Rebecca Kandare's parents jailed for manslaughter of 'emaciated' baby | Daily Mail Online

 

An 'emaciated' baby died after her parents left her in the care of a churchgoer with 'supernatural healing powers' because their extreme religious beliefs banned modern medicine.

Brian Kandare, 29, and Precious Kandare, 37, have been jailed after admitting the manslaughter of eight-month-old Rebecca, who died from pneumonia in January last year.

She stopped breathing at her parents' Apostolic Church of God, where a 20-strong congregation held prayers in a converted garage in the back garden of a house.

At the time of her death Rebecca weighed just 11lb 9oz, there was no trace of food or milk in her stomach and she was suffering from the worst case of rickets an expert has seen in his 33-year career, Nottingham Crown Court heard.

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 The stark reality of this case is that the defendants placed a higher value on adherence to the church's teachings than their daughter's welfare.'

Their church, the Apostolic Church of God in Wolverhampton, had strict views on modern healthcare with members of the congregation encouraged to speak to the church's 'midwife', who had no formal qualifications, before seeking further help for medical problems.

Members could also be excluded from certain church activities if they went to a doctor without permission, the court heard.

But Mr Hankin said it was 'difficult to ascertain' why neither parent did more to maintain their daughter's health.

He added: 'Rebecca's death was a direct consequence of a prolonged course of wilful neglect, which involved a failure to provide an adequate supply of sufficiently nutritious food and denial of access to medical aid.

'The symptoms of wasting and malnutrition developed over time.

Rebecca Kandare's parents jailed for manslaughter of 'emaciated' baby | Daily Mail Online