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2008-03-28 07:11:09
By ROBERT IMRIE, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 13 minutes ago
Police are investigating an 11-year-old girl's death from an undiagnosed,
treatable form of diabetes after her parents chose to pray for her rather than
take her to a doctor.
An autopsy showed Madeline Neumann died Sunday of diabetic ketoacidosis, a
condition that left too little insulin in her body, Everest Metro Police Chief
Dan Vergin said.
She had probably been ill for about a month, suffering symptoms such as nausea,
vomiting, excessive thirst, loss of appetite and weakness, the chief said
Wednesday, noting that he expects to complete the investigation by Friday and
forward the results to the district attorney.
The girl's mother, Leilani Neumann, said that she and her family believe in the
Bible and that healing comes from God, but that they do not belong to an
organized religion or faith, are not fanatics and have nothing against doctors.
She insisted her youngest child, a wiry girl known to wear her straight brown
hair in a ponytail, was in good health until recently.
"We just noticed a tiredness within the past two weeks," she said Wednesday.
"And then just the day before and that day (she died), it suddenly just went to
a more serious situation. We stayed fast in prayer then. We believed that she
would recover. We saw signs that to us, it looked like she was recovering."
Her daughter who hadn't seen a doctor since she got some shots as a
3-year-old, according to Vergin had no fever and there was warmth in her
body, she said.
The girl's father, Dale Neumann, a former police officer, said he started CPR
"as soon as the breath of life left" his daughter's body.
Family members elsewhere called authorities to seek help for the girl.
"My sister-in-law, she's very religious, she believes in faith instead of
doctors ...," the girl's aunt told a sheriff's dispatcher Sunday afternoon in a
call from California. "And she called my mother-in-law today ... and she
explained to us that she believes her daughter's in a coma now and she's
relying on faith."
The dispatcher got more information from the caller and asked whether an
ambulance should be sent.
"Please," the woman replied. "I mean, she's refusing. She's going to fight it.
... We've been trying to get her to take her to the hospital for a week, a few
days now."
The aunt called back with more information on the family's location, emergency
logs show. Family friends also made a 911 call from the home. Police and
paramedics arrived within minutes and immediately called for an ambulance that
took her to a hospital.
But less than an hour after authorities reached the home, Madeline a bright
student who left public school for home schooling this semester was declared
dead.
She is survived by her parents and three older siblings.
"We are remaining strong for our children," Leilani Neumann said. "Only our
faith in God is giving us strength at this time."
The Neumanns said they moved from California to a modern, middle-class home in
woodsy Weston, just outside Wassau in central Wisconsin, about two years ago to
open a coffee shop and be closer to other relatives. A basketball hoop is set
up in the driveway.
Leilani Neumann said she and her husband are not worried about the
investigation because "our lives are in God's hands. We know we did not do
anything criminal. We know we did the best for our daughter we knew how to do."