Sympathy Pains

iHeartPodcasts

Hosted by Laura Beil (Dr. Death, Bad Batch), Sympathy Pains is a six-part series from Neon Hum Media and iHeartRadio. For 20 years, Sarah Delashmit told people around her that she had cancer, muscular dystrophy, and other illnesses. She used a wheelchair and posted selfies from a hospital bed. She told friends and coworkers she was trapped in abusive relationships, or that she was the mother of children who had died. It was all a con. Sympathy was both her great need and her powerful weapon. But unlike most scams, she didn’t want people’s money. She was after something far more valuable.

read less

Our Editor's Take

Sympathy Pains is the story of Sarah Delashmit. Sarah spun lie after lie about illnesses, tragedies, and traumas she claimed to endure. As she told it to friends and family, her life was difficult, and coping was even harder. The thing is, none of it was true. Sarah had, in fact, lived a somewhat normal life. But something in her compelled her to tell these terrible tall tales. She needed sympathy and couldn't help herself.

Laura Beil hosts this six-part podcast that dives into Sarah's life and relationships. Through interviews with former friends and a collection of stories, she paints a picture of this sad and lonely woman. Intriguing, infuriating, and yet worrisome, Sarah's story is disturbing. Her desire to pull people in with terrible untruths speaks to a much larger internal problem—one of mentality and emotion. Sympathy Pains looks both at Sarah's story and the implications it has for society.

This story is a direct and challenging look at one way mental illness can take hold. It pulls back the curtain on Sarah but also on how people connect and react to one another. This podcast will open eyes and make listeners look at certain issues in a new light. Fans of true crime and investigative stories will enjoy this podcast. Like those genres, it's about uncovering the truth behind a mystery.

read less

Society & CultureSociety & Culture

Play Trailer

Introducing: Sympathy Pains

Introducing: Sympathy Pains

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episodes

Introducing: Sympathy Pains

Introducing: Sympathy Pains

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sarah shows up at a Texas camp for people with disabilities in the fall of 2015 in a power wheelchair, seemingly unable to move her body. During the week of camp, counselor Bethany Turner takes care of Sarah’s every need, bathing her, and even changing her menstrual pads. After camp is over, they speak almost daily. Then one day, Bethany gets a shocking call from the camp.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This time, at a summer camp in California, Sarah Delashmit is a counselor. She becomes fast friends with Erin Johnson, a 23-year-old woman who was born with cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. Over the next decade, Erin supports Sarah, from afar, through setback after setback: a brain tumor, an Ebola infection, and multiple children born prematurely and dying. Erin mourns Sarah’s losses as if they were her own, and ultimately faces an even greater devastation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Liz Hickox works in financial services and volunteers for a breast cancer charity. At a bike ride for young survivors, she meets Sarah, who says she has stage 4 metastatic disease. Liz and her husband Brian welcome Sarah into their winter home in Florida and help her train for a triathlon– her single goal before she dies. After they discover the truth, they find other victims of Sarah’s scams and together vow to get her help, turning to an unlikely person: Dr. Phil.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Liz, Brian and Bethany confront Sarah on national television. Dr. Phil arranges psychiatric care for Sarah, after she leaves the set. Meanwhile, Andrea Smith, a stay-at-home mom in South Carolina, has been tracking Sarah across the internet for 20 years, warning non-profits not to allow her into their communities. Andrea even went to the police when Sarah was in college. Sarah’s past is about to catch up with her.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Across the country, people who have known Sarah see the Dr. Phil show and learn the scope of her lies. Victims call police, who say they cannot prosecute Sarah because “it’s not a crime to fake cancer.” Soon, federal prosecutors learn of crimes they can prosecute Sarah for. But should her mental state be considered in the search for justice?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Laura gets a call from a relative who provides insight into Sarah's past. Sarah has her day in court. Her victims have the chance to say their piece, but still struggle to make sense of what happened to them. The judge issues a surprising sentence.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.