrick]...flat on your back...
[Jack] And then he told us that there's a chance that she could potentially die.
[Kirkpatrick] I have a feeling she'll do very well.
[Jack] It was very scary,
but there was no other options.
It was that, or see Maya deteriorate every day.
So we decided to take her to Monterrey, Mexico.
[heartbeat]
[ventilator hissing]
- [Maya, crying] I will wake up? - [Beata] Yes, you will.
- [Maya] Will I be normal? - [Beata] Yes. You are normal.
Yes, and you'll be very normal when you wake up.
- [Maya] I feel weird. - [Beata] You're not weird.
[Maya] I feel very weird.
- [doctor 1] Has the... - [Maya] I feel very weird.
- [Beata] You're doing great. - [doctor 2] She's doing well. Responsive.
[lawyer 1] I'd like to go back to the ketamine coma in Mexico.
Do you remember anything about that hospitalization?
Uh, yeah. I remember being in the room.
It was a higher dosage, and therefore,
I experienced more of the side effects, like the hallucinations.
But I know that my mom was there with me, and that helped.
[Beata] Here is coma day one,
Wednesday, November 18th.
Maya is doing well.
Today is Friday, November 20th.
This is day three coma.
Maya is doing great.
It's coma day five.
She, uh, had a bad episode this morning of vomiting,
so they had to give her extra ketamine.
This is coma day six, 11-22-15.
I love you, Maya.
Daddy loves you. Kyle loves you. Corinne loves you.
Everybody loves you.
[heartbeat]
[ventilator hissing]
- [Beata] No! No, no, no, no. - [Maya screaming]
[Beata] Keep that... Keep that on. Don't lift that.
- [Maya] Mommy! - [Beata] Yes, Mommy's right here.
- [Jack] Hey. - [Maya whimpering]
- [Beata] I'm right here. - [Maya] Mommy, monster, monster, monster...
[Beata] No monsters. Mommy's here, and Mommy's not a monster, okay?
[doctor] Maya, remember... remember we were gonna ask you some questions?
Your mom wants to ask you some questions, okay?
- Yes. - [Jack] Okay, don't touch your glasses.
- [doctor] Okay, Mom? - Yes?
- Hello, Maya. - Yes?
- It's Mommy. You remember Mommy? - Yes.
- Okay, good.
- Who... Uh, what's the name of your brother? - Kylie.
- [Jack] Good girl! - [Beata] Wow!
[doctor] So she's doing fairly well, and she, um... She's got the wiggles.
That's not unexpected, and I would say she hasn't had any adverse hallucinations.
- Would you agree? - I agree with that.
[doctor] All right. So, Maya, here's one question.
- Are you ready? - Yes.
[doctor] Show me the sign, Maya.
- Show me the sign. - This.
[doctor] There you go! Hey! She's got it.
[chants] She's got it. She's got it!
[Jack] Maya came out of the coma, and she was better.
[chuckling] She said she was hungry, which was... a huge relief to hear.
[Maya] The coma worked.
The ketamine helped me tremendously with my pain.
I had a little bit of short-term memory loss,
and sometimes things were really blurry with my vision,
but I was willing to have those side effects
if it was gonna help me overall.
[Kirkpatrick] Okay, Maya. It's, uh, now January 6,
and you had your ketamine coma.
Now, having been through all that, is... was it worth it?
- Yes. - [Beata] Helped a lot.
- Especially with the headaches? - Yes, her headaches are a lot better.
- [Kirkpatrick] Yep. - They're minor now.
- Yeah. - [Kirkpatrick] Right.
- Her pain in the legs is better. - [Kirkpatrick] Right.
- It's getting... - So... yeah.
- [Kirkpatrick] Right... - It's all better.
[Kirkpatrick] Let's do some testing, Maya. Are you ready for that?
Take that right hand, put it behind your head.
You couldn't do that, no way, before. Any pain when you do that?
Not really, no.
[Kirkpatrick] Not really, okay. Now do the other side, please.
- Again, you couldn't do that before. - No.
[Kirkpatrick] And we talked about how important it is...
[Jack] When we got back from Mexico,
we couldn't afford to keep up with Dr. Kirkpatrick's treatments,
so he recommended his colleague Dr. Hanna, who took our insurance
and prescribed low dosages of ketamine for Maya.
[Beata] That's better. I love you.
[Maya] I love you too.
[Beata] Now go down slowly.
[Jack] She was getting stronger.
- The dystonia was straightening out. - [Beata] Now smile. Good.
[Jack] She was unable to use her legs, but she was using her arms,
and she was doing very, very well.
[Beata] I'm sure Maya's gonna need two doses of ketamine tonight after this.
[chuckles]
♪ I feel better when I'm dancin'... ♪
[Jack] She went back to school, to laughing and playing.
We were blessed that we'd finally seen something working.
And for a year, it did.
Until the night of the hurricane.
[thunder rumbling]
[rainfall]
[thunder crashing]
[newsreader] Conditions were bad an hour ago.
They've gotten worse now as Hurricane Matthew
makes its way up the east coast of Florida.
Bridges are closed.
People have been told, wherever you are, hunker down.
It is too dangerous now to go outside.
[Jack] Maya relapsed.
It came back, and it was very severe.
She started complaining of pain in her tummy.
And it got to the point where she was screaming and crying
and begging for help.
I contacted Beata at work.
[Beata] Okay, hold on. Let me pull over to the side.
[Jack] And I told her, "I have to take her into the emergency room."
I remember pulling up at the doors.
Go to triage,
and then you get the same questions again.
The first nurse in triage had no idea what CRPS was.
And then the other ones as well,
they wanted information and asked.
That's when I got my wife on the phone, and she talked to the doctor.
[Beata] The pain meds are low-dose naltrexone
and ketamine, oral, prescribed by her doctor.
Her concern was merely administering ketamine,
over and over, more and more and more.
[Jack] Beata shows up an hour later.
She was belligerent, demanding.
The mom was very controlling.
She told me, "This is what you're going to do."
[Jack] Beata's explaining to them
this is what needs to be done for the disease.
[Beata] You don't understand her medical diagnosis.
You don't understand how much medication it takes to control her pain.
[Jack] But they just didn't understand.
[Sanchez] There are risks of respiratory failure, cardiac arrest.
Her daughter could die from this,
and it didn't seem that she was, you know, worried about that.
