Revisiting Kowalski Part Four: The Aftermath

Revisiting Kowalski Part Four: The Aftermath

From Nobody Should Believe Me by True Story Media

March 12, 2026 · 51 min · Season 6

About this episode

The episode discusses the tragic aftermath of Maya Kowalski's case, including family tensions and legal battles following her mother's suicide.

In this final recap episode, we revisit the final months of Maya Kowalski’s sheltering at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and the tragic events that followed. While the dependency case and abuse investigation continued, tensions within the Kowalski family were escalating. After a difficult court hearing in January 2017, Beata Kowalski died by suicide, leaving behind emails asking others to “take care of Maya”. Following Beata’s death, Maya was eventually released to her father’s custody, where she continued to improve and was able to return to school without further ketamine treatment. In the years that followed, the Kowalski family filed a lawsuit against the hospital that would ultimately lead to a high-profile trial, widespread media coverage, and the Netflix documentary Take Care of Maya. *** Just a note that today’s episode includes mention and description of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help please call 988 or visit 988lifeline.org *** Try out Andrea’s Podcaster Coaching App: https://studio.com/apps/andrea/podcaster Order Andrea’s book The Mother Next Door: Medicine, Deception, and Munchausen by Proxy. Click here to view our sponsors. Remember that using…

People in this episode

Host: Andrea Dunlop

Topics covered

  • family dynamics
  • mental health
  • legal issues
  • true crime
  • child welfare

Keywords

  • Maya Kowalski
  • Beata Kowalski
  • Johns Hopkins
  • suicide
  • Munchausen by Proxy
  • lawsuit
  • Netflix documentary

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, Netflix

Books & works: Take Care of Maya

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