A 60-year-old man from the USA has been charged with manslaughter by gross negligence, following the death of a woman in Seend, near Devizes.

Danielle Carr-Gomm, 71, died at Cleeve House in Seend on October 20, 2016.

According to her son, she had just completed a week-long course involving paida lajin, an alternative health treatment which involves 'hard slapping', in a bid to cure her diabetes.

She was found dead at the 19th-century Cleeve House in Seend by a fellow workshop attendee whom she was sharing a room with.

Now Hongchi Xiao, from Cloudbreak in California, has been charged with manslaughter by gross negligence and has been extradited to the UK from Australia.

The 60-year-old was taken to Gablecross custody in Swindon where he was charged with manslaughter, and he is now due to appear at Salisbury Magistrates Court on Friday, December 1, 2023.

Mrs Carr-Gomm, who was born in France and moved to the UK aged 21, was diagnosed with diabetes in 1999 and struggled to inject insulin due to a fear of needles.

Speaking after her death, her son Matthew Carr-Gomm, who lives in New Zealand, said: “She was always keen to try and find alternative methods of treating and dealing with her diabetes and was very interested in alternative and holistic medicine and therapies.

“I know she was desperate to try and cure herself of this disease. She always maintained a healthy lifestyle and was adamant that nothing would stop her from living a full life.

“In recent years, mum was in a great place with a partner, a lovely home, and was travelling the world. She had a lot of life left in her.”

He said the death of Mrs Carr-Gomm had come as a “huge shock” to the family.