A Canadian family has admitted leaving the dead body of a man upstairs for six months, believing their prayers would resurrect him.
It has been revealed that Kaling Wald left her husband, Peter, to rot in an upstairs bedroom, truly expecting that their faith in God would make him rise from the dead.
Mrs. Wald, 50, has pleaded guilty to failing to notify authorities that her husband had died due to a sickness that was not being treated by a doctor, The Hamilton Spectator reports.
Assistant crown attorney Janet Booy argued that Wald had no ill intent, but rather her belief in God had “tainted and warped her better judgment.”
“We were trusting God … we thought, ‘OK, Lord, you know better,’” Wald told The Spectator outside court yesterday.
Peter Wald died about March 20 after contracting a foot infection as a result of his diabetes. He refused to see a doctor because he believed God would cure him.
He fell into a coma, his stomach began to bloat and his forehead started to show signs of rigor mortis.
Mrs. Wald covered the body with two blankets, put a beanie on his head, padlocked the bedroom door and sealed the door and vents to mask the smell of the decomposing body.
The corpse was found six months later. It was so rotten that it had attracted rodents and could not be identified.
However, the prosecutor acknowledged that Mrs. Wald had no criminal intent.
“It’s an extremely sad case … she truly believed her husband was going to be resurrected from the dead, even after six months,” Booy said.
Wald received a suspended sentence, was put on 18 months’ probation and was ordered to seek counseling.
“This is not about your religious beliefs. It is about your safety, the safety of your children and the safety of the community at large,” Superior Court Justice Marjoh Agro told Wald.
Wald lived in the house with five of their six children, ages 11 to 22, and seven other adult friends. The family was known for spreading its religious beliefs throughout the area.
“It was unusual, yes. It was certainly not normal,” Wald told The Hamilton Spectator. “And we won’t do that again … laws exist and we know that now.”
This is the first case of its kind known of in Canada.