The church, the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing, denies Sylvia's death was caused by their holy elixir, known as Miracle Mineral Solution or MMS, and maintains it can be used "to overcome most diseases known to mankind," including cancer, Parkinson's disease, and autism in children.
The U.S. government and medical experts say MMS is really nothing more than a kind of industrial bleach -- a mixture of sodium chlorite and water -- and, when used as directed can cause serious harm to a person's health.
"They might as well be selling Clorox," said Ben Mizer of the U.S. Department of Justice. "You wouldn't drink Clorox, so there is no reason you should drink MMS."
While Sylvia's autopsy was inconclusive, Doug said there is "no question in [his] mind" about what happened that day seven years ago.
"MMS did kill my wife," he said.
Doug said one day Sylvia decided to drink the MMS mixture after reading the directions on the bottle and immediately hated the taste. "She said, 'Oh my God, that's awful,'" Doug said.
"About 15 minutes later, she began to indicate that she was feeling bad. And that began a sequence of her getting worse and worse throughout the day," Doug said.
Doug said Sylvia suffered diarrhea, nausea and vomiting -- but those were all symptoms that proponents of MMS say are not uncommon and can be an indication that the treatment is working. Doug said Sylvia still thought everything was fine.
"But it didn't get better," Doug said. "It got worse and worse. And by mid-afternoon, she was in... lots of pain. And by evening she was starting to be serious. And by this time I realized she was suffering from poison."
Doug said he called for help on his radio, but by then Sylvia appeared to be losing consciousness. That's when he thinks she died in his arms.
Still, some people came to help and attempted CPR. Eventually a local nurse arrived and gave her a shot of what Doug believed to be adrenaline. But nothing happened. Doug said that the nurse told him, "There's no point. She's gone."
Just the night before, Doug said, 56-year-old Sylvia had been on one of the islands dancing with the local kids, vibrant and full of life.
"There's no doubt in my mind that this stuff [MMS] is what caused her death," he said.
In 2011, Doug filed a report with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). But federal authorities were already on the scent, Doug said, and in 2013 prosecutors indicted Project Greenlife manager Louis Daniel Smith on a number of counts related to a conspiracy to get rich by "marketing [a] toxic chemical as a miracle cure," according to the Department of Justice. Two years later Smith was convicted on four counts and sentenced to more than four years in prison.
Smith may have been thrown behind bars, but the MMS movement is still very much alive and active.
Self-described "archbishops" at the MMS-centric Genesis II Church of Health and Healing, which was founded in 2009 or 2010, claim that thousands of people with debilitating conditions have been treated or cured by the chemical solution.
One of the church's leading figures, archbishop Mark Grenon, said in an online video that he believed all churches were beyond law enforcement's reach.
"The church is under no law. That's why you can go to a church and get political asylum. A priest can give a kid alcohol, a minor, in public, and not get arrested," he said.
When ABC News attempted to ask Grenon about his church, he denied that the church was doing anything wrong, stood by the MMS "miracle cure" claims and accused an ABC News reporter of being an "actor" and "pawn" of the pharmaceutical industry.
video
Husband Says Fringe Church's 'Miracle Cure' Killed His Wife - ABC News
The U.S. government and medical experts say MMS is really nothing more than a kind of industrial bleach -- a mixture of sodium chlorite and water -- and, when used as directed can cause serious harm to a person's health.
"They might as well be selling Clorox," said Ben Mizer of the U.S. Department of Justice. "You wouldn't drink Clorox, so there is no reason you should drink MMS."
While Sylvia's autopsy was inconclusive, Doug said there is "no question in [his] mind" about what happened that day seven years ago.
"MMS did kill my wife," he said.
Doug said one day Sylvia decided to drink the MMS mixture after reading the directions on the bottle and immediately hated the taste. "She said, 'Oh my God, that's awful,'" Doug said.
"About 15 minutes later, she began to indicate that she was feeling bad. And that began a sequence of her getting worse and worse throughout the day," Doug said.
Doug said Sylvia suffered diarrhea, nausea and vomiting -- but those were all symptoms that proponents of MMS say are not uncommon and can be an indication that the treatment is working. Doug said Sylvia still thought everything was fine.
"But it didn't get better," Doug said. "It got worse and worse. And by mid-afternoon, she was in... lots of pain. And by evening she was starting to be serious. And by this time I realized she was suffering from poison."
Doug said he called for help on his radio, but by then Sylvia appeared to be losing consciousness. That's when he thinks she died in his arms.
Still, some people came to help and attempted CPR. Eventually a local nurse arrived and gave her a shot of what Doug believed to be adrenaline. But nothing happened. Doug said that the nurse told him, "There's no point. She's gone."
Just the night before, Doug said, 56-year-old Sylvia had been on one of the islands dancing with the local kids, vibrant and full of life.
"There's no doubt in my mind that this stuff [MMS] is what caused her death," he said.
In 2011, Doug filed a report with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). But federal authorities were already on the scent, Doug said, and in 2013 prosecutors indicted Project Greenlife manager Louis Daniel Smith on a number of counts related to a conspiracy to get rich by "marketing [a] toxic chemical as a miracle cure," according to the Department of Justice. Two years later Smith was convicted on four counts and sentenced to more than four years in prison.
Smith may have been thrown behind bars, but the MMS movement is still very much alive and active.
Self-described "archbishops" at the MMS-centric Genesis II Church of Health and Healing, which was founded in 2009 or 2010, claim that thousands of people with debilitating conditions have been treated or cured by the chemical solution.
One of the church's leading figures, archbishop Mark Grenon, said in an online video that he believed all churches were beyond law enforcement's reach.
"The church is under no law. That's why you can go to a church and get political asylum. A priest can give a kid alcohol, a minor, in public, and not get arrested," he said.
When ABC News attempted to ask Grenon about his church, he denied that the church was doing anything wrong, stood by the MMS "miracle cure" claims and accused an ABC News reporter of being an "actor" and "pawn" of the pharmaceutical industry.
video
Husband Says Fringe Church's 'Miracle Cure' Killed His Wife - ABC News
