Lies My Mother Told Me
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Lies My Mother Told Me is a 2005 Canadian television movie that aired on Lifetime in the United States.
The teleplay by Matt Dorff is loosely based on the true story of Elisa McNabney, who murdered her husband with the help of college student Sarah Dutra and fled to Florida, where she eventually was caught. Two weeks later, she hung herself in her jail cell while awaiting extradition to California.
In Dorff's adaption of the facts, Laren Sims is a single mother living in Denton, North Carolina with her parents and young daughter Haylei. Unable to afford Christmas presents, she shoplifts at a local store, eventually is caught, and is sentenced to 90 days in a maximum security prison. Rather than return to prison when she is found stealing a second time, she goes on the lam with her daughter in a car she steals when she leaves a stolen credit card as security with the dealer while allegedly taking it for a test drive. They work their way across the country, supporting themselves by passing bad checks and using stolen credit cards while frequently stealing license plates in order to escape detection. Laren adopts the identity of a waitress she meets in rural Texas by stealing her driver's license. She and Haylei ultimately arrive in Las Vegas, where Laren applies for a job with Lucas McKenzie, a wealthy alcoholic attorney and ranch owner. The two fall into a toxic co-dependent relationship and eventually marry. Laren embezzles $90,000 from her husband's business account and he subsequently is disbarred for reasons not made clear.
Haylei is sent away to school and Laren hires college student Kristin to help her with the horses on the ranch. The two become very close (although never specified, a lesbian relationship between them is implied), to the dismay of both Lucas and Haylei. In an uncharacteristic moment of honesty, Laren reveals her past to Lucas who, from that moment on, constantly threatens to report her to the authorities. As their relationship disintegrates and the possibility of discovery grows, Laren decides to poison her spouse with Kristin's assistance. She buries his body under a bridge spanning a shallow creek, and it eventually is found. Laren escapes with Haylei and leaves Kristin to shoulder the blame. Returning to Denton, she encourages her daughter to contact her grandparents and return to them, then surrenders to the police and eventually commits suicide in her cell.
In real life, when charged as an accomplice in the murder of Larry McNabney, Sarah Dutra pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors decided not to pursue the death penalty, but if found guilty of first-degree murder, she faced life in prison without parole. Her trial lasted two months, and the jury reached a verdict in March 2003. She was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to 11 years and 8 months [1].
Christian Duguay directed a cast that included Joely Richardson as Laren, Hayden Panettiere as Haylei, Colm Feore as Lucas, and Kailin See as Kristin. He was nominated for the Gemini Award for Best Direction in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series.