[lawyer 1] Going back now to when you came to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital
on October 7 of 2016.
Do you remember that day?
I don't think I remember that exact day,
but I do remember the very beginning of my stay at Johns Hopkins.
I remember I was in a great deal of pain.
[lawyer 1] Was the pain in your stomach or foot?
Was it all throughout your body?
[Maya] My stomach, mainly. I was sent to the ER.
After that, I was transferred to the PICU, or whatever that was called,
the intensive care unit or something.
That's most of what I remember.
[Beata] They started Maya on low-dose ketamine,
but that wasn't working.
[man] As the days progressed, we did not feel we made any effect to Maya's status.
We began questioning the diagnosis of complex generalized pain syndrome.
Beata knew that low dosage wouldn't... wouldn't do it.
But they didn't listen.
At this time, things started to become belligerent.
Things started becoming talks of leaving the hospital.
That's where I started feeling unsafe about Maya.
We were told if we planned on trying to leave,
that security would be called.
[Malik] And if you have a suspicion of child abuse,
well, then, you're required to contact Child Protection Services.
Couple days later,
I was visiting Maya at Johns Hopkins.
At one point, the nurse walked out of the room,
and in walked this woman with dark hair.
[bailiff] Do you solemnly swear or affirm the testimony you give
is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
- I do. - [lawyer 2] Your name, for the record.
Sally Marie Smith.
[Jack] She never stated who she was.
She just walked in, looked at me, looked at Maya.
She came in,
and she acted like a regular doctor that worked for the hospital.
And she started to ask questions.
If they would've known who she was, we would have never spoken to her.
[Jack] She asked, "What's wrong with Maya? Where is she being treated?"
About medications.
How could I let somebody give such high dosages?
And I told her that's what the doctors prescribed.
[lawyer 1] Dr. Hanna, I have 55 infusions here
ranging from early January to October 6 of 2016.
I also understand that you wrote several prescriptions for oral ketamine
to be used at home.
- Do you remember doing that? - Yes.
Is it possible that the abdominal pain was caused by these infusions?
I mean, it can be a side effect.
Well, he was giving the child a thousand milligrams at a time,
day after day, after day, after day.
That is not routine ketamine dosing.
I have patients taking 1,500 milligram a day.
Every patient is different.
Some patients develop tolerance,
or their disease process requires higher doses.
A thousand milligram over four hours,
that is what typically worked for her.
[Smith] There were multiple physicians,
including, as documented in the, uh, report to the abuse hotline,
uh, who had concerns for Munchausen syndrome by proxy.
- [man 1] Munchausen by proxy. - [man 2] Munchausen by proxy.
[woman] Munchausen's by proxy or medical child abuse.
Munchausen by proxy is a form of child abuse
in which a caretaker provides
false or exaggerated information,
ignoring medical recommendations,
and that pattern of behavior causes harm to the child.
[Jack] She did a ten-minute interview at most,
and shortly after, she walks out.
[Smith] There was ample evidence to support a diagnosis
of medical child abuse,
and it appeared most likely
that Mrs. Kowalski was the primary one who was perpetrating the child abuse.
The nurse walks back in that was helping me.
[breathing shakily]
She told me I had to leave.
That my daughter...
is under state custody.
I remember looking in my daughter's eyes, and she's looking at me.
I'm wondering if I would ever see her again.
[birdsong]
[Jack] They accused her of overmedicating Maya.
And they thought Maya was faking this syndrome.
At that time, I said, "We need to get a hold of a lawyer."
I met the Kowalskis in October of 2016, and when I first met Beata,
um, I was impressed by her knowledge of her child's illness.
She had been through a lot.
She had been to a lot of doctors trying to get her daughter care.
And she was very, very, very concerned about how Maya was going to do
being in the hospital and being isolated from them.
She could not understand
why the Department of Children and Families was doing this.
I explained to both Jack and Beata
these types of cases are actually very common.
Child Protective Service investigators have incredible power to remove children.
All they have to prove is that there's probable cause
that there could be harm to the child.
In Florida, the child welfare system is privatized.
So when Sally Smith reviewed Maya's case,
she was an employee for the Suncoast Center.
That center assists in investigating child-abuse allegations
in Pinellas County,
where All Children's Hospital happens to be located.
Children in Pinellas County are almost two and a half times more likely
to be removed from their families than the state average.
I now refer to it as the child-welfare industry.
But you have to remember something.
Back when Child Protective Services really started in this country
in the '70s,
we were talking about children
that had suffered from excess corporal punishment,
had been beaten,
might've had broken bones or cigarette burns.
And we were talking about sexual abuse.
And while those cases are still happening,
in recent years, we have a new diagnosis that's being used.
Medical child abuse,
where any parent who's bringing in their child
with an unusual illness to five different doctors
because you're trying to figure out what's wrong with your child,
can be accused of doctor shopping
and exposing the child to unnecessary medical procedures
to fulfill their own mental health issue.
[director] So, what was your personal assessment of Beata?
I think she could be, um...
a little too direct sometimes,
and maybe... some of the doctors took that offensively.
I believe somebody at All Children's Hospital was offended,
and a conflict started.
[Kirkpatrick] As soon as I was made aware
that Sally Smith was investigating,
I called her immediately,
and I explained to her, "This is what the diagnosis is."
"If you wanna see the objective evidence, I got it for you."
I told her that on the phone.
She writes a report two days later.
Did she include that in the report? No.
I presented the information
to the best of my, uh, professional... ability
and, uh... came to a conclusion.
[Kirkpatrick] I told her that if she goes forward with this,
it would not only be a catastrophic outcome for the child,
it would be a permanent injury to the whole family.
[lawyer 2] Did he warn you that your investigation could result
in needless and permanent harm to the child and family?
I don't know if he specifically said that.
I know he documented something some days later about our conversation.
I read you what I wrote down.
Um, I certainly will acknowledge
that, uh... investigation and medical evaluation
for child abuse and neglect may cause some distress to a family.
[lawyer 2] Is that how you would classify what happened to the Kowalskis?
Distress?
I don't know. You'd have to ask them how they responded to the whole thing.
[crickets chirping]
Beata was focused on Maya's care.
But my approach was
not to cause any more tension between the hospital and our family.
Instead of embracing each other, it just... There was a blow-up.
[Beata kisses Kyle]
[Kyle sniffling]
Our family was falling apart.
