A family reportedly lived with a corpse in an
upstairs bedroom for six months after the
deceased man's wife believed he would come
back to life if they prayed.
Alas, he was not resurrected, and his body was
discovered after the family was evicted for not
paying the mortgage, resulting in the arrest of
Kaling Wald.
Wald, 50, pleaded guilty to failing to notify police
that her husband had died, an offense under the
provincial Coroner's Act, and was sentenced on
Monday.
The Canadian woman will receive probation and
counseling, her lawyer said, for not reporting the
death of Peter Wald, 52, for so long after he
died.
Authorities believe he passed away via natural
causes following a foot infection linked to
diabetes, defense lawyer Peter Boushy said. No
foul play.
Still, the fact that Kalling left him in bed and
sealed up the bedroom in their Hamilton, Ontario,
home was something authorities don't see every
day.
She closed off the room to prevent the odor of
decomposition from disturbing one very busy
household, which included five of the couple's
six children.
"Just as Jesus raised Lazarus after the fourth
day, so too did she believe God would resurrect
her husband in due time," said Boushy of the
wife's belief.
"There clearly was an over-exuberance of one's
faith," he added.
That's as nice a way of putting it as one could
come up with.
The corpse was discovered, and the story first
made national news, when the local sheriff
arrived to evict the family after they defaulted on
their mortgage.
The body had attracted rodents and was badly
decomposed, yet the family had packed his
things in preparation for eviction with no attempt
to hide the body.
The Children's Aid Society investigated the
family after the discovery of the corpse, but
found no other concerns and the case was
closed, reports indicate.
Boushy said his client now understands what the
law required.
"She certainly was remorseful, and definitely was
teary-eyed," he said. "Indeed, she noted that she
was never actually able to cry over the passing
of her husband."
"This seemed to have been an emotional
breakthrough after the court proceedings
yesterday. I think counseling is certainly going to
be beneficial for her."
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