Three arrested after elderly woman dies during 'slapping therapy' at Wiltshire country hotel

Cleeve House: the workshop took place in a Wiltshire country hotel
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Tom Powell14 November 2016
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Three people were arrested after a diabetic woman died at a slapping therapy workshop in a country hotel, it has emerged.

Danielle Carr-Gomm, 71, died at Cleeve House in Seend, Wiltshire on October 20 where she was taking part in the session.

The workshop is understood to involve controversial paida lajin therapy, which sees patients being slapped or slapping themselves repeatedly.

Wiltshire Police said two men, aged 53 and 51, and a 64-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and later released on bail.

A force spokeswoman said: "Police were called to an address in Seend in the early hours of October 20 following the sudden death of a woman.

Country retreat: an inquest into the death of Mrs Carr-Gomm was opened last week
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"We are currently treating her death as suspicious and inquiries are ongoing.

"Three people, a 64-year-old woman, a 51-year-old man and a 53-year-old man, have all been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and have since been released on bail pending further inquiries.

"A post mortem examination has been carried out but the results were inconclusive. We await further toxicology tests."

An inquest into the death of Mrs Carr-Gomm, of Lewes, East Sussex was opened and adjourned last week.

In a previous blog entry, Mrs Carr-Gomm described attending a lajin course in Bulgaria and said "the results are totally astonishing and encouraging".

"After an initial sharing we began with administering paida on ourselves and on others in pairs or groups of three," she said.

"At the end of the first session large areas of my body were bruised and blue which indicated that a lot of 'sha' or poisoned blood and toxins had been released."

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