A Christian woman from Canada who prayed for her dead husband's resurrection for six months after he died was devastated to find his body had rotted beyond recognition inside a bedroom she locked.
According to the Hamilton Spectator, Kaling Wald, 50, kept the body of her husband, Peter Wald, 52, locked in an upstairs bedroom of their home for six months following his death. When anyone asked about him, she would say that her husband was "in God's hands now."
Court documents revealed that Kaling Wald's husband died "probably around March 20" in 2013 from complications due to severe diabetes. Although his left foot became severely infected prior to his death, he refused to go to the hospital, believing God would heal him.
He went into a coma, Wald told Reuters, and days later she noticed his stomach bloating and signs of rigor mortis on his forehead. She then left him for Jesus, his body covered with two blankets, in the bed and padlocked the bedroom door.
The New York Post reports that the body was only discovered after Wald and her family faced eviction for not paying the mortgage on the home.
When the sheriff came to evict the family on Sept. 17, 2013, Peter Wald's were packed and ready to go.
"That was how strong our faith was," Wald told the Spectator.
However, Kaling when unlocked the bedroom door, she was shocked. Her husband's body was badly decomposed and had attracted rodents. His feet were stuck out from under blankets with gauze still wrapped around the left foot.
Although Wald pled guilty to failing to report her husband's death to the police or coroner, all criminal charges were withdrawn when assistant crown attorney Janet Booy decided that she meant no ill by her actions and that her beliefs had "tainted and warped her better judgment."
"We were trusting God ... we thought, 'OK Lord, you know better," Wald explained.
Wald's defense lawyer Peter Boushy told Reuters: "Just as Jesus raised Lazarus after the fourth day, so too did she believe God would resurrect her husband in due time."
Boushy says Wald now understands what the law requires and will undergo counseling for death of her husband.
"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, but this seemed to have been an emotional breakthrough after the court proceedings yesterday. I think counseling is certainly going to be beneficial for her."