[Beata sighs]
[Salisbury] The first phase of a dependency case is the shelter phase,
where the judge will decide where the child will be placed.
They will have the Child Protection Services investigator's preliminary report
and have layers and layers of hearsay.
[woman 1] ...suspicious to me...
[Salisbury] "This doctor said this. This doctor said that."
- [woman 2] ...was a concern... - [Salisbury] It's all admissible.
- [woman 1] ...psychiatric... - [man] ...risk...
[Salisbury] So it's easy for them to win,
and it makes families very vulnerable to the system.
[judge] Good morning. We are here in the Kowalski matter
for a shelter hearing as it relates to the child, Maya.
- [judge, continuing] I know that... - [commotion]
[Jack] Beata.
- [shuffling] - Beata.
[medic 1] Starting rescue in reference to a 50-year-old female.
- Just collapsed in court. - [medic 2] Can you open your eyes?
- [medic 1] Subject is breathing... - [radio chatter]
- [medic 1] Beata. Hey. - [medic 2] Beata, can you hear us?
- [medic 1] Beata? Can you open your eyes? - [medic 2] Can you open your eyes for me?
[monitor bleeping]
[Jack] Beata fell to the ground, smacking her head on the floor.
[Salisbury] Maya was placed in Child Protection Services custody
at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital.
Her treatment regimen was changed
because they said that Beata had Munchausen syndrome by proxy.
[Jack] The judge said that Beata had to go for psychological evaluation.
[Salisbury] Beata had a psychological exam done,
and the findings were
that she did not have Munchausen syndrome by proxy,
but she had an adjustment disorder with depressed mood
from having her child taken away.
And naturally, by being attacked by the system.
[lawyer 3] Um, Maya, do you remember anyone at the hospital
telling you why you were being separated from your parents?
[Maya] No one ever told me directly.
I kind of had to figure that out.
[lawyer 3] Did you have a sense?
You were only ten back then,
but did you have a sense of what was going on?
I was so confused.
Like, I asked so many questions, and they would never answer me.
They would just say, "You can't talk to them."
So I really had no idea.
[Jack] There was a time where I was finally allowed to go see Maya.
But there's a lot of rules that I had to follow.
I wasn't allowed to ask how she was doing, about her treatments.
I couldn't answer when she was coming home.
Couldn't answer much about Mom.
The visit was very brief,
and it was very difficult,
because seen her condition just going downhill.
So her feet turned in more.
She had more lesions.
And just seeing her getting weaker and weaker,
that was the most frustrating thing of all.
So when I come home from visiting Maya,
Beata wanted to know how her little girl's doing.
She wants to know if they're doing procedures
or giving meds and this and that.
And I couldn't say anything.
You know, I can't... If I start doing that,
I'm gonna lose my privileges as a father to go see my daughter,
and our daughter needs somebody to come see her.
So I'd stay quiet.
[lawyer 1] Kyle, did you have a chance to visit your sister
at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital when she was hospitalized there?
Yes.
[lawyer 1] How did your sister appear to you
when you would go visit her at the hospital?
[Kyle] Uh...
She appeared like she did not wanna be there.
[Maya] It was hard for me to be without my parents,
and it was hard to put all this trust into people I didn't even know.
They even said that it's all in Maya's head.
"The kid's sick."
"She's trying to tell people what's wrong with her,
and nobody's listening."
That's incorrect. I know my daughter.
[lawyer 2] Do you think that she improved
from the time that she was admitted to JHACH?
Yes.
She gained weight.
She was weaned off numerous medications.
She was no longer having abdominal pain.
[lawyer 3] From the time you came into All Children's,
did your pain ever improve?
- [lawyer 4] Object to form. - No.
No, not really.
Like, I was in constant pain.
And with CRPS, when it's left untreated,
like, without medication and without the proper physical therapy...
Uh, also without a support system, that definitely plays into it.
But... it's, like, almost impossible to improve.
So, even though doctors came in and out of my room,
um, I was never listened to.
I was basically ignored.
Five minutes or two minutes, that's all it is.
[Kirkpatrick] This was not the first time I've seen this type of scenario.
After a few days at the hospital, they refused to give her ketamine.
And without the high-dose ketamine treatment,
she had virtually no mobility in her legs at all.
That's where you get blood clots forming, which can break off, go to the lungs,
and it could be fatal.
And I felt it was important
that Beata understood the seriousness of this.
[typing]
So I warned her, in all medical probability,
that Maya would die a slow, painful death.
[Beata sighs]
[Beata sighs frustratedly]
One social worker at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital
was assigned to my daughter.
- Please state your name for the record. - Catherine R. Bedy.
Something didn't seem right with her,
so we googled her name.
The first thing that came up was she was arrested for child abuse.
Beata is falsely being accused of child abuse,
and she was on that other side of the phone knowing this
and not being able to do anything for her child.
[Beata] You just woke up?
[Maya] Yeah.
- [Beata] Who's with you today? - [Maya] Cathi.
- [Beata sighs] - [Bedy] Yes.
[Beata] You know, she's really interrupting,
because I hear her talking in the background.
- [Bedy] Mom? - [Beata] Yes.
[Bedy] You need to redirect.
[Beata] I will redirect. I'm just telling you this is my time with my daughter.
[Bedy] Mom, please redirect.
[Beata sighs]
[Jack] I later found out the charges were dropped.
But it set off alarms with Beata.
Cathi Bedy told me that I was gonna go into a foster home.
She told me that my mom was in a mental institution.
She told me that she was gonna end up adopting me.
[lawyer 2] Did you ever sit Maya on your lap?
[Bedy] Yes.
[lawyer 2] Were you hugging Maya?
Um, I think that we provide comfort to a lot of kids so, uh...
probably whilst she was sitting on my lap, I'm sure I did hug her.
[lawyer 2] Do you think Maya liked you?
[lawyer 4] Object to form.
Um, yeah, and...
I also think that there were times that Maya was very mad
because I happened to be the face of the hospital,
along with the doctors.
[lawyer 2] Do you remember being told why they wanted to take photos of you?
Yeah. Cathi Bedy came over to my bed,
and she was like,
"If you wanna go to the court hearing, I have to do this."
[lawyer 2] Risk management made the decision
to have these pictures taken of Maya?
- Yep. - She removed my clothes...
She was in her sports bra and a pair of shorts.
...held me down, took photos of me.
We took pictures of her arms, her legs, her face, and her stomach.
