Conventional medicine rejected

Parents only dragged child to faith healers – dead!

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(Bild: APA/Georg Hochmuth)

Valerie (name changed) is dead. Nothing can undo the fact that a girl aged just 14 had to die of cancer. But could her death, or at least her suffering, have been prevented? This is the subject of a dramatic trial against her parents at Klagenfurt Regional Court.

"Valerie's last journey was terrible - she was in massive pain, had lost 20 kilos, couldn't walk, swallow or eat. And her parents could have spared her all of this," says Klagenfurt public prosecutor Ines Küttler, visibly emotional as she describes the terrible details of Valerie's too-short life.

In 2022, the well-off family had moved from Vienna to Carinthia because their daughter wanted to attend school here. Shortly afterwards, they noticed a large lump on Valerie's right foot. "We thought a horse had stepped on it," her mother (40), herself a lawyer, tells judge Michaela Sanin. The father (57) was not initially interested in the growth either.

"Fighting" the agony with a pendulum
At some point, however, the pain began in all possible areas of the body and a doctor was consulted, who immediately raised the alarm and arranged an acute biopsy appointment on suspicion of cancer. "The parents never attended. Instead, they dragged Valerie to several healers," says Küttler. The tumor was found - "nothing malignant!" - and instead of urgently needed painkillers, the seriously ill child was given ginger tea and vitamin shots.

"I can say with a clear heart that I couldn't have done anything else," explains the mother even now, a good year later. "My daughter wanted to go down this path." A path that led her to her death, step by agonizing step. By the time she was taken to hospital, it was far too late and the girl died after three days. In view of the devastating condition, the doctors pressed charges against the parents, accusing them of torture and neglect.

"We are not guilty. Valerie rejected conventional medicine, we respected that," said the father. Defense lawyer Alexander Todor-Kostic also blames everything on the deceased's personal responsibility, arguing that she had to bear the consequences of her actions herself: "Young people are expected to have a Covid vaccination forced on them, but they are not allowed to make this decision."

System failure costs children's lives
Medical expert and oncology expert Heinz Zwierzina is stunned by some of the insane claims made in the trial: "This was a complete system failure; Valerie could very probably have been saved!" The trial will continue in May, when the dubious role of two alternative doctors will also be scrutinized more closely. Investigations against them were dropped, but statements made at the trial incriminate them heavily. A former hospital doctor is said to have recognized a tumour, but in all seriousness only consulted an alchemist. It is also unclear whether Valerie ever knew how serious the situation was and what end threatened her if the "miracle healers" failed. Because only those who know all the facts can make a free decision.