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The sister of an eight-year-old girl who died after those who were meant to care for her withdrew her life saving medication told a court their actions have caused immense pain for her family.
A cult-like religious circle found guilty of manslaughter the manslaughter of a young girl will soon learn their fate as sentencing proceedings begin in the Brisbane Supreme Court.
Supreme Court Justice Martin Burns found the 14 members of the cult-like religious sect known as The Saints, guilty of manslaughter following the death Elizabeth Struhs in early 2022.
The eight-year-old girl had incurable Type 1 diabetes and was found dead in her family home in Rangeville, a suburb of Toowoomba in regional Queensland.
Members of a fringe faith-healing congregation were found guilty of fatally withholding a young girl’s life saving medicine.
Elizabeth’s condition worsened until she died of diabetic ketoacidosis between January 6-7.
The group had a belief that God would heal her and when she died, their beliefs led them to claim she would rise again.
In January, Justice Burns had found Elizabeth’s 53-year-old father, Jason Struhs, and the 63-year-old leader of the “church”, Brendan Stevens, not guilty of murder.
Elizabeth’s mother Kerrie Struhs, 49, was charged with manslaughter and also found guilty.
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Elizabeth’s older brother Zachary Alan Struhs, 22, Loretta Mary Stevens, 67, – the wife of Brendan Stevens – and the couple’s adult children Acacia Naree Stevens, 32, Therese Maria Stevens, 37, Sebastian James Stevens, 24, Andrea Louise Stevens, 35, Camellia Claire Stevens, 29, and Alexander Francis Stevens, 26, Lachlan Stuart Schoenfisch, 34, and his wife Samantha Emily Schoenfisch, 26, and a third woman, Keita Courtney Martin, 24, were also found guilty of manslaughter.
A sentencing hearing continues the Brisbane Supreme Court on Friday.
The 14 members of The Saints were found guilty at trial following the death of eight-year-old girl Elizabeth Struhs, by withholding her insulin medication.
The 14 members of The Saints were found guilty at trial following the death of eight-year-old girl Elizabeth Struhs, by withholding her insulin medication.
Sister’s anguish
Elizabeth’s eldest sister, Jayde Struhs, read her victim impact statement to the court on Friday, as her parents, brother and the remaining members of the religious group she was once a part of watched on.
The 26-year-old woman bravely told the court it had taken her “a lot of courage to be here”.
“From a young age I was told there were severe consequences to speak up or have opinions,” Ms Struhs said.
“I’m not afraid to speak up anymore. I have a voice because I found my truth.
“I say this, I see you, and I see what you are, what you have done and what you have caused.”
She said her younger sister’s death has had a lasting impact on her family.
“Elizabeth Rose Struhs was an innocent child. She was my sister, and now she’s dead.
“She’s never coming back. She didn’t have an accident. It didn’t just happen.
“There was no great plan or destiny for her to die. She died because the people that were supposed to take care of her didn’t.
“She died because the people that loved her were indoctrinated and led astray.
“She didn’t have to die, and today, I want to see justice placed on those who are responsible for her death.”
Ms Struhs said The Saints had complete control over her family.
“These people only wanted to control my family and myself and everything that we did, feeding off the power it made them feel and eventually pushing my father to his most vulnerable moments to put his trust in them so they could play God,” she said.
“I am not afraid to speak up any more. I have a voice because I found my truth.
“I say this: I see you and I see what you are, what you have done and what you have caused.
“Your religious narrative cannot hide the unforgivable and irreversible impact you have made on my family.
“You took Elizabeth’s life. You had no right, and on judgment day, God will see you for what you truly are.”
Speaking to her parents in court, Ms Struhs said they need to take accountability for their actions.
“And to my parents, you have a lot to answer for and a lot of accountability to take on,” she said.
“You were led astray off the righteous path by the very man who convinced you he had the true answer.
“Find me if you finally realise the truth.”
Ms Struhs told the court she was “angry” and always wondered had her mother never joined the church all those years ago would she have had a “normal childhood” and would “Elizabeth be alive”.
“We have all been impacted by Elizabeth’s death but all the things that led to it,” she said.
“The misguided beliefs and blind faith … (meant) an entire future was taken from her.”
Jayde Struhs attended Brisbane Supreme Court for the sentencing proceedings of her parents Jason and Kerrie Struhs, who were found guilty of the manslaughter of their daughter Elizabeth Struhs. Picture: NewsWire / John Gass
Jayde Struhs attended Brisbane Supreme Court for the sentencing proceedings of her parents Jason and Kerrie Struhs, who were found guilty of the manslaughter of their daughter Elizabeth Struhs. Picture: NewsWire / John Gass
Sentencing The Saint’s
All 14 defendants had pleaded not guilty to their charges and had refused legal representation during their lengthy trial in 2024.
The Crown contended members of The Saints – including Kerrie Struhs – pressured Jason Struhs to adopt their extreme beliefs surrounding medicine and encouraged him to stay firm in his decision to cease Elizabeth’s insulin.