I was screaming, crying, yelling "No."
[lawyer 2] She did not want you to take pictures of her like that, did she?
She did not.
Could not have made it any more clear.
[lawyer 2] But you went ahead and took pictures of her anyway.
Unfortunately, we did.
[lawyer 2] What steps were taken to call the parents
and ask whether you could take pictures of their child like this?
We didn't call the parents.
[Maya] I missed Halloween, Thanksgiving, my birthday,
and all I could think about was when could I go home and see my mom.
[Beata] Hi, Maya. How are you, sweetie pie?
[Maya] I'm really not feeling well.
[Beata] You're not feeling good?
[Maya] Everything is hard for me.
I cry a lot.
[Beata] So the tramadol doesn't do anything for you?
- [Maya] No, not at all. - [Beata sighs]
What else are you getting for pain? - [Maya] Nothing else.
[Beata] Well, I'm very sorry, honey.
I wish I was there to rub your back and hug you.
[Maya] Yeah, me too.
[Beata] Oh, did you get that letter I wrote to you?
- From, um... - [Maya] No.
[Beata]...Miss Cathi?
- [Maya] What? - [Bedy] Miss Cathi has no letter from you.
[Beata] Okay, I sent it to Charlotte.
[Bedy] You'll have to talk with Charlotte.
[Beata] Okay.
Have you been able to talk to your attorney?
[Maya] Yeah. He's gonna come today.
[Beata] Oh good. I just wanna make sure that you are able to talk to him.
[Maya] Well, on the phone I'm not, because I can't call outside.
[Beata] What do you mean, you can't call outside?
You are not in a prison, and you're not in a Nazi camp.
- [Bedy] Mom... Um, Mom. - [Beata] Yes.
[Bedy] She just has to ask the nurse how to do it. That's all.
[Beata] Okay.
[sighs] How was your Thanksgiving?
[Maya sobs]
It wasn't really good.
[Beata] I know.
It was the worst Thanksgiving ever for me.
[Maya] I don't understand why this happened, you know?
[Beata] Yeah, we... It's very difficult. It's very complicated.
[Maya] I mean, nothing's happened wrong, and we're suffering now.
[sobs]
- [Beata] I know. I'm very sorry, honey. - [Maya sighs]
[Beata] Very sorry. Just be strong, okay?
[Maya, shakily] Yeah.
[Beata] I pray for you every day.
[Maya] Me too.
[Beata] So be strong.
[Maya] I'm trying.
- [Beata] Okay. - [Maya sniffles]
[sobs]
[Bedy] Mom? We have to say goodbye.
I have to step into something else right now.
[Beata] Okay.
- Thank you, Maya. - [Maya] I love you, Mommy.
- [Beata] I love you. Bye-bye. - [Maya] Bye-bye, Mommy.
[Jack] I don't know if it was questioning Maya on her treatments
or what they're giving her
or certain things that she can't discuss with her daughter,
but unfortunately, Cathi Bedy accused Beata
of being inappropriate during that phone conversation.
[typing]
And she tried to get Beata's privileges suspended.
Beata, as strong as she is, it just destroyed her.
[lawyer 1] Mr. Kowalski, were you aware that your wife was the subject
of a pending criminal investigation by the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office?
I never heard there was a pending investigation.
[lawyer 1] I believe you sat down and gave a recorded statement to Detective Graham.
Am I correct?
Yes, I sat down with her, but I did not know I was being recorded.
I did not give consent to be recorded.
[lawyer 2] You told them that you were a detective
investigating child abuse, did you not?
I would've had my badge and gone on and probably identified myself, yes.
I asked if I could interview him,
and we sat down, and we had a... pleasant conversation.
[rustling on recording]
[Graham] Um...
Could you tell me a little about you and your wife's relationship?
[Jack] It's like any marriage. You've got your ups and downs.
And sure, you're not gonna agree on everything.
- You know? - [Graham] Okay.
Do you guys ever disagree on Maya's care?
[Jack] No. I know my wife. She...
She'll stay up till three in the morning, you know, doing research or whatever.
I kind of listen to what she says with that and the doctors.
Number one is the doctors.
[Graham] Is Maya looking for some... attention from her mom?
Trying to please her mom? Mom wants her to be sick.
- So "I'm gonna be sick to please my mom"? - [Jack] I hope not. God, I hope not.
[sighs]
[Graham] Let's not differentiate love and affection and caring...
- [Jack] Mm-hmm. - [Graham] ...for abuse.
- Because they can happen in tandem. - [Jack] Yeah.
I don't agree with her on a lot of things, but I'll tell you what,
intentionally, she would never hurt her children.
I'd swear on my life on that one.
- [Graham] Do you love your wife? - [Jack] I love her, yeah. I just...
She is a pushy person,
and it's getting worse right now.
Just, you know, she don't wanna cooperate.
- [Graham] This is a complicated case. - [Jack] Sure.
[Graham] And... I think it...
it could be very possible someone could be looking at criminal charges.
- [Jack] Hmm. - [Graham] Which is why I'm asking you.
Are you protective, or are you complicit?
[Jack] Protective of my children.
[Graham] Are your children truly your first priority?
[Jack] I swear on my life, and my children's lives.
[Graham] I don't care.
I'll put you and your wife in jail tomorrow if it meant Maya gets better.
- [Jack] If I did wrong, put me in jail. - [Graham] Absolutely.
[Jack] Yes, I accept that.
[Graham] Let me ask you. If Maya was released tomorrow,
would you be compliant
if that child was not to have any contact with her mother?
[Jack] Yes.
In a heartbeat.
[director] So did they want Jack to turn on Beata?
I would assume that they did.
That would've made their case easier.
[director] He said that he would choose his kids over his wife.
That's what he's supposed to say.
If you say otherwise, it will be held against you.
That is the only correct answer.
I did go home. I told Beata what happened.
Um...
Yeah. It's... "What'd you say? Why did you do this? Why..."
I told her, "I have nothing to hide."
[grunts] I told her exactly that "They're trying to blame you,"
and... and then it just... it caused a lot of stress in the house.
I'm sure she felt very much betrayed. Mm.
[playing "My Heart Will Go On"]
[conversation in background]
[woman] Ooh! Now say the line. Say the word.
- [child sings] - [woman] Good, good, very good.
[judge] Ms. Bedy, you'd said before you thought Maya was happy and thriving
under your care and the care of the hospital.
