Faith-Healing Parents Charged for Death of Child

Parents never sought medical help for their 2-year-old son. They used prayer instead. They were charged with the murder of their child.

Herbert and Catherine Schaible prayed with their pastor over their two-year-old son, Kent. They knew he was sick, but they didn't know why, because they never sought medical help for him. He died at 9:30 am on January 24th, 2009, as reported by philly.com. The child was suffering from sore throat, congestion, liquid bowel movements, trouble swallowing, and sleeplessness, according to Assistant District Attorney Joanne Pescatore. During the preliminary hearing, she said:

"All it would have taken is a simple visit to a doctor for antibiotics or Tylenol, maybe, to keep this child alive."

The Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office found that the boy has bacterial pneumonia. Involuntary manslaughter, conspiracy to commit involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child were the charges brought against them in the trial. Municipal Judge Patrick Dugan told the parents:

"When you look at this case, it's obvious that what you have are loving parents who also appear to be misguided. Your child needed medical care. As parents, that's what your duty is, and that's why you are here in court today."

There are a growing number of cases in the U.S. where parents are trying to use religion rather than seek medical help, and end up with the preventable deaths of their children. The autopsy was performed by assistant medical examiner Edwin Lieberman, who determined the death as a homicide because this child could easily have been saved with basic medical attention.