A Wisconsin couple who relied on the power of prayer to save their 11 year daughter will now face homicide charges.
Dale and Leilani Neumann didn’t bother to seek medical assistance for their 11 year old daughter Kara until she eventually stopped breathing. The couple explained to authorities that they didn’t call for help sooner because they believed the power of prayer would save their daughter.
Mr Neumann, a former policeman, told reporters that he attempted CPR “as soon as the breath of life left.”
An autopsy has shown that Kara died from undiagnosed diabetes, her parents have connections to a religious sect called the Unleavened Bread Ministries. The sect shun modern medicine in favour of using prayer.
The call to emergency services was made by the child’s aunt, Ariel Gomez, who lives in California. Mrs Gomez had learned of her niece’s health problems after Kara had been ill and in a coma for several days. Gomez called 911 asking for medical help, and warning the operator that Mr and Mrs Neumann would try to prevent any medical intervention.
The Neumanns have been charged with second-degree reckless homicide, the Marathon County medical examiner has stated that the condition was treatable and Kara Neumann’s death could have been prevented.
In a statement to the press Mrs Neumann said she wasn’t worried by the police investigation, saying her and her husband’s lives were “in God’s hands”.
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