Monica Shaw (A Child's Cry for Help)

Monica Shaw (Pam Dawber), born Monica Ellis, is the main villainess of the 1994 TV film A Child's Cry for Help (alternately titled Intensive Care; airdate November 14, 1994).

Backstory[]

Monica Ellis' father was a physician, though as Monica herself claimed, he only spent time with her when she was ill. Some time later, while living in Boise, she had her first child with an unseen man out of wedlock: a son named Billy. After his birth, Monica became a villainess by poisoning her son with laxatives, doing so to receive attention from hospital staff when he was tended to, which led her to continue administering said laxatives. The deceptive woman's poisoning culminated in Billy's murder; he was only 18 months old when he died from a ruptured intestine.

Following his demise, she got married and became Monica Shaw, and it was on June 7, 1986, that she gave birth to her second son: Eric Shaw. Her marriage ended some time in 1989, and it was at that point that the deranged villainess began intentionally making her son ill with laxatives, doing so for the next five years. During this time period, Monica took him to hospitals in Phoenix, Tucson, and Seattle, all while enjoying the attention she received from the hospitals' staff and from Eric. At some point, the Seattle staff became suspicious, and that led to Monica and Eric moving to Denver a month before the film's events, where she continued her twisted actions.

Events[]

The beginning of the film introduced Monica as a worried mother showing concern for her son, with Dr. Paula Spencer (the main protagonist) tending to Eric. Upon seeing signs of appendicitis, surgery was performed, only for Paula to inform Monica that while it wasn't appendicitis, she would find out what the problem was. Monica acted grateful to the protagonist, but late one night, the psychotic former entered her second son's room (which was seen from her point of view without revealing her identity) and placed fecal matter into the IV so that he would continue to be ill.

Furthermore, the maniacal criminal made another nightly trip to the hospital and committed the same villainous act to the IV of Eric's roommate Bobby Wilson as well, doing so to deflect suspicions away from herself. After infections and outside parties were suspected, Paula began to deduce that Monica (who had bonded with the former's daughter Amanda) was the culprit behind the poisonings when Alma—one of the hospital's nurses—commented on how much time she spent with him: "at least 18 hours a day" according to her estimate. She then did research on Munchausen syndrome by proxy, leading to her receiving confirmation from Dr. Richard Lowell during a phone conversation that she fit the profile of someone who has the psychiatric condition. To further confirm her suspicions, the protagonist gave an order to keep anyone who isn't hospital staff away from Eric, much to the callous woman's dismay. As Paula figured, his condition improved because of her order, leading to the villainess confronting her and accusing her of keeping her from him before threatening to sign him out of the hospital the next day if she "[didn't] see the benefit" of isolating him.

Reveal[]

Evil Monica Shaw — Monica disguised as a nurse while visiting Eric's room

Monica then snapped at Dr. Spencer after the former was informed by Thelma Waters that her second son would be taken into the custody of the Department of Social Services, and afterwards, a hearing took place regarding the accusations made against her. This was followed by the deranged madwoman visiting Eric's room while disguised as a nurse in order to continue poisoning him, violating a restraining order against her. After Becky (a young girl who befriended Eric) spotted her in the hallway, Monica attempted to manipulate her into believing that she was not there and that she was only dreaming. It was to no avail, as Becky informed Amanda the next day that she saw the delusional domestic abuser at the hospital the previous night.

Paula began to have problems proving the claims against Monica until she took another look at a drawing made by Eric, mainly the Space Needle. The drawing in question unveiled his and his mother's connection to Seattle, leading to the latter being called to the stand during her hearing in Judge Franken's courtroom, where her evil history was brought up by Social Services lawyer Brad Currie. The villainess denied everything: living in Seattle, Phoenix, and Tucson, along with her second son's visits to hospitals in those cities. In response to the reveal that a woman with the same name and social security number was taking Eric to said hospitals, Monica attempted to claim that her identity was stolen. After that, however, her maiden name and her past in Boise was exposed. She broke down and went into a demented rant during which she falsely claimed that she loved Billy and accused everyone of being against her. It can be assumed that Monica was imprisoned offscreen for her crimes.

Quotes[]

"You bitch! You told me this isn't personal! You told me this isn't person— you told me!" (Monica snapping at Paula after being informed of Eric being taken into the custody of the Department of Social Services)
"Please! Your Honor! Don't... take... my son away from me! Don't— please don't— take this son from... me! I am a good mother! It's— everybody's against me! I don't understand! I— I just wanna go home..." (Monica's rant during her breakdown)