[Bedy] Yes.
Maya was moving her legs, moving her hands without any pain.
She was out playing the piano downstairs
and often moved herself around the hospital.
So we saw her getting better.
[judge] Do you have any response to that?
RSD is a disease, and every day, it looks a little bit different.
There are certain days that I could do certain things,
and there are other days, where I can't do those things.
So depending on the days, it's gonna look different.
So, yes, they are wrong there.
When we look at pain, and when I see kids in pain,
Maya never showed some of the symptoms that we see other kids in pain having.
[Maya] Dear your honor. Love, Maya.
Hello, it's Maya, and I wanted to write you a note.
First of all, I wanted to thank you for taking your time working on this case.
And I know that you know I want to go home.
I've been feeling terrible the last few days.
I have been getting worse and worse.
All I want for Christmas is my family.
I cry every day, and it makes me feel sad.
I never got to say my goodbyes to my mom.
I pray every day that I will be able to go home.
[Salisbury] In the middle of December 2016,
there was a hearing scheduled, a status conference.
We were constantly having status conferences,
and Varinia Van Ness came on as cocounsel.
[Salisbury] This was a huge power struggle.
But no matter what we did,
the court repetitively sided
with the hospital staff and Dr. Sally Smith.
[Salisbury] It never made any sense to me
why she was denied giving her child that hug.
And I can tell you, as we left the courthouse that day,
that Beata was devastated.
Devastated.
And the one thing that I know to this day
is none of us can get that hug back now.
That hug is gone.
[producer] You think if she had hugged her,
things would've turned out differently?
Yes, I do.
I do.
[Jack] That day we were supposed to go to a neighbor's for a, uh, birthday party,
a kids' birthday party.
She goes, "Let me get up and wrap the present."
"I'm not gonna go."
"I'm gonna sleep. I got a migraine headache." [sighs]
Kyle and I went to that party.
And when we came home,
her bedroom door was shut.
We thought she was asleep.
So we decided to sit down, watch some TV.
Later that night,
somebody was knocking on the door.
It was her brother, Peter.
So Peter was walking around the house.
He walked in the garage.
There was a scream...
that I'll never forget.
It's my name in Polish.
Jacek.
He screamed that so loud, I knew.
[dispatch] 911, tell me exactly what happened.
[Jack breathing heavily]
Uh, she hung herself in the garage.
[gasps]
- [Kyle] Mommy! No... - [Jack sighs] No...
- [dispatch] Stay on the line. - [Kyle crying]
- [Jack sobs] - [dispatch] How old is she?
[Jack] Forty-two.
[sobbing]
Oh my God.
[sobbing]
- [Kyle] Mommy! Mom! - [Jack] No, you can't go in there.
[dispatch] I'm sending someone to assist you.
Please leave everything as you found it.
- [Jack] Just please get somebody here. - [dispatch] They're on their way.
[sirens approaching]
[man] Did your wife give you any indication that this would happen?
[Jack] No, but my daughter has an illness, and it's all started from that.
- Just the disease alone was horrible. - [phone rings]
- This is my attorney. Could I answer it? - [man] Sure.
- Hey, Debra. - [faintly] Oh my God!
- I'm so sorry. - [Jack] Debra, I am so sick.
[sobs]
- [Salisbury] I'm so sorry. - [Jack sobs]
[Salisbury] I feel so bad. The judge was so cold.
[Jack] I know this is what happened.
This... I know it's because he turned her down.
That killed her.
All the way home, that's all she talked about.
[sighs heavily]
I don't know how I'm gonna tell Maya later.
Because I can't go there and tell her and then leave.
[crying on recording]
Okay.
Thanks, Deb. Bye.
[Salisbury] I remember the phone call from Jack
that his wife had ended her life.
I was devastated.
I just could not believe what had happened.
But I think the note that Beata left for Judge Haworth
makes it pretty clear
that she wanted her child to be free from that hospital.
She was very worried about what was happening
and the treatment that she was being forced to take.
She wanted to make sure that her child got out of there.
And she didn't see any other way out.
[bell rings]
[playing Prelude and Fugue in C major by Bach]
[Maya] Hi, Mommy!
[Beata] Hi, Maya.
How is my sunshine today?
[Maya] I really, really miss you, Mommy.
[Beata] I do too.
I miss you every second of the day.
[Maya] I miss you coming home from work.
Hugging and snuggling.
I miss swimming in the pool with you.
I miss everything.
[Beata] Just close your eyes and pretend I'm there.
I know it's not the same, but just be strong and don't lose hope.
[Maya] I'm hurting. I wanna come home.
[Beata] I will do everything. I promise you.
[Jack] Shortly after Beata's death,
they allowed me to take Maya
to go see a specialist in Rhode Island.
Dr. Chopra.
He did an evaluation on her,
which did confirm that she does have CRPS.
And he sent his report to the court.
Not too much longer after that, Maya was released to my custody.
[Bach's Prelude continues]
[woman] Maya, we are so excited to see you.
So thankful you're home.
[Beata] Would you like to pray together?
[Maya] Yeah.
[Beata] Lord Jesus, I now take your precious blood
and sprinkle it over Maya and my family.
I surrender my family to you.
Take care of everything, and take care of Maya.
[Maya] Amen.
[Maya] My mom was very compassionate.
She was caring, loyal, intelligent.
[sighs]
It's hard to, you know, pick adjectives
because, honestly, when I think of my mom, there's...
You can't really describe her in a couple of words.
After being held captive for three whole months,
being told that I could go back to some normalcy,
it was so nice to hear that.
It felt like all of my prayers had been answered,
all of my family's prayers had been answered.
[sighs]
But I lost one of the most important people in my life.
A person who I didn't even get to say goodbye to.
[sighs]
Yeah, that was the worst.
Here I thought I was gonna be able to see her again,
maybe even if it took an entire year.
But just being told that that was never gonna happen...
[producer] Let's take a break now, okay?
- Let me get you some water, okay? - Mm-hmm.
[Jack] After Maya was released in 2017,
we had to follow certain instructions from the court.
She was not allowed any ketamine treatments,
so we had to do things slow.
It took over a year of physical therapy,
and she went from a wheelchair to crutches.
And then one year after that, walking around.
But she still had pain.
A lot of pain.
And she could relapse any time.
[director] So, Maya can walk now.
Yes, Maya can walk now.
She has... She still has some impairments in her lower extremities.
