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US man 'killed child by praying' | US man 'killed child by praying' |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A US jury has found a man guilty of killing his sick 11-year-old daughter by praying for her recovery rather than seeking medical care. | |
The man, Dale Neumann, told a court in the state of Wisconsin he believed God could heal his daughter. | The man, Dale Neumann, told a court in the state of Wisconsin he believed God could heal his daughter. |
She died of a treatable disease - undiagnosed diabetes - at home in rural Wisconsin in March last year, as people surrounded her and prayed. | She died of a treatable disease - undiagnosed diabetes - at home in rural Wisconsin in March last year, as people surrounded her and prayed. |
Neumann's wife, Leilani Neumann, was convicted earlier this year. | |
The couple, who were both convicted of second-degree reckless homicide, face up to 25 years in prison when they are sentenced in October. | |
A lawyer representing Dale Neumann said he would appeal. | |
'Faith healing' | |
During the trial, medical experts told the court that Neumann's daughter could have survived if she had received treatment, including insulin and fluids, before she stopped breathing. | |
On Thursday Neumann, who is 47 and studied in the past to be a Pentecostal minister, said he thought God would heal his daughter. | |
"If I go to the doctor, I am putting the doctor before God," he said. "I am not believing what he said he would do." | |
He also said he thought his daughter had had flu or a fever, and that he had not realised how ill she was. | |
Neumann's lawyer said he had been convinced that his "faith healing" was working, and that he had committed no crime. | |
The prosecution argued that Neumann had minimised his daughter's illness and that he had allowed her to die as a selfish act of faith. | |
They said the girl should have been taken to hospital because she was unable to walk, talk, eat or drink. | |
Instead, an ambulance was only called once the girl had stopped breathing. |