Mike Weber ('90) remembers his first investigation of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a form of medical abuse also known as factitious disorder imposed on another (FDIA).

"There was no template. There was no research. There was no training for police. There still is no training for Child Protective Services in the state of Texas." 

Now, through decades of work, Weber is providing a template for others. A former investigator for several police departments and the Tarrant County District Attorney's office, Weber has become a national expert in the severe form of abuse in which caregivers induce illness in a person under their care, most commonly children. He has co-written the book The Mother Next Door: Medicine, Deception, and Munchausen by Proxy, which examines three impactful cases.

But his path was unexpected.

Building a Career

As a 19-year-old, Weber was attending junior college and working in a shoe store when a coworker told him he was going to the police academy in Kennedale. Did Weber want to join? Police officers don't get tickets, the friend quipped, and it paid more than the store.

Weber agreed. "Once I got into it, I obviously liked the job," he says.

Weber's original plan was to pursue a career in sports management, so he came to UNT at age 23, majoring in physical education with a minor in business. He continued to serve as a reserve police officer during the school year and worked part-time as a police officer in the summer. 

Despite his nontraditional age, he hung out at Fry Street, attended athletics games and played basketball in the rec center. He didn't tell anyone about his police job.

"I was going to have the college experience. I would do things that college kids did."

As a working student, his days were long -- in his last semester, he attended classes in the morning, left Denton at 12:20 p.m., took the hour-long drive to Kennedale and then worked from 2 to 10 p.m. -- but because he worked dispatch, he was able to study during his shift.

Weber completed his bachelor's degree in 1990 and was set to make a career change when his then-police chief asked him to work on the narcotics task force in Arlington, his first investigative assignment.

"That's what started to intrigue me, and make me grow up, and make me get more serious about the law enforcement career. I just liked the mental challenge of building a case."

Through the years, he worked for the Mansfield and Arlington Police Departments. A colleague tipped him off about Arlington PD's Crimes Against Children division, and the opportunity piqued his interest.

"Once I got in, I realized they were the hardest criminal investigations you can do in police work."

Building a Case

After nearly four years in the Crimes Against Children division, he moved to the Tarrant County District Attorney's office.

Just one month into that job, he received his first Munchausen by Proxy case. Law enforcement seldom picks up these cases due to a lack of training and overburdened workflow, Weber says. He told his DA that he would take on these types of cases.

He often sifted through countless pages of medical records -- as many as 50,000 pages -- and compared them to social media posts and text messages.

"What you do is you build a pattern of lies."

Another challenge is that the victims can't speak for themselves.

"Children only know what children are taught. And if they've been told their whole life that they're sick, they're going to think they are sick. As they get older, kids learn that playing the sick role is how they get love from their parent."

As Weber gained experience in this field, he began speaking at conferences and writing for law enforcement journals. At the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children's Munchausen by Proxy Committee gathering in 2020, writer Andrea Dunlop heard him speak and told him he should write a book.

The two teamed up and, through COVID-19, her pregnancy and his full-time job, the book was published by St. Martin's in 2025.

Building Support

Since the publication of the book, he's been inundated with emails.

"When I started this, there were zero resources for any victim of this abuse anywhere."

Dunlop organized support groups that assist victims and non-offending parents and relatives to talk about their experiences.

Now retired, Weber offers consulting services and training at conferences. He continues to be inspired by the results of his hard work.

"You see these kids change once they're removed from the offender. That's extremely rewarding to see them become everything that they could be, that they weren't allowed to be -- intentionally -- by their parent."