[on tape] ...stand up. Thatta girl.
- Good job! - She's made tremendous gains.
But she has CRPS,
and she's gonna continue to have to live with that diagnosis.
[Jack] We are trying to do the best we can.
But the kids will never be the same.
It's very difficult to understand what went through Beata's mind.
Thinking that was the only way to get her daughter out.
I miss her dearly.
But... I have anger, here and there.
It is so difficult to try to play both roles.
And as much as you try, you cannot replace their mother.
Something good has to come from all this pain.
[woman] I've been a reporter for over five years,
and, you know, you don't get to the truth
by just accepting what's in front of you without questioning it.
And this seemed like an area that needed to be questioned.
In 2019, I was covering child welfare in Sarasota
when I came across the case of the Kowalski family.
It just was so tragic, so complicated.
And when I learned that Beata Kowalski had actually taken her life,
I mean, it just hit me like a wall of bricks.
I knew that I had to take the story on, and I knew that I had to get it right.
So I started digging.
Part of my investigation was talking to the Kowalskis.
I also interviewed Dr. Sally Smith over the phone
to get her side of the story,
and Dr. Smith was extremely firm that she had done nothing wrong.
But what I found out was that Dr. Smith's opinions
differed a lot from other doctors, including Maya's care team,
Doctor Kirkpatrick and Dr. Hanna.
It was January 2019 when I hit publish on that piece about the Kowalski family,
and I kind of thought I'd move on to the next thing.
But that was when the calls started coming in
and the emails started coming in,
and I realized that this was a lot bigger than just the Kowalskis.
- Rolling. - Take Care of Maya...
- Ashley interview, take two. - Take Care of Maya...
Vivianna, take one.
When I read the article in the Sarasota Herald Tribune,
I realized it was so much bigger than what we had thought.
Bye. [clicks tongue]
The realization that there are so many other people going through it...
I couldn't believe it. I could not believe it.
He's having a seizure. His eyes are rolling. He's shaking.
He's not breathing. He barely has a pulse.
She started throwing up.
Then she started getting little bruises.
I'm rushing to the hospital.
- We need to call 911. - Call 911.
We instantly called 911. We did what you're taught to do.
[Chen] I'm sitting at my desk,
and I start hearing from more and more families.
People who had gone to the doctor for help for their kids
and then became the target of the system.
They find broken ribs. They find a brain bleed.
They found old and new brain bleeds.
And I was like, "What do you mean, like, she has this?"
"I brought her here for bruises."
And that's when I met Sally Smith.
[Chen] They're frantic. They're desperate.
And one thing that they all had in common was Dr. Sally Smith
and Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital.
[Vivianna] She saw us for less than ten minutes,
and then my husband was arrested for aggravated child abuse.
We ended up arrested and imprisoned, and my children were in foster care.
[Chen] These families walked in, hoping for help for their child,
and some of them walked out in handcuffs.
[Maya] At the hospital,
the way they spoke about my mom,
it was pretty messed up.
They would try to convince me that my mom was doing things to me.
That she was making my CRPS up.
It's complete nonsense.
I realize that now.
At first, I was, um... definitely confused,
and that confusion molded into anger.
To be in a hospital that's basically keeping you captive
away from my family, my friends, my school,
and away from the person you love.
[sighs]
Just very frustrating.
But I kept it in.
'Cause I was raised by two parents
who always taught me to be kind and respectful,
and that's what I did.
[Jack] You know what?
We tried to cooperate.
But nothing changes if you stay quiet.
And we have to hold Johns Hopkins responsible for what they done.
We want justice for Mom.
[Beata] Okay, so the first one was Namenda.
- And the second one was... - [nurse] Mm-hmm.
[Beata] He left you a message, and I know he did.
- And then he sent you email later. - [nurse] All right, Beata...
[Beata] The judge allowed her to have a phone.
- It's in the court order. - [nurse] Beata. Please stop recording me.
[man] Beata was a nurse, not a lawyer.
But somehow, she knew what the hospital was doing.
She documented everything.
Every email, every writing, every phone call,
and all of that documentation is the reason we can sue.
Because when they come in and tell us a falsehood,
we have the truth.
[woman] When I heard those phone calls, as a mother, I got it.
I got the frustration of Beata.
It was like a pressure cooker. You know?
I... I could feel that just kind of building up.
As lawyers, we're trained to separate the emotion out of it,
but you can't help yourself.
You think about "What if it was my child,
and she's got something that's causing extreme pain,
and then you find doctors that say there's hope?"
That was all just stripped away instantly.
Most families give up.
Not because they want to,
but because they're taking on a huge corporation and the state.
So most parents don't have the ability, the funds, the fortitude, or the counsel
to fight back, so they enter into a case plan.
My attorney advised that it'd be safest and quickest to take the case plan.
[Jennifer] A case plan is where a parent chooses to go along
with whatever the state requires of them.
A checklist, if you will, to get your child back.
It's just simpler to go through the case plan
even if you're innocent.
However, if you go ahead and sign the case plan,
you're releasing the hospital from liability.
But the Kowalskis didn't take a case plan.
Beata wasn't gonna do that.
She knew she was right, and she was gonna fight.
[Jennifer] I don't know that they were looking to the future,
but I do know that set them apart.
If she hadn't taken such an aggressive approach, we couldn't have sued.
So we're going after the hospital,
Dr. Sally Smith, and Suncoast,
based on what's known as "infliction of emotional distress,"
meaning that they knew what they were doing,
pushing her towards some form of harm.
So they should pay punitive damages,
which are designed to punish them for their wrongdoing.
[Vivianna] This young girl, Maya, represents hope for all of us
in bringing Sally Smith down, bringing the system down.
[Jennifer] They want their voice heard, they want to be able to tell their story,
and they want the hospital and Dr. Sally Smith to actually hear them.
[Maya] I want people to see that I wasn't lying,
and that other families who are going through similar situations,
they're not lying either.
I have CRPS.
My mom was not making me sick.
I just wish people would believe me.
[bailiff] Miss Kowalski, would you be so kind as to raise your right hand?
Do you solemnly swear the testimony you are about to give
will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes.
[lawyer 1] We're on the record. The time is 9:57 on August 28, 2020.
[court clerk] This marks the beginning of the deposition of Kyle Kowalski.
We are on the record. October 15th, 2021, at 9:01 a.m.
