'Munchausen mom' gets McGirt release but feds jail her on child abuse counts

Jun. 10—The federal case involving a Park Hill mother who allegedly faked her son's illnesses through years of abuse, and collected money from fundraisers, is set for trial.

Kasie Keys was arrested in August 2019 for child abuse after medical professionals noticed her son got healthier when he wasn't in her care. The boy was born in 2009, and according to court records, he was healthy.

In 2012, various medical issues began plaguing the boy, and he ended up on oxygen and in a wheelchair. He was put on a feeding tube that was later replaced by a total parenteral nutrition or intravenous nutrition. The boy couldn't eat solid foods, and Keys reported he would not bear weight on his legs. She claimed the boy suffered from mitochondrial disease.

Keys took her son to see several pediatricians over the years, but they were not able to identify causes for the medical issues. Keys reported to a local pediatrician that her son had been diagnosed with development delays and cerebral palsy. Another pediatrician saw the boy in the hospital several times for infections, vomiting, and vitamin deficiency. She said Keys had asked for unnecessary procedures.

Another pediatrician was able to wean the boy off the oxygen and almost back to full feedings through the tube while he was under hospital care. However, the boy was back on oxygen and could not tolerate tube feedings while he back at home and under Keys' care.

According to court reports, the same doctor observed the boy standing up and playing. He laid back down and apologized for being up, saying he wasn't supposed to be up and around. Keys asked the doctor for unnecessary procedures as well.

The pediatrician who managed the boy's Total Parenteral Nutrition, which was not adjusted correctly, indicated that could cause abdominal pain, vomiting, jaundice, or even death, if it progressed. Keys reportedly failed to show up to appointments that would have helped wean the boy off the TPN.

The same doctor asked the boy to get up and walk several times, and he was able to do so. Keys also failed to show up for those appointments and said her son needed to be in the wheelchair. The doctor asked Keys why her son needed to be on oxygen, and she claimed he had respiratory problems. During examinations, no respiratory issues were found, and other doctors said oxygen saturation levels were fine.

Keys then sought out a hospice provider and told medical professionals her son was "terminal." One hospice care facility refused to take in the boy because Keys didn't provide supporting documentation. However, one facility took him in without a medical records review.

According to the affidavit, Keys was seen giving the boy discontinued medication and withholding prescribed medications and TPN additives.

A pediatric gastroenterologist saw the boy for feeding tolerance issues and intestinal pseudo-obstruction. The boy improved, but only when he was out of Keys' care.

Specialists reviewed the boy's medical records and concluded he received invasive procedures based on symptoms that were described by Keys, and not based on testing. One specialist determined Keys was physically abusing the boy through child abuse, or Munchausen syndrome by proxy. According to medical records, the boy was never diagnosed with a terminal illness.

In June 2018, a registered nurse and case worker spent the night at Keys' home because the boy's health had declined to a point that staff prepared for him to die. According to court reports, Keys insisted the nurse use up vials of medication she had been dispensing; however, the nurse used sealed, unused vials, and the boy improved overnight.

The child was removed from the home and hospitalized. The boy's father got full custody and he was no longer dependent on a feeding tube or a wheelchair. He was able to eat solid foods without complications and is normally active.

District 27 District Attorney Jack Thorp requested assistance from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. A warrant was issued for Keys' arrest and she was booked in the Cherokee County Detention Center.

The state dismissed Keys' case due to the Supreme Court ruling of McGirt v. Oklahoma in 2021, but the U.S District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma picked it up.

A federal grand jury returned an eight-count indictment against Keys, charging her with six counts of child abuse and two counts of child neglect. She pleaded not guilty to the charges and was remanded to the custody of U.S. Marshal Service until she was allowed to post a $25,000 bond.

Her case involves more than 44,000 pages of medical records, according to court documents.

The jury trial was reset several times and Keys' case is slated for trial on Aug. 16 before District Judge Ronald A. White.