EXCLUSIVE: Brother of Christian mom who refused to get medical help for her dying newborn because 'God makes no mistakes' condemns her actions as it is revealed she did not call 911 and instead 'prayed for infant's resurrection'

  • Rachel, 31, and Joshua Piland, 37, have been charged with involuntary manslaughter after they refused to get their daughter Abigail medical treatment
  • Rachel's brother Aaron Kerr has told DailyMail.com that their family 'unequivocally' condemns the couple's actions
  • 'These beliefs were never a part of our home growing up; my sister did not learn them from my parents or any church we were a part of,' he said
  • Baby Abigail died of jaundice on February 9 last year after they refused medical intervention because 'God makes no mistakes' 
  • Last week, CPS seized their newborn daughter Verity following a tip-off that the infant was also showing signs of jaundice
  • The Pilands, who are from Lansing, MI, have two other children - boys ages five and two - who are now in the custody of Rachel's parents, Joel and Rebecca Kerr
  • Court docs reveal the parents did not call 911 after the baby's death and instead asked church members to come to their home and 'pray for her resurrection'

The family of a Christian woman whose newborn baby died of jaundice when she and her husband refused medical intervention because, 'God makes no mistakes,' has 'unequivocally condemned,' the couple's actions and distanced themselves from beliefs they say were never part of their home.

Rachel, 31, and Joshua Piland, 37, are each awaiting trial charged with the involuntary manslaughter of daughter Abigail, who died February 9 last year in the home in which she had been born barely three days earlier.

Their bail was set at $75,000 each and, if convicted, each faces up to 15 years in prison for the crime.

Now, in a statement shared exclusively with DailyMail.com, Rachel's brother Aaron Kerr has shed light on the devastating rift this family tragedy has caused.

Rachel, 31, and Joshua Piland, 37 - seen in Lansing, Michigan for the first time since their daughter was taken from them -  are awaiting trial after they were charged with involuntary manslaughter for the death of their newborn daughter Abigail last year 

Rachel, 31, and Joshua Piland, 37 - seen in Lansing, Michigan for the first time since their daughter was taken from them -  are awaiting trial after they were charged with involuntary manslaughter for the death of their newborn daughter Abigail last year 

The Pilands have three other children, two sons ages two and five, and a newborn daughter Verity who is now in the custody of Child Protective Services (CPS) after a tip that the infant was also showing signs of jaundice

The Pilands have three other children, two sons ages two and five, and a newborn daughter Verity who is now in the custody of Child Protective Services (CPS) after a tip that the infant was also showing signs of jaundice

Mug shot of Joshua Piland
Mugshot of Rachel Piland - The couple allegedly refused to get their baby medical treatment because 'God makes no mistakes'

The couple (pictured in their mugshots) allegedly refused to get their baby medical treatment because 'God makes no mistakes.' 

He said: 'Abigail passed away after being refused medical treatment by her parents. They chose not to take medical advice and clung to their misplaced belief that God alone heals, rejecting any human medical help and intervention.

'Abigail's parents have shown no remorse and continue to stand by their choices, believing Abigail will be raised from the dead.'

He said: 'I want to be clear. We unequivocally condemn the actions…and the beliefs, which led to them.

'These beliefs were never a part of our home growing up; my sister did not learn them from my parents or any church we were a part of.'

Last week the Pilands who live in Lansing, Michigan were back in the news as Child Protective Services swooped and seized their newborn daughter, Verity, following a tip-off that the infant was also showing signs of jaundice.

She was taken to hospital where she received a life-saving blood transfusion - treatment that her sister Abigail was denied with such devastating consequences.

Verity was the couple's fourth child. Their other two surviving children - boys ages five and two - are currently in the custody of Rachel's parents, Joel and Rebecca Kerr who declined to comment on any aspect of this family saga.

But a source close to the family said that Rachel's family fear that she is 'completely controlled by Joshua and beyond outside help at this stage.'

Both of Rachel's parents are religious - her father Glenn was a pastor for many years and worked as a consultant assisting the translation of the bible into different languages all over the world. He and wife Rebecca worked on missions in their younger years.

Baby Abigail died of jaundice on February 9 last year - three days after she was born - after they refused medical intervention for the newborn 

Baby Abigail died of jaundice on February 9 last year - three days after she was born - after they refused medical intervention for the newborn 

The couple's surviving children are now in the custody of Rachel's parents 

The couple's surviving children are now in the custody of Rachel's parents 

But neither, according to those who know them well, has ever espoused the sort of beliefs that saw Rachel and Joshua deny their sick child the medical help she needed.

According to the source there has long been a feeling that former Marine, Joshua, is 'the driving force in the relationship.'

They said: 'He's where these extreme beliefs have come from, it's certainly not the way that she was raised.'

