Alternative healer guilty of manslaughter of diabetic client

Danielle Carr-Gomm attended a Paida Lajin workshop at Cleeve House in Seend in October 2016 and was left “howling in pain” after she stopped taking insulin.

Hongxhi Xiao, 61, of Cloudbreak in California, led the workshop as he purports to be a master of an ancient Chinese method for self-healing that involves slapping parts of the body, which he claims can cure ailments like diabetes – but he has no medical qualifications or experience.

His 71-year-old victim, from Lewes in East Sussex, had described Xiao as a “messenger from God” who was “starting a revolution to put the power back in the hands of the people to cure themselves” but she died in her room in the early hours of October 20, 2016.

Officers arrested Xiao the following morning.

Tests revealed that Danielle died due to diabetic ketoacidosis, which develops after a person with type 1 diabetes stops their insulin treatment.

Xiao was extradited for the four-week trial at Winchester Crown Court from Australia, where he had previously been prosecuted over the death of a six-year-old boy who also died after his parents withdrew his insulin medication after attending the defendant’s workshop in Sydney.

A court sketch of Hongxhi Xiao (Image: PA)

Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC told the jury that Mrs Carr-Gomm had sought alternatives to her insulin medication for type 1 diabetes because of her vegetarianism and fear of needles.

She joined one of Xiao’s workshops in Bulgaria in July 2016, then became seriously ill after stopping her insulin medicine before restarting, subsequently recovering, and going on to attend another workshop in Wiltshire in October of that year.

The court had heard how Xiao said “well done” to her after she told the group she had stopped taking her insulin.

She then became seriously ill and by the third day, Mr Atkinson said, she was “vomiting, tired and weak, and by the evening she was howling in pain and unable to respond to questions”.

He added: “Those who had accepted the defendant’s teachings misinterpreted Mrs Carr-Gomm’s condition as a healing crisis.

“In a book he wrote, the defendant asserted that the taking of insulin leads to liver and eye problems, and that the Paida Lajin was ‘safer and more reliable than existing healing practices’.”

A chef at the workshop, Teresa Hayes, told jurors that the guest was “delirious” and “frothing at the mouth” before she died.

Hongxhi Xiao (Image: Wiltshire Police)

Giving evidence during the trial, Xiao said he would “never” persuade someone who needed insulin not to take it, adding that insulin is “useful”.

He added: “I’m not a medical doctor, so everyone is responsible for their own medication.

“I’m not fully against medicine, what I’m concerned about is the side effect of the medicine.”

Wiltshire Police Detective Chief Inspector Phil Walker said: “Xiao… was actively encouraging those in attendance at his workshops to refrain from taking their regular medication, knowing full well the consequences.

“[Danielle] put her trust in someone else’s hands – she believed strongly in what Xiao was practising.

“He was extremely convincing and confident in his beliefs. Xiao breached his position of trust.

“This has been an extremely complex investigation with a high level of medical expertise sought before Xiao could be extradited and put before the courts.

“Xiao’s not guilty plea has only shown the little remorse he has over Danielle’s death and has made an already extremely difficult and upsetting process for Danielle’s family even more prolonged and distressing.

“Danielle was a mother and a grandmother who enjoyed life and had a love of travelling.

“Her death came as a huge shock to her family and friends and our thoughts are very much with them at this time.”

Danielle Carr-Gomm (Image: Wiltshire Police)

Danielle’s son Matthew said: “She was always keen to try and find alternative methods of treating and dealing with her diabetes.

“She was desperate to try and cure herself of this disease, always maintained a healthy lifestyle and was adamant that nothing would stop her from living a full life.

“Mum was in a great place with a partner, a lovely home and was travelling the world. She had a lot of life left in her.”

Xiao will be sentenced on October 1.