What is Sympathy Pains about?

Sympathy Pains investigates Sarah Delashmit, who spent years falsely claiming illnesses, abusive relationships, and family tragedies while drawing people into emotionally intense relationships.

Who hosts Sympathy Pains?

Sympathy Pains is hosted by journalist Laura Beil, known for reported medical and true crime podcast series.

How long are Sympathy Pains episodes?

The main episodes are usually about 30 to 40 minutes long, with short introductory and promotional episodes outside the core story.

How often does Sympathy Pains release?

Sympathy Pains was released as a completed six-part series in 2022, with only occasional later promotional feed drops.

Where can I listen to Sympathy Pains?

Sympathy Pains is available on Podfriend and any podcast app that supports RSS, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Sympathy Pains

iHeartPodcasts·Hosted by Laura Beil·7 episodes

SocietyCultureTrue CrimeSix-part seriesTrue crime documentaryMedical deceptionVictim-centeredStart from episode 1

Hosted by Laura Beil (Dr. Death, Bad Batch), Sympathy Pains is a six-part series from Neon Hum Media and iHeartRadio. For 20 years, Sarah Delashmit told people around her that she had cancer, muscular dystrophy, and other illnesses. She used a wheelchair and posted selfies from a hospital bed. She told friends and coworkers she was trapped in abusive relationships, or that she was the mother of children who had died. It was all a con. Sympathy was both her great need and her powerful weapon. But unlike most scams, she didn’t want people’s money. She was after something far...

Why listen

Sympathy Pains is a tightly reported six-part true crime documentary hosted by Laura Beil, following Sarah Delashmit's long pattern of faked illnesses, invented tragedies, and emotional manipulation. Instead of a money scam, the series studies a stranger kind of harm: how sympathy itself became the thing Sarah sought and weaponized. Listeners who like intimate, victim-centered investigative stories with a clear beginning, middle, and end will get the most out of it.

Series(1)

6 eps

0/6

Series

Sympathy Pains

Episodes

2 min

May 7, 2025

Introducing: What Happened to Talina Zar

What Happened to Talina Zar unravels the chilling mystery of a woman who vanished during the COVID-19 lockdown, the internet sleuths who wouldn’t let it go, and the dark subcultures and betrayals they unearthed. Listen here or on the iHeartRadio app.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

29 min

May 4, 2022Episode 6

Justice

Laura gets a call from a relative who provides insight into Sarah's past. Sarah has her day in court. Her victims have the chance to say their piece, but still struggle to make sense of what happened to them. The judge issues a surprising sentence.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

38 min

Apr 27, 2022Episode 5

Truth

Across the country, people who have known Sarah see the Dr. Phil show and learn the scope of her lies. Victims call police, who say they cannot prosecute Sarah because “it’s not a crime to fake cancer.” Soon, federal prosecutors learn of crimes they can prosecute Sarah for. But should her mental state be considered in the search for justice?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

37 min

Apr 20, 2022Episode 4

Andrea

Liz, Brian and Bethany confront Sarah on national television. Dr. Phil arranges psychiatric care for Sarah, after she leaves the set. Meanwhile, Andrea Smith, a stay-at-home mom in South Carolina, has been tracking Sarah across the internet for 20 years, warning non-profits not to allow her into their communities. Andrea even went to the police when Sarah was in college. Sarah’s past is about to catch up with her.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

35 min

Apr 13, 2022Episode 3

Liz

Liz Hickox works in financial services and volunteers for a breast cancer charity. At a bike ride for young survivors, she meets Sarah, who says she has stage 4 metastatic disease. Liz and her husband Brian welcome Sarah into their winter home in Florida and help her train for a triathlon– her single goal before she dies. After they discover the truth, they find other victims of Sarah’s scams and together vow to get her help, turning to an unlikely person: Dr. Phil.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

37 min

Apr 13, 2022Episode 2

Erin

This time, at a summer camp in California, Sarah Delashmit is a counselor. She becomes fast friends with Erin Johnson, a 23-year-old woman who was born with cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. Over the next decade, Erin supports Sarah, from afar, through setback after setback: a brain tumor, an Ebola infection, and multiple children born prematurely and dying. Erin mourns Sarah’s losses as if they were her own, and ultimately faces an even greater devastation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

30 min

Apr 13, 2022Episode 1

Bethany

Sarah shows up at a Texas camp for people with disabilities in the fall of 2015 in a power wheelchair, seemingly unable to move her body. During the week of camp, counselor Bethany Turner takes care of Sarah’s every need, bathing her, and even changing her menstrual pads. After camp is over, they speak almost daily. Then one day, Bethany gets a shocking call from the camp.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

3 min

Apr 5, 2022

Introducing: Sympathy Pains

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.