Court documents seen by DailyMail.com tell the sorry tale of Abigail Piland's brief life and tragcially avoidable death.

She was a home birth as all of Rachel's children have been, assisted by the same midwife.

According to that midwife's testimony the birth itself went smoothly and a newborn exam of Abigail the evening she was born, Monday February 6, gave her no cause for concern.

But when she and the doula also present during the birth returned the following day for a routine 20-hour afterbirth check-up, both testified that they 'immediately noticed that Abigail was showing signs of jaundice.'

The fact that the child was showing these signs less than 24 hours after birth added to the potential severity of her situation.

Rachel's brother told DailyMail.com that the family condemns the couple's actions and insisted that 'my sister did not learn [those beliefs] from my parents or any church we were a part of'
Joshua Piland seen for the first time since their baby Verity was taken by the State of Michigan

Rachel's brother told DailyMail.com that the family condemns the couple's actions and insisted that 'my sister did not learn [those beliefs] from my parents or any church we were a part of'

The Piland family home in Lansing where infant, Abigail Piland, died in February 2017. All four children were born in the home 

The Piland family home in Lansing where infant, Abigail Piland, died in February 2017. All four children were born in the home 

The midwife explained to Rachel that Abigail needed proper medical care and should be treated in an ER or seen by a pediatrician. She set out the other symptoms that Abigail would start to show if the jaundice advanced and the damage the potentially fatal condition could wreak on her delicate system.

For a moment, the midwife stated, Rachel 'hesitated' before rejecting her advice with the words, 'God makes no mistakes.'

By Wednesday afternoon, less than 48 hours after her birth, Abigail had started to lose her appetite. She struggled to feed and when she did she spat up bloody phlegm.

At some point that day Rachel told her mother about the midwife's concerns and they put Abigail near a window - sunshine is known to help mild jaundice. But it was an overcast February day.

Abigail was wearing just a diaper. Rachel used a hairdryer to keep her warm. Her mother urged her to take Abigail to the doctor.

Rachel refused and 'went to listen to sermons and pray.' She canceled the follow-up appointment that had been scheduled with the midwife for later that day.

Rachel told detectives that she nursed Abigail twice on Thursday morning and then both fell asleep. By this time Abigail's fists were clenched, her face frowning, the whites of her eyes yellow and her skin a yellowish orange. She was breathing heavily yet neither parent called for help though both admitted registering her state.

Some time between 11am and noon, Rachel realized that Abigail wasn't breathing. She took her to her husband, Joshua who is trained in CPR. But he had never performed it on an infant and so he attempted 'one rescue breath,' instead. It didn't work.

Source say they believe Rachel's husband Joshua is the 'driving force' in the relationship and is the source of these 'extreme beliefs'  

Source say they believe Rachel's husband Joshua is the 'driving force' in the relationship and is the source of these 'extreme beliefs'  

To this day neither Rachel nor Joshua have expressed any remorse or regret for what happened

To this day neither Rachel nor Joshua have expressed any remorse or regret for what happened

But they didn't dial 911. Instead they took their lifeless baby upstairs to pray for her and 'reached out to friends and fellow church members to come to their home and pray for Abigail's resurrection.'

This was the scene that met the first officers on the scene around 9pm that night. It was Rachel's other brother in California who had called authorities to alert them to the situation.

To this day neither Rachel nor Joshua have expressed any remorse or regret for what happened in their home across the few February days that constituted the entire span of Abigail's life.

When detectives asked Joshua if he would have done anything differently he responded that 'he would not have changed anything.'

Rachel's answer to that question was the same. But one present noted that she hesitated, where her husband did not.

This apparent absence of remorse is one of the most difficult things for Rachel's family to comprehend.

And if they are looking for an explanation from their daughter or son-in-law they may have a long wait.

Indeed, far from showing any doubt, Piland for one appeared to double down on his choice with a post on his Facebook page on August 1 in which he quoted a passage of scripture in which the leader of a synagogue where Jesus is preaching is told by a messenger that his daughter is dead.

The lines posted by Piland read, '…when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, 'Fear not: believe only and she shall be made whole.'

When approached by DailyMail.com near their home in Lansing, Rachel and Joshua declined to comment citing the ongoing court cases - both criminal and over the custody of their sons and newborn - as the reason they could not talk.

For now the Kerr family's focus, according to Rachel's brother Aaron, is on the surviving children. He stated, 'We are doing everything we can to ensure the boys are safe and loved now and in the future….

'No parent should EVER be allowed to put their child's life in danger in this way. We miss Abigail dearly and are so saddened she was denied the opportunity to live a beautiful life.

'We will continue to seek the best possible outcome for the two innocent boys who are caught in the middle of this mess.' 

 

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