WAUSAU, Wis. (AP) -- An 11-year-old girl was so weak the day before she died of untreated diabetes that she had to be helped to the bathroom and could only mumble her words, her sister testified Wednesday.

Elizabeth Neumann, 16, showed a jury how she held up her sister Madeline and, with her father, got the girl to the bathroom.

The girls' mother, Leilani Neumann, 41, is on trial for second-degree reckless homicide for praying instead of seeking medical care for Madeline, who died March 23, 2008, at their rural Weston home. Their father also has been charged and will be tried in July.

Prosecutors contend a reasonable parent would have known something was gravely wrong with Madeline and her mother recklessly killed her by praying instead of rushing her to a doctor.

Neumann has said the family believes in the Bible, which says healing comes from God, and she never expected Madeline to die.

Elizabeth was the first member of the family to take the witness stand.

She testified that her sister seemed "cranky but otherwise fine" the morning before she died. But she said her sister's condition quickly deteriorated until she couldn't talk or walk and urinated on a couch.

"We were just very confused about all of a sudden she was just very tired and weak, and we didn't understand," Elizabeth testified. "We were very concerned, and we were praying for her. We didn't know what was going on. ... I thought she was going to come out of it, and it wasn't anything serious."

Elizabeth said she noticed a week earlier that Madeline was tired and drank an unusual amount of water. Doctors have testified that those are both symptoms of diabetes.

Earlier Wednesday, Jennifer Peaslee, a regular member of the Neumanns' Bible study group, testified that she and her husband went to the Neumanns' home the day Madeline died and saw her laying on a bathroom floor unconscious.

Peaslee tried to talk to the girl, who she knew by the nickname Kara, but got no response.

"I was in shock," Peaslee said. "I didn't expect to see Kara like that."

She never considered advising the family to get the girl to a doctor.

"Because the Neumanns believe in faith, in God healing rather than the medical doctors," she said. "If you have enough faith, the Lord can do anything."

Peaslee's husband carried Madeline downstairs and placed her on a mattress on the floor. There, the couple joined the Neumanns and their three other children in prayer.

"We sat around her and opened our Bibles and preceded to quote Scripture related to healing," Peaslee said. "We each took turns finding Scripture to support God's healing power."

Peaslee said she and her husband left about 1:30 p.m.

"We felt we could leave because we left with the feeling God was going to heal her," Peaslee said. Madeline died about an hour later.

Peaslee said she and her husband later left the Neumann's Bible study group because they interpreted parts of the Bible differently. She said she takes her two children to the doctor.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)