A Canadian woman has pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to notify police after her husband died, but his rotting body was kept in the house for six month while the family waited and prayed for him to come back to life.
The body of 51-year-old Peter Wald was found by the sheriff in Hamilton, Ontario, when deputies arrived to evict Wald’s wife, Kaling, and their five children from the home. A judge gave Kaling a suspended sentence and she was ordered to get counseling and was put on 18 months of probation.
An attorney for the family told the court that Peter Wald’s family truly believed he would rise from the dead.
“Kaling and her five children who resided in the house are devout Christians and thought Peter would be resurrected and therefore kept the door locked and waited for him to come to life,” said Crown Counsel Janet Booy. “There were also friends who resided at the house. They all prayed on a daily basis for Peter to come back to life.”
The father had suffered from diabetes and his left foot had become infected, but he refused to seek medical treatment for the condition because he believed that God would cure him.
When neighbors inquired about the health and whereabouts of her husband, Kaling Wald reportedly told them he was “in God’s hands now.”
After the court’s decision, Kaling explained her actions, which she vowed would not be repeated. “We were trusting God, we thought, ‘OK Lord, you know better,’” she said. “It was unusual, yes. It was certainly not normal. And we won’t do that again, laws exist and we know that now.”
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