Crying therapist Hongchi Xiao guilty of manslaughter

An alternative healer has been found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence following the death of a woman at one of his workshops.

Hongchi Xiao, 61, of Cloudbreak, California, was convicted after Danielle Carr-Gomm, 71, died of complications from diabetes in 2016.

The jury at Winchester Crown Court was told that she stopped taking insulin while at a retreat in Wiltshire, where Xiao promoted palm therapy as a “cure” for the condition.

The jury returned an 11-to-one majority verdict on Friday after 19 hours and 30 minutes of deliberations.

Mr Justice Robert Bright said the jury asked plenty of questions and was a “shining example” of the jury system that “we should all be proud of”.

Ms Carr-Gomm had type 1 diabetes, meaning she had to take insulin every day to keep her blood glucose levels under control.

However, he had a lifelong fear of needles and had frequently sought other ways to cope with the disease.

She first attended a paida lajin workshop led by Xiao in Bulgaria in July 2016.

Paida lajin, which means “slapping and stretching” is a therapy in which people slap themselves and others to remove toxins from the body.

Ms Carr-Gomm believed it worked and gave glowing evidence, the court heard.

She decided to attend another of Xiao’s workshops at Cleeve House in Seend, Wiltshire, in October 2016.

Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson said Ms Carr-Gomm announced on the first day of the workshop that she had stopped taking insulin, for which Xiao “congratulated her”.

Along with other participants, she began fasting, but soon felt seriously ill, “tired,” “weak and “screaming in pain” on the third day.

On the fourth day, Mrs Carr-Gomm had died of diabetic ketoacidosis.

The case against Xiao hinged on whether he owed a duty of care to Ms Carr-Gomm and whether he could reasonably have foreseen her death.

Giving evidence in his own defence, Xiao said he was not the organizer of the Wiltshire workshop but was paid a fee to run it.

The former banker emphasized many times in court that he was not a doctor, had no medical training and did not provide medical care.

He described paida lajin as a method of self-healing that he taught to others and repeatedly said that he would never tell people to suddenly stop taking medicine.

But the prosecution maintained the high regard in which Ms Carr-Gomm held Xiao meant he was in a “position of leadership and control over her care … and owed her a duty which he failed to fulfill “.

A key part of the prosecution’s case was Xiao’s previous experience with diabetics who stopped taking insulin at his workshops.

Ms Carr-Gomm had previously stopped taking her medication at the 2016 conference in Bulgaria.

On that occasion she started vomiting, but Xiao successfully persuaded her to restart her insulin and she recovered.

In addition, the court heard that a six-year-old boy died at one of Xiao’s workshops in Sydney in 2015 after his parents stopped giving him insulin.

As a result, Xiao was imprisoned in Australia and banned from providing any medical treatment.

The judge noted in that case that he persuaded the boy’s parents not to give him the medication, which Xiao contested.

Prosecutors in Winchester argued that this meant he should have been aware of the dangerous consequences of not having insulin.

Wiltshire Police told BBC News that the case was unusually complex because of Xiao’s imprisonment in Australia and the fact that witnesses were spread around the world.

Inspector Phil Walker said: “He believes so strongly in what he practises… but he was aware that not taking insulin was dangerous from his previous experiences and his knowledge of Mrs Carr-Gomm in particular.

“From their previous meetings at this workshop in Bulgaria, he knew the impact and the effects, yet he chose to take no action here in Wiltshire when she became ill.”

Ms Carr-Gomm’s son told BBC News that diabetes aside, his mother was a “very healthy woman” and had “many years left to give”.

“The reason my mother attended the workshop was because she wanted to live and if she had known there was a risk I don’t think she would have attended the workshop,” added Matthew Carr-Gomm.

Xiao was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on October 1.

Following the verdict, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime Branch, Rosemary Ainslie, said: “Hongchi Xiao knew that the consequences of Danielle Carr-Gomm’s decision to stop taking insulin could be fatal, she had seen it before.

“Hongchi Xiao was the man in charge, but he failed to respond to Mrs Carr-Gomm’s deteriorating condition with tragic consequences.

“His failure to take reasonable steps to assist Ms Carr-Gomm contributed substantially to her death and constituted gross negligence.”

Det Phil Walker, from Wiltshire Police, said: “Xiao’s not guilty plea showed just how little remorse he has for Danielle’s death and made an already extremely difficult and distressing trial for Danielle’s family even more prolonged and more painful.

“Danielle was a mother and grandmother who enjoyed life and had a love of travel – her death has come as a huge shock to her family and friends and our thoughts are very much with them at this time.”