The Mother of All Cons: What happened to Megan Bhari and where is Jean O'Brien now?
A BBC documentary delves into Jean O'Brien, who started a charity when her daughter fell ill - until doubts arose over the validity of Megan Bhari's diagnosis
A new three-part BBC true crime documentary delves into the incredible story of a mother and daughter who set up a charity for critically ill children in 2012.
The Mother of All Cons shows how Jean O'Brien and Megan Bhari started Believe In Magic when Megan, who was 16 at the time, was said to be was suffering from a brain tumour. The teenager became a prominent figurehead for the charity.
Believe In Magic, which granted wishes for the terminally ill, reportedly came to the attention of high-profile celebrities including One Direction, Olly Murs, Little Mix, and Michael Bublé. Harry Styles' mother even climbed Kilimanjaro for the cause.
However, questions were raised over whether Megan really did have a brain tumour, and Believe in Magic was forced to close in 2020 after over £100,000 worth of donations went unaccounted for.
We look at what really happened to Megan Bhari, and where her mother, Jean O'Brien is now.
What happened to Megan Bhari?
Megan Bhari and her mother Jean O'Brien set up Believe In Magic when Megan was 16-years-old and her mother suggested she'd been suffering a brain tumour for three years.
The charity supported terminally ill children, offering once in a lifetime activities for them including trips to Disneyland, parties at Hamleys, and chauffer driven rides to Buckingham Palace to decorate the Christmas tree.
However, in 2015 Jean announced that Megan needed £120,000 for proton beam radiotherapy in America to treat her tumour. The pair raised the money in just a few days, but some parents involved with the charity became suspicious of the appeal.
Some felt Jean’s description of Megan's symptoms were vague and inconsistent, and a Facebook group was set up to try and obtain further information about the possibility Jean was lying about her daughter's illness.
Jean strongly refuted any claims she had made up Megan's diagnosis, continuing to insist the pair were travelling to America for treatment, a trip that required oxygen tanks to constantly be with them to keep Megan alive.
However, a private investigator photographed the pair leaving a cruise liner with plenty of luggage but no oxygen tanks.
It transpired that Megan was never suffering from a brain tumour at all, and she and Jean retreated from public life when the news became public.
Sadly, Megan did die prematurely at the age of 23, in March 2018. But according to The Times, her cause of death was "acute cardiac arrhythmia due to fatty liver disease, linked to her high body mass index."
Her brain was found to be "morphologically normal," confirming she hadn't ever suffered from a brain tumour. She was previously investigated for persistent headaches and diagnosed with idiopathic intracranial hypertension - it is speculated although unproven, that Jean used this as a basis to fabricate the story of a tumour.
An inquest found Megan had been taking high doses of liquid morphine when she died, and reports emerged about a pattern of trying to obtain false prescriptions for the drug, along with missed appointments at various hospitals.
Megan's older sister, Nina, still isn't sure what happened to her sister. In conversation with The Times, Nina reports Jean "infantalised" Megan, who was also reported to have undergone breast reduction surgery at the age of 17.
Nina believes Megan to be a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, now known as fabricated or induced illness (FII). Nina didn't have a good relationship with her mother or sister, but wishes she or the authorities had stepped in to help.
"Meg didn’t really have a voice. She can’t speak for herself," she says of Megan, who is said to have both spoken and acted like a child.
Where is Jean O'Brien now?
Jean O'Brien's current whereabouts are completely unknown - she moved to France just after Believe In Magic was shut down in 2020, but later returned to the UK.
Now it appears nobody knows where to find her - it's believed podcasters and others hoping to track her down have tried to find her but have been unsuccessful.
She last spoke to the BBC in 2023, insisting Megan had been suffering from a pituitary microadenoma. This is a type of non-cancerous brain tumour that generally isn't life-threatening, but can be harmful.
In November 2022, Kingston Council published a "Safeguarding Adult Review" into Megan's death. While names were changed, the BBC are sure the final report is about her.
The report said, "Despite there being no formal diagnosis of FII (Fabricated or Induced Illness) in this case, the presentation and coroner's conclusion lead all involved to think it was likely to have been FII."
Her cause of death remains cardiac arrhythmia due to fatty liver disease, but highlights behaviours that could've impacted her health before she died. When asked to respond to the findings of the report, Jean said, "I loved and cared for my daughter. Suggesting I might have harmed her in any way at all is absolutely sickening."
The Mother of All Cons is available on BBC iPlayer.
