Family Sins

Superb film dealing with a family that used the system to take full advantage and do the most horrendous things to people who were under their foster care.

The film is marvelous as it is really a stinging indictment of the foster care system. That social worker saw all the symptoms of child abuse and chose instead to make notations, look at her watch and simply walk away.

Kirstie Alley again proves that she is a magnificent dramatic actress as the devil of a mother. Teaching children how to steal, setting fire to real estate that she owned, having the most disgusting children herself, and married to a brute all come together to make such an outstanding film.

The film is also a testimony to a criminal justice system that finally worked and meted out appropriate justice.

This is a marvelous film which should be viewed by so many groups alike.

This is a very horrible sad and depressing TRUE STORY, which makes it even worse to view. Kirstie Alley,(Brenda Geck),"Back by Midnight",'02, put her heart and soul into this horrible role and made you hate her over and over again. Will Patton,(Philip Rothman),"The Agency",'01 TV Series, acted his usual calm ways and was soft spoken, but very powerful in his building a case against Brenda Geck. It is a shame that such a person did exists and did so much mental and physical harm too so very many people's lives. It is a great film to alert the general public as to what can actually happen in their own neighborhoods or even your next door friend. It was nice to see Kirstie Alley give such a great performance in this very sick TRUE STORY!

This was such a terrible story. If it hadn't been Kirstie Alley playing this despicably cruel character, I don't think I could have watched it.

Kathleen Wilhoite did such a good job as a girl treated so harshly she apparently couldn't feel pain any more. She seemed almost happy with her life because she didn't know any better. That was just sad.

I'm not sure which would have been worse: that these people were real, or that someone could have been sick enough to make up this story. The latter, unfortunately, was true. I wish it hadn't been. Still an entertaining presentation.

While the acting isn't superb in this made-for-television movie, the events occurring in it are excellent. This true story involves a prominent woman in the community, played by Kirstie Alley, that betrays single, struggling mothers. She manipulates one woman and has her and her daughter live in her rental property and she turns around and burns the house down, getting the woman to move into her own home. She locks the woman in the basement and raises her daughter as her own, teaching her to lie to social workers and steal from department stores. When the girl grows up, and has the baby of Kirstie Alley's son, she then goes to the police to help free her mother. But the story doesn't end here. Even in jail, Kirstie Alley wreaks havoc upon the lives of this mother, daughter, and grandson, both mentally and physically. Excellent movie, a must-see true life story.

Hi..I am from Rhode Island and watched the movie. I vaguely remember hearing about this when it was discovered.

BUT what surprised me the most was....in 2001 I hired a contractor to build an addition for me. He seemed like a nice enough guy and price was reasonable, (I called 7 companies and only got 3 prices..seemed like no one wanted to work).

I had no idea who Raymond Burt was....well I found out at the end of the movie when I saw him and his family on the clips of them in the court room. What a shock that was.

It was hard to imagine what the hell his life must have been like with a mother like his. He was pleasant and friendly and I would never have guessed what his family life was like. I can only hope he did what he did because his mother made him and not because he truly wanted to.

The completed job was OK...a couple of things were not to my liking but that was subcontractors faults and Ray made up for them.

Don't know where he is now or if still in business..but I hope he's not with his mother.....she is one scary BITCH!!!!!!