Sobering moment detective reads out mum Beata Kowalski's final letters in Take Care of Maya trial

The emotional moment a detective read out Beata Kowalski's final letters in court has recently resurfaced online.

Back in 2023, Netflix documentary Take Care of Maya was released, following the story of Maya Kowalski, a young girl who was experiencing symptoms of debilitating pain and breathing problems back in 2015.

Just nine-years-old at the time, she was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), a health condition which causes persistent severe and debilitating pain for patients.

But Maya's mum Beata was accused of child abuse and wasn't allowed to see Maya during an investigation into these claims, which lead her to take her own life due to the stress and emotional turmoil in 2017.

Following a court case which was won by the Kowalski family in 2023, Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital were ordered to pay them a final total of $213.5 million (£163 million), on counts of false imprisonment, medical negligence, battery, fraud, and intentionally inflicting emotional distress on the family.

However, it was recently revealed that the hospital is no longer required to pay the money following an appeal.

Beata Kowalski took her own life in 2017 after struggling to cope with her daughter's situation (Netflix)

Why was a new ruling made?

The new ruling detailed that the hospital acted in 'good faith' when reporting Maya's case to social services, as the case read: "There was no clear and convincing evidence that JHACH actively and knowingly participated in or engaged in intentional misconduct or gross negligence."

They additionally claimed that the trial court had 'erred in submitting the punitive damages claims to the jury'.

Jack and Beata first took their daughter to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in Florida in October 2016, where staff would accuse the mum of child abuse, as she had requested for her daughter to receive ketamine therapy.

The treatment was said to have helped manage Maya's pain in the past as Beata, a registered nurse, was accused of Munchausen syndrome by proxy.

This lead to Maya being placed in protective care after hospital staff flagged the situation to child services, who barred the mum from communicating with her daughter while claims were investigated.

What did Maya's mum say?

Beata struggled to deal with the situation, going on to tragically take her own life in 2017. This lead the family to sue the hospital as a suicide note from the mum said she couldn't handle 'being treated like a criminal'.

Now, footage from the courtroom showing a detective reading out Beata's last letters has resurfaced on social media, with one beginning with the mum asking for the family to 'take care of my Maya and tell her how much I love her everyday' in her final note.

She added that she couldn't 'watch her daughter suffer in pain and keep getting worse' while her 'hands are tied', as it was three months of her daughter not being home at the time of her writing.

The mum's letter to the judge claimed that both the Children's Hospital and the Florida Department of Children and Families 'destroyed' her daughter both mentally and physically, claiming: "You let them destroy her even more, slowly each day."

She claimed that by the judge siding with them, they had destroyed her family, marriage, and even put them into bankruptcy, and that her daughter will never be the same person she was before 7 October 2016 - the date she was taken away.

Beata added that she hoped two specific medical professionals would 'lose their medical licenses' and 'never ever hurt another child again'.

Maya was taken away from her parents by child services in 2016 (Netflix)

The Kowalski family's reaction

Following the decision, the Kowalskis responded with a statement of their own, reading: "We’re disappointed by the decision, but the Kowalskis will persevere.

"Judge Smith’s concurring opinion emphasised Johns Hopkins’ outrageous actions towards Maya, and the next jury will see things just like the first one did. Johns Hopkins was ‘in charge of caring for and treating Maya.

"Instead, they exploited their position with full knowledge that Maya, a ten-year-old child, would not be able to endure such outrageous conduct."

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123 or contact Harmless by visiting their website https://harmless.org.uk.