Woman 'desperate to cure her diabetes' died at workshop for 'slapping therapy'

30 November 2023 , 20:25

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A man has now been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after Danielle Carr-Gomm died (Image: SWNS.com)

A woman has died at a "slapping therapy" workshop and a man has been charged with manslaughter.

Danielle Carr-Gomm embraced alternative and holistic medicines and therapies, her family said. The 71-year-old from Lewes, East Sussex, went to Cleve House, in Seend, Wiltshire to take part in a workshop to help treat her diabetes on October 20 2016.

The workshop involved patients being repeatedly slapped, or slapping themselves. This technique is called paida lajin therapy. Mrs Carr-Gomm, who was born in France and moved to the UK aged 21, was diagnosed with diabetes in 1999 but she struggled to inject insulin due to a fear of needles.

Danielle Carr-Gomm who died after a 'slap therapy' session (SWNS.com)

Today, Wiltshire Police announced they had charged a 60-year-old Californian man with her death of manslaughter by gross negligence. A force spokesman said: "Hongchi Xiao, 60, of Cloudbreak, California, returned to the United Kingdom from Australia on an extradition warrant and has been taken to Gablecross custody in Swindon where he was charged. This relates to the death of Danielle Carr-Gomm, 71, at Cleeve House in Seend in October 2016." The force said the man was due to appear before Salisbury Magistrates’ Court on Friday.

Speaking after her death, her son Matthew Carr-Gomm, who lives in New Zealand, said: "She was always keen to try and find alternative methods of treating and dealing with her diabetes and was very interested in alternative and holistic medicine and therapies.

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"I know she was desperate to try and cure herself of this disease. She always maintained a healthy lifestyle and was adamant that nothing would stop her from living a full life. In recent years, mum was in a great place with a partner, a lovely home, and was travelling the world." He said the death of Mrs Carr-Gomm had come as a "huge shock" to the family.

Kieren Williams