Judge Orders Faith-Healing Couple Facing Murder Charges Be Held Without Bail
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Philadelphia judge has ordered that a couple who believe in faith healing over medicine be held without bail on third-degree murder charges in the April death of their 8-month-old son.
Herbert and Catherine Schaible are charged in the death of their baby, Brandon. They'd been convicted of involuntary manslaughter after another child, 2-year-old Kent, died in 2009. Prosecutors say they prayed over Brandon for two weeks before he died, and never called a doctor.
At a bail hearing Friday, Common Pleas Judge Benjamin Lerner ordered them held without bail. He says they're a flight risk because there could be a community of like-minded people around the world who might harbor them.
The couple's attorney says they've never missed a court date and surrendered willingly. Their seven surviving children are in foster care.
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