A man has been charged over the death of a 71-year-old old woman who passed away after a “slapping therapy” workshop. Danielle Carr-Gomm was found dead in her room on October 20, 2016 in Wiltshire, England, with three people involved in the “self-healing” practice blamed for her passing, according to The Guardian.
One of the three original suspects was 60-year-old Hongchi Xiao, who lives in California but was finally extradited back to the U.K. to face charges in November 2023, BBC News reports.
Danielle Carr-Gomm’s death was immmediately treated as suspicious.
Authorities were called to Cleeve House in Seend on October 20 upon receiving a call about a woman who’d died suddenly.
They immediately opened an inquest, which adjourned soon after, determining that three people involved with the “slapping therapy” are likely culpable in Carr-Gomm’s death.
“Police were called to an address in Seend in the early hours of 20 October following the sudden death of a woman,” a spokeswoman for Wiltshire Police said.
“Inquiries are continuing. A 64-year-old woman, a 53-year-old man and a 51-year-old man have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.
All three were released on bail shortly after, with not much being said publicly about the case in the years since.
Finally, Hongchi Xiao has been formally charged.
One of the three men originally arrested over Danielle Carr-Gomm’s death was California resident Hongchi Xiao, who ran a paida lajin retreat in which slapping is said to be a way of removing toxins from patients’ bodies.
In 2015, a year before Carr-Gomm’s death, Xiao was questioned by authorities in Australia after a 7-year-old boy died after one of his workshops. In other words, they didn’t exactly have a history of safety.
Police issued an arrest warrant for Xiao in October 2019, but he was only arrested and charged in November 2023 after he was brought back to the U.K. from Australia on an extradition warrant.
He was taken to Gablecross in Swindon where he was charged and remains in custody.
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