Dale Neumann Found Guilty

Dale Neumann, 47, was found guilty of second-degree reckless homicide - just like his wife, Leilani Neumann - in the death of his 11-year-old daughter Kara Neumann.  They were both accused of failing to provide their daughter with proper medical care. They decided to pray for the sick little girl rather than getting her the medical attention she so badly needed.

"If I in a moment of crisis and in a moment of time, I went to anyone else but the Lord, it would not have been favorable to God," Dale Neumann said. "It would have been idolatry and sin because it is disobedience."

Madeline Kara Neumann of Weston, Wisconsin died of diabetic ketoacidosis in March 2008. For background details on this case click here and here.

During the trial, Dale Neumann took the stand in his own defense. He defended his actions by reading scripture to the court. He believed that Jesus never went to the doctor and that going to the doctor would be putting God second. It was clear that he did not think he made the wrong decision.

"If I go to any other source that's idolatry, I'm putting something else in the place of God. That is idolatry. That is sin." - Dale Neumann.

During the trial the prosecution contended that Dale Neumann recklessly killed the youngest of his four children by ignoring her deteriorating health. They claimed the girl was too weak to speak, eat, drink or walk and that Neumann had a legal duty to take her to a doctor.

Ariel Neff, Leilani Neumann's former sister-in-law, testified that she made three calls to the Marathon County Sheriff's Department on March 23, 2008, trying to get medical help to the girl on the day she died.

"My sister-in-law is very religious and is refusing to take her daughter to a doctor," Neff said in a recorded call that was played for the jury. "She believes in faith instead of doctors."

The case is believed to be the first of its kind in Wisconsin involving faith healing in which someone died and another person was charged with a homicide.

Emergency workers who rushed to the home testified Monday that the girl wasn't breathing and had no pulse, and that all repeated efforts to revive her failed. She looked malnourished, pale and "skeleton-like," paramedic Hayden Prausa said.

Hospital emergency room Dr. Choon P'ng said the girl reminded him of a cancer patient and that he had never treated anyone with such an advanced case of diabetes.

Both the Prosecutor, Asst. Marathon County D.A., Lamont Jacobson and the Defense Attorney, Jay Kronenwetter, make their closing arguments before the court in the clip below:



The trial itself lasted a week and the jury deliberated for 22 hours. They -  at one time claiming to be deadlocked - would ask the judge several times for clarification and direction before coming to the unanimous decision of guilty.



Both Dale Neumann and his wife Leilani Neumann are due back in court on Oct. 6 to appear before Marathon County Circuit Court Judge Vincent Howard who will decide their fate. They both face up to 25 years in jail.

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UPDATE: 10/6/09

Judge Vincent Howard said the Neumanns were "very good people, raising their family who made a bad decision, a reckless decision."

Dale and Leilani Neumann were each sentenced to six months in jail and ten years of probation.

See video clip here

Leilani Neumann Found Guilty

Leilani Neumann, 41, who - along with her husband Dale - chose to pray for their sick daughter, 11-year-old Kara, rather than seeking medical attention, was found guilty of  second-degree reckless homicide in her death.  Madeline Kara Neumann of Weston, Wisconsin died of diabetic ketoacidosis in March 2008. For background details on this case click here and here.

It took the jury just 4 hours to reach the unanimous guilty verdict. Leilani Neumann faces a maximum of 25 years behind bars when she is sentenced. A date for the sentencing has not yet been announced.

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The lawyer for Leilani Neumann, Gene Linehan, has promised to appeal the verdict and the case may well end up in Wisconsin's Supreme Court.

On one hand, state law says parents such as Neumann whose neglect leads to a child's death are guilty of homicide. Another statute, however, recognizes a parent's right to practice faith healing.

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The day after the verdict was announced Leilani's stepfather Brian Gordon read a letter from Leilani, where it says God is helping her to get through this ordeal.

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"My faith in God does not waver in the midst of this storm. We have peace in God regardless of the decision made yesterday. Our emotions do not hinge on how or if the rest of the world approves of our actions. We live for God's approval alone," said Leilani's Stepfather Biran Gordon, who was reading a letter he says is by Leilani.

Leilani's husband, Dale Neumann, 47,  faces the same charges as his wife and is scheduled to go to trial on July 23.

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Praying Parents Charged in Child's Death

Dale and Leilani Neumann, parents of Madeline Kara Neumann, were charged with second-degree reckless homicide, Marathon County District Attorney Jill Falstad announced. If convicted, the couple could be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.

Madeline Kara Neumann,11, of Weston, Wisconsin died of diabetic ketoacidosis. Her parents, believed so strongly in the power of prayer, that they refused to seek medical attention for their daughter until it was too late to save her life. Read the entire story here.

A copy of the police investigation into Kara's death is available here

District Attorney Jill Falstad in preparing the charges against the Neumanns looked at the "progression of the illness" and the response of the parents:

"By that Saturday (the day before the girl's death) you had an 11-year-old child who wasn't eating, so she wasn't getting any nourishment, she wasn't taking in any fluids, she wasn't walking, she was struggling to get to the bathroom," Falstad said. "She really was very vulnerable and helpless. And it seemed apparent that everybody knew that. As her illness progressed to the next morning being comatose . . . it just is very, very surprising, shocking that she wasn't allowed medical prevention (attention).

"She had a disease that was treatable and her death could have been prevented," Falstad said.

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The Neumanns are represented by their attorney, Gene Linehan, who declined to comment on the charges. However, it seems as if the Neumanns knew that their daughter was very sick but they were determined to heal her through prayer. Leilani Neumann said in a written statement to police that she never considered taking the girl, who was being home-schooled, to a doctor, even when her husband Dale made such a suggestion:

"We just thought it was a spiritual attack and we prayed for her. My husband Dale was crying and mentioned taking Kara to the doctor and I said, 'The Lord's going to heal her,' and we continued to pray," she wrote.

The Neumanns did reach out to the Unleavened Bread Ministries, founded by David Eells. In an email they requested that Eells pray for their daughter to be healed, which he did. Like the Neumanns, Eells says his church does not believe in medical intervention. Eells also wrote that the Neumanns have posted testimonials on their Web site but are not "'under' our ministry."

Falstad, the district attorney, said the case is likely to be precedent-setting in Wisconsin.

"There has been a great deal of discussion regarding the availability of a 'religious defense' in this case," Falstad said in a prepared statement to announce the charges. "In our nation, we have a constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion. We also give parents leeway in matters of child rearing. However, neither is absolute. In this case, it was necessary to weigh freedom of religion and parenting rights against the state's interests in protecting children."

Wisconsin state law appears to allow an exemption from child abuse charges for parents who engage in treatment by spiritual means through prayer. But the exemption applies only if the use of prayer alone is the basis for charges. Prosecutors say that exemption does not extend to homicide cases.