Alternative healer convicted of killing woman at palm therapy workshop

Alternative healer Hongchi Xiao was found guilty at Winchester Crown Court of the manslaughter of Danielle Carr-Gomm, who died at her palm therapy workshop in Wiltshire.

Ms Carr-Gomm, 71, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1991 and takes medication for the condition, was among 30 of the healer’s “eager disciples” who attended a retreat week at Cleeve House in Seend, Wiltshire, in October. 2016. She attended the retreat led by Xiao, who was described as “Master Xiao”, after seeking alternatives to medication due to vegetarianism and a fear of needles.

The court heard that during the program for the workshop he said ‘well done’ after she told the group she had stopped taking her insulin. But Mrs Carr-Gomm, from Lewes, died of diabetic ketoacidosis on the fourth day of the course on October 20 after being heard “crying on her bed and screaming in pain”.

Prosecutors said the alternative healer knew she was at risk of death and did not seek medical help. Duncan Atkinson KC argued that Ms Carr-Gomm’s decision not to take her injections followed her “exposure to the evangelism” of Xiao, who she said “insulin is poison” and claimed was lajin, his therapy program with claps, “represented an alternative”. .

The former financial worker started practicing paida lajin after leaving his previous job in 2000 and traveling around China. The therapy, whose name translates to “slapping and stretching,” is marketed as a self-healing method that removes “poisonous waste” by slapping and patting body parts.

Mr Atkinson told jurors: “He knew Ms Carr-Gomm was at risk of death and he knew he had an influence on her decision. He added: “In short, therefore, he chose to congratulate a diabetic who stopped injecting, rather than to persuade them not to take such a serious risk with their lives.”

Xiao, of Cloudbreak, California, denied the charge of manslaughter by gross negligence. He told jurors he would “never talk” someone into not taking their insulin medication. While giving evidence, he said he was “not a doctor” and that “everyone is responsible for their own medicine”. He added that he was “not completely against drugs”, instead being concerned about “side effects”.

But he was found guilty on Friday by an 11-to-1 majority verdict after jurors deliberated for 19 hours and 30 minutes. Chief Justice Robert Bright said the jurors had asked many questions and called them “a shining example” of the UK jury system that “we should all be proud of”.