Military Bigamist's Mom: She's Mentally Ill

Jan. 31, 2008 — -- The mother of a 27-year-old woman accused of marrying at least five military men at bases across the country says her daughter suffers from a rare mental illness .

"This is somewhat of a shock, but I've been expecting this," Cindy Gibson told "Good Morning America" today about her daughter Shauna Keith's arrest. "For the last five or six years, I've gotten random calls from men saying, 'I think I am married to your daughter.'"

Gibson told "GMA" her daughter suffers from Munchausen syndrome, a disorder where a person tells fictitious stories about their health or background in order to gain sympathy and attention.

For now, Gibson's daughter sits in the Walton County Jail in Georgia where she faces bigamy and fraud charges. She was arrested earlier this month in South Carolina, where she was living with a Marine stationed at Parris Island. She is being held without bond because she is considered a flight risk.

Authorities count at least five marriages starting in 1999 to men stationed at bases from San Diego to North Carolina. Some of those marriages ended legally, but in others, she just left. Keith, who is currently pregnant, has three children, two of whom Gibson legally adopted.

Gibson blames her daughter's behavior on Munchausen syndrome, which is based in part, on a craving for attention. "People with factitious disorders act this way because of an inner need to be seen as ill or injured , " the Cleveland Clinic says about the condition on its Web site.

"If the world she's living in doesn't fit her needs, she creates another reality," said Gibson, who lives in Gresham, Ore.

Georgia authorities say that Keith's reality has included leaving her military husbands financially and emotionally devastated and abandoning at least three children to be raised without their mother. Walton County Sheriff's Office Detective Jim Mayes counts seven names, five different Social Security numbers and three dates of birth used by Keith since 1999.