[Jack] It's been five years now
since we decided to file a lawsuit against Johns Hopkins.
We're not sleeping at night. We're thinking of it all the time.
[lawyer 1] Time is 2:41. We're going off the record.
It's absolutely brutal.
[lawyer 2] Did you look for a second opinion
for someone who could perform a ketamine coma procedure?
That, I'm unaware of.
Unfortunately, the person that would know that answer is dead.
[lawyer 2] By that, you mean your late wife, Beata Kowalski?
That is correct.
[lawyer 2] You indicate in paragraph six of your affidavit that you, quote,
"refuse to go to doctors or hospitals."
- Do you see that? - Yeah.
[lawyer 2] Why is it that you refuse to go to doctors or hospitals?
I feel like it's pretty self-explanatory.
The last time I was in a hospital,
I was medically abducted for three months.
I just can't go to doctors. I hate going to doctors.
I hate going to hospitals.
[lawyer 2] Okay.
Next time you do a depo on my daughter, could you use a different tactic?
She takes it hard, and you gotta be careful.
- Especially with a young child. - [lawyer 2] Mm-hmm.
[crying] I remember
hearing the nurses talk about me.
"She's a liar. She's a liar. Don't believe anything she said."
"She's not in pain." That's what they would say to me.
That's what they would say to people!
You have no clue how traumatic that was for me.
You have the audacity to ask me why I'm afraid of hospitals?
Are you insane? Are you insane?
My mom died, and I will never get to see her again!
Ever!
I have to go to school, and girls talk about
how they went on shopping trips with their mom.
How they get to, you know, have little things.
You know how hard it is for me to sit and, like, listen to that?
Are you serious?
You traumatized me!
[lawyer 2] You need to take a break, Maya?
[frustratedly] Yeah.
[lawyer 2] Okay. We can go off the record.
[Gregory] We're in the final stages of preparations to get us to trial.
So people are staying up late.
There's paper flying everywhere.
We're getting last-minute motions filed. We're flying experts in.
They all come down to see Dr. Hanna and get ketamine treatments?
[Gregory] And recently, we started digging into the codes
that Johns Hopkins used for billing the insurance companies,
and we found out that they billed them for three months' treatment for CRPS.
The exact same illness
Sally Smith was telling the courts she did not have
and that the parents had made up.
- Really? - Yeah.
I think the other side's gonna have a hard time.
I think that's why they have been fighting tooth and nail
to play keep away from the jury.
And we just found out that the hospital hired a former judge
from the Second District Court of Appeals that sits above our trial court,
so Johns Hopkins will have incredibly powerful legal representation.
I do. I think...
[Gregory] April 4th, we pick a jury,
and then we'll be in trial.
- [computer chimes] - [Gregory] Hi, May.
- [chuckles] - [Gregory] Where's Kyle?
- There he is. - Hello.
- How's my man? - Good.
So, yesterday morning,
we got an order telling us we could go to trial.
And we were ecstatic.
Then, around 1:30,
we get the second order from the Second District Court of Appeals
to stay the trial.
So,
we're not gonna go to trial Monday.
Are you gonna be okay, May?
- I guess. - We're gonna get 'em.
- [scoffs] But... - We got 'em.
- It's just a... - [Gregory] Hey.
- ...little more time. - [Gregory] Maya.
That's what we've been told for how many years?
- Maya, listen. - I can tell you this.
They don't have a case at trial
because they're fighting so hard to keep us out of the courtroom.
The last thing they want on the planet
is seeing the three Kowalskis on that witness stand telling their story.
It's perseverance that wins the day here.
[Kyle] They're scared for us being in the courtroom.
They're just doing everything they could to keep us out and keep delaying it.
I just don't want us as a family to feel defeated.
Losing my mom,
and then all the stress that's put on my dad,
trying to manage having kids, and then going through all this.
I just don't want us to live the rest of our lives knowing that.
[director] Knowing what?
That we lost.
[Chen] Even when cases had been dropped or overturned,
the damage had been done.
Kids had been traumatized,
parents had their reputations destroyed.
[Ashley] Even though my charges were dropped, and I was found of no wrongdoing,
I had people messaging me, telling me that I should kill myself,
that my children deserved to be in foster care,
and they hoped I never got them back.
[Carly] They tried to divide her father and I.
They wanted us to argue. They wanted us to blame each other.
I lost a lot of friends.
I lost my home, my job,
my daughter.
I've learned to try not to think about it because, you know, she's home now, and...
Sorry.
Nobody ever pays you back
for the money that you spent on lawyers and experts and attorneys,
and you go into debt. You know, we almost filed for bankruptcy.
It's just crazy.
[John] I spent over 300 days in jail before they finally dropped the charges.
They ruined my life because of it.
[Ashley] It's just a very scary feeling
to know that somebody's words can be so life changing.
There's a lot of pressure on child-abuse pediatricians
to be able to say definitively
that this was abuse, or that this was an accident.
But these kinds of cases are way too complicated
to be black and white.
Often they're in a gray area.
So when there is just one person whose word is like gold,
opinions, interpretation, perspectives, bias starts to play in
and starts to play a huge, huge role, and it can be a dangerous one.
[Vivianna] Since 2016, I've been writing Sally Smith a Christmas card
with our family's picture on it
so she's reminded of a family that she tried to break apart but didn't.
She wrote me back one year, which I was very surprised,
and this is what she said.
"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Graham, I received your card again
and just wanted to say I'm sorry you're still so angry
about my part in the investigation regarding your son."
"There are definitely a disturbing number
of abused and neglected children in Pinellas County."
"I understand you feel very strongly that your son wasn't one of them."
"You mentioned in your note
that Tristan was found to have another diagnosis,
and if you have a chance,
I would very much like to hear what that was
so I can consider it appropriately next time."
"I try very hard to be thorough and get it right."
"But perhaps..."
[clears throat]
"...I need to be careful to consider the 'gray areas.'"
If there's gray areas,
this is just based on her... her opinion.
[sighs]
[Ashley] There's been so many cases,
so many families that have been affected and wrongly accused.
How many times are you allowed to be wrong and destroy lives before they say,
"Okay, that's enough. It's time that we change some things"?
What is it truly gonna take?
[dog whimpers]
Shh.
It's okay.
Yeah, it's okay.
[whines]
Courtroom H. [sighs]
They stopped us from having our jury selection on Monday.
