1998 TOP COP Awards®, West Virginia State Police Sgt. Michael Spradlin. (Article reprinted from 5th Annual TOP COP Awards 1998 Winners.)

In 1982, Marybeth Davis’ two children suffered tragedies within six months of one another.  In a 1995 meeting of the Greenbrier County Multidisciplinary Child Abuse Task Force, Sergeant Michael Spradlin of the West Virginia State Police heard of the Davis children and began to investigate their accidents – an especially difficult case because the events were more than twelve years old.  For 2½ years, Sgt. Spradlin pored over medical records, interviewed more than 100 witnesses and gathered massive amounts of medical testimony.  After interviewing doctors, nurses and social workers, Sgt. Spradlin came to the conclusion that Davis suffered from Munchausen's syndrome by proxy, a condition in which parents harm their children to gain attention.   Ten-month-old Seth had suffered permanent brain damage from insulin injections, and three-year-old Tegan died in March 1982 of a caffeine overdose.  Davis was indicted in December 1996, and the case was tried in September 1997.  On the strength of the evidence gathered by Sergeant Spradlin, the jury convicted Davis after only three hours of deliberation.  Sgt. Spradlin’s thorough police work and dedication to the truth brought this killer to justice.