Terror At The Morgue

Did A Medical Examiner Strap A Bomb To His Own Neck?

(CBS) 
But why would a respected medical profession stage his abduction? "He likes the attention," says Harris. "That's not enough to be insane or to be found not guilty by reason of a mental defect. But it explains why somebody would do something so bizarre."

To back up their theory for the jury, prosecutors turned to forensic psychiatrist Dr. Park Dietz. "Why he would stage this event is to have the benefits of producing this drama," says Dietz.

Faking an event for attention is a recognized mental condition called factitious disorder. The most common form is Munchausen's Syndrome – when a person actually makes himself sick.

"Some people have the psychological need for sympathy, attention, nurturance, that being a patient provides," says Dietz, who cites Tawana Brawley as a prominent example.

Brawley accused six white men in upstate New York of kidnapping, rape and racism. But after months of a massive investigation, a grand jury concluded that her accusations were a hoax – and that she faked her own attack.

"The benefits are psychological and usually are designed to solve some very unique individual secret problem," says Dietz.

Smith, however, denies that he suffers from factitious disorder. But prosecutors insist that Smith had a history of lying. "There was quite a pattern of telling stories for dramatic effect," says Dietz.

Although the defense refused to give Dietz permission to examine Smith, Dietz examined the prosecution's evidence. Dietz says that one story that Smith had told to a number of people - that he had been in Africa and that his family was massacred – was not true.

Prosecutors say if Smith can tell tall tales about his military missions, then it's not much of a leap to believe that he lied about the June 2002 attack.