It is now Tuesday,
and we have one more chance to go in front of the judge and, uh...
see if we could continue to have this trial,
starting tomorrow with the jury selection.
If not, we'd probably have to live with this for another year.
We just gotta get off this ride. It's a horrible ride.
[Maya] Last night, I wrote a statement that I'd like to tell the court today,
and I'm hoping that they could finally hear me for once.
I want them to know my mom was a good person.
I want them to know how strong she was and how determined she was.
I think I'm mainly going there for her.
[Jennifer] This trial means everything to them,
because, without this, there's no closure.
They need the world to hear their story.
It doesn't mean you fix it, but at least they can finally... move on.
[bailiff] All rise. This 12th Judicial Circuit Court in and for Sarasota County
is now in session.
The Honorable Hunter Carroll presiding.
Please be seated, everyone.
I moved 2,000 cases to make this trial happen,
but we are now getting past the window of opportunity
to start the case.
That... That's just where I'm at.
I understand that, Judge,
but there's extenuating circumstances here,
and I have the ability to cut the case down
to the bare minimum to get the case done.
[Carroll] How do you get around the Second District Court of Appeal
having stayed the trial?
I mean, I... I can't say I can do jury selection but not the trial.
[Gregory] Uh...
I don't see any limitation
in the Court's jurisdiction to pick a jury,
and I will do absolutely anything that's necessary
to get the case tried within the requisite period.
Mr. Altenbernd, any further response?
I just don't see how it's feasible.
[Carroll] I... I'm at the point, folks,
that I feel like there's just too much uncertainty at this point,
so at this point, I'm going to remove the case from the trial docket.
Uh, I will enter an order staying proceedings in the trial court,
uh, until the earlier of May 4th, 2022,
or further order of the Court.
Is there anything else, uh, we need to discuss today?
Yes, Your Honor.
The Kowalskis are here,
and they just wanted to speak to the court if that's all right.
[Carroll] Well, it's a little unusual. Mr. Hunter, what's your thought?
I don't know where this is going. I don't think it's a good idea.
[Carroll] Um... I... I think it's probably best to just leave it at that.
So... with that, we'll be in recess. I will get the orders out.
[Gregory] Okay, thank you.
- [Carroll] Okay. Thank you all very much. - [Gregory] Your Honor.
[bailiff] All rise. Court is in recess.
Okay... [sobs]
[Jack] It's okay. It's all right.
I can't...
[Maya sobbing]
[Maya] Can I sit in the front?
[Jack] Yeah.
- [engine starts] - [Maya crying]
[Jack] Heartless bastards.
They're just gonna continue to beat us up.
They don't give a shit.
So...
[Maya] Please stop talking. I don't wanna hear it anymore.
[door closes]
[door slams]
- [Kyle sobs] - [door slams]
[Jack] Come here.
[Kyle, crying] It's not fair, Dad. It's never gonna end.
It's never gonna end!
It's never gonna end, Dad.
[sobbing]
Nothing works.
I pray every single night.
Nothing. It doesn't help.
[sighs]
This has not been a good day.
[Jack] The kids are totally crushed.
I'm crushed.
It wears you out.
But if we give up and shut our mouths,
it's gonna happen again.
It's just a matter of time.
[Chen] This doesn't just end with the Kowalskis, or just in Florida.
Families all across the country
are coming forward with stories about being accused of child abuse.
Some families are stuck in the legal system for years,
battling these accusations.
Some parents are in prison to this day.
The Kowalski family, they're standing up for these parents
and trying to bring awareness to this issue
that has been shrouded in so much shame and secrecy.
[director] Speeding.
The windows, and everything's closed out here.
[indistinct voices speaking]
[Jack] We want Beata's voice to be heard.
[director] We good on focus?
[Jack] We want Maya's voice to be heard.
[crew speaking indistinctly]
[crew member] Yep. Great. Thank you.
[director] Maya, are you okay?
You okay?
I want to speak.
But I just... I can't without crying.
[softly] I hate crying.
[Beata, over recording] It's okay if you have to cry.
It's... It's normal.
You have to speak for yourself now because Mommy is not there.
Just close your eyes and pretend I'm there.
I know it's not the same, but just be strong.
[young Maya] If you're watching this, Mommy, I want you to know that I love you.
Send you kisses.
You'll know it's from me.
"Dear Mom."
"Saying that life has felt fucked up since you left
is probably the biggest understatement I could make."
"Dad, Kyle, and I have all had to adapt to your absence."
"Dad distracts himself
by helping the neighbors with painting projects."
"Kyle does his best to escape by fishing for hours."
"When pouring all my energy into my schoolwork got to be too exhausting,
I started to book every second of my free time with friends,
outside of the house and away from reminders."
"But as soon as we step foot into our home,
we are brought back to reality."
"We miss you."
"I miss you."
"For five years, we have been promised our trial."
"Yet it seems that the closer we get to a set date,
the further it gets pushed."
"Even though we are discouraged, we will not settle."
"We will fight for you,
and we will fight for the thousands of other families
who find themselves in the same unfortunate circumstances."
"Our day will come. I love you."
[Beata, over recording] I love you too.
[Jack] We build a family with love.
Honesty.
Trust.
We, as parents, try to do the best we can for our children.
You do everything for them.
That's what Beata and I did.
So our son Leo was born with a rare genetic disorder.
I noticed that something was wrong with his right leg.
She was crying and moving her arm in a weird way when we picked her up.
DHS called and said, "You have to bring 'em in to our doctor."
We went to the emergency room, and they did an X-ray on her.
The child-abuse pediatrician came in
and said there was no other explanation other than abusive head trauma.
They never looked into his medical history.
Never did any type of due diligence to see what had been going on.
And I said, "Can this be something else, such as a medical condition
because my son has never been hurt in any way?"
And he said, "Yes, but since he's a baby and can't talk,
we're gonna go with abuse," and walked away.
I thought I was doing the right thing by taking my child to the hospital,
and I honestly had no idea what the consequences could be.
We went in there with two babies and left with none.
I spent 15 years in prison.
My father, he was sentenced to prison,
and he's been there for 26 years.
It's not "You're innocent until proven guilty."
It's "You're guilty until you prove your own innocence."
I just cannot even believe that this is the actual system
that is set in place to protect children.
We'd never thought this ever would have happened to us.
But this can, in fact, happen to anyone at any time.
The trauma, like, it's... it's forever.
Yeah.