The trial of a couple accused of the manslaughter of their daughter by gross criminal negligence continues before an Australian court.

Homeopath Thomas Sam, 42, and his 36-year-old wife Manju have pleaded not guilty to the death of Gloria Thomas, their 9-month-old daughter. According to the Brisbane Times:

Gloria was not taken to the emergency department of the Sydney Children’s Hospital until her skin was weeping, her body malnourished and her corneas melting, the court heard.

Prior to this, it is alleged that Manju took Gloria to India against the advice of a paediatrician, who wanted her to see another specialist. Once there, it is said that she ignored the creams doctors prescribed for Gloria’s eczema, instead administering homeopathic drops.

Once Thomas had joined them for his brother’s wedding, the prosecution claims that the couple continued to administer homeopathic remedies despite Gloria’s deteriorating condition. However, Manju did not extend this treatment to herself when she developed extreme abdominal pain shortly before the wedding, going instead to a conventional hospital where she was diagnosed with gallstones.

Prosecutor Mark Tedeschi stated:

The Crown case is that they put their social obligations well ahead of any concern for Gloria’s wellbeing.

Gloria’s eczema was so bad that passengers on the plane back to Australia thought she was suffering from burns or was covered in tumours, and was in inconsolable pain. Despite this, it took eight days for her parents to take her to Sydney Children’s Hospital, where she succumbed to sepsis three days later.

According to the Australian Daily Telegraph:

Forensic pathologist Ella Sugo has told a NSW Supreme Court jury she had to get advice from an expert in third world malnourishment when she put together her report on Gloria because she had never seen, and has never seen since, a child in such bad condition.

The defence argues that the first-time mother had been “badly let down” by a Sydney paediatrician, and that the parents should not be found guilty because they came from a culture were homeopaths were on equal footing with conventional doctors.

However, Thomas allegedly told police in an interview that he failed his daughter by disregarding conventional medicine and pursuing alternatives:

I could have done better. I should have taken better care of Gloria.

The pair face up to twenty-five years in prison if found guilty.

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