The Crown relied on texts exchanged between members of the group – including one where Jason said he was “scared” and “lost in thought” after seeing his daughter’s condition deteriorating from January 4, 2022.
During submissions, deputy DPP Caroline Marco said the 14 people guilty of manslaughter were subject to varying degrees of culpability.
She said Jason and Kerrie should be sentenced to 15 years prison, Brendan 12 years and the rest of the offenders to between seven and eights years.
She told the court her proposed sentence for Jason, Kerrie and Brendan would be require them each to serve 80 per cent of the sentence, which would trigger the classification of being a serious violent offence.
Ms Marco said Kerrie and Jason both failed in their duty as parents to Elizabeth, warranting the strongest penalty.
Jason Struhs had failed in caring for his daughter Elizabeth, a court was told.
Jason Struhs had failed in caring for his daughter Elizabeth, a court was told.
Kerrie Struhs was also found guilty of her daughter’s deaths.
Kerrie Struhs was also found guilty of her daughter’s deaths.
The court was told the couple had previously been convicted of failing to provide the necessities to their daughter when she was first diagnosed with diabetes in 2021.
Both Jason and Kerrie were subject orders at the time of her death.
Ms Marco said Brendan’s role warranted his penalty to be “alone below” Jason and Kerrie because he “played a pivotal role” in Elizabeth’s death. Ms Marco said those remaining in the group fell into the next category of penalty.
Justice Burns queried said he would need to take into consideration the role Brendan’s wife, Loretta, also played in the lead up to Elizabeth’s death.
“It’s about her role not so much her status but her role,” he said, referring to her being the mother figure of the group.
Justice Burns reserved his decision until another time.
Brendan Luke Stevens, the leader of The Saints, during his interview with detectives over Elizabeth’s condition in the final days of her life in early 2022. Picture: QLD Court
Brendan Luke Stevens, the leader of The Saints, during his interview with detectives over Elizabeth’s condition in the final days of her life in early 2022. Picture: QLD Court
He said he would also need to consider what each person said to police initially after Elizabeth’s death.
“The effect is to distance themselves from their own conduct but that church narrative may be coming to terms with what they did but I don’t know,” Justice Burns said.
“Many of them have fairly frank admissions (to police).
“At least two were quite candid, many were reasonably forthcoming about that but by the time the addresses were delivered (at trial) there seemed to be this narrative that ‘all we did was encourage Jason to believe in God’ and I described that in my judgment as a fiction.
“They’re relatively frank with what they’re doing but then at the end of a nine week trial they were advancing a narrative that all they were doing was advancing Jason’s belief in God.
“That’s something I’ll have to assess.”
Meanwhile, Ms Marco said the actions of The Saints was “not just deplorable but also hypocritical”.
The court also heard a number of the Saints had been involved in several incidents while on remand.
“Seeking to recruit other members has made them targets,” Ms Marco said.
Howeve, there had been no reported incidents since March 2023, the court was told.
Elizabeth’s death was ‘inevitable’
In his judgment Justice Burns noted Elizabeth was a “vibrant, happy child” with her whole life ahead of her, and she was “lovingly cared for” by her parents and “adored” by members of the congregation.
“However, due to a singular belief in the healing power of God which, to the minds of her parents and the other members of the Church left no room for recourse to any form of medical care or treatment, she was deprived of the one thing that would most definitely have kept her alive – insulin,” the judgment states.
“Her death was inevitable once the administration of that drug was abandoned and when, encouraged and supported by the other accused, her parents refused to seek any medical assistance in the days and nights which followed until her death.”
Justice Burns found Jason Struhs could not be found guilty of murder unless he was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that at some point between the father’s decision to cease insulin and the time when Elizabeth died, he “knew his failure to provide her with insulin and/or medical care and treatment would probably cause her death.”
“In this respect, it must be proved beyond reasonable doubt Mr Struhs knew of the probability, as opposed to the possibility, of death,” the judgment states.
“Nothing less than a full realisation on his part that Elizabeth would probably die as a consequence of his failure to act would be sufficient to establish murder in this way, that is, murder by reckless indifference to her life.”
Jason Richard Struhs was found guilty of the manslaughter of his daughter Elizabeth Rose Struhs.
Jason Richard Struhs was found guilty of the manslaughter of his daughter Elizabeth Rose Struhs.
Kerrie Struhs was also found guilty of her daughter’s deaths.
Kerrie Struhs was also found guilty of her daughter’s deaths.
Justice Burns found there was a “reasonable” possibility Jason Struhs was “so consumed by the particular belief in the healing power of God that he never came to the full realisation Elizabeth would probably die, believing instead that God would not allow that to happen”.
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In assessing Brendan Stevens’ charge of manslaughter, Justice Burns ruled: “I could not be satisfied after a consideration of the whole of the evidence admissible against him that Mr Stevens was possessed of the requisite state of mind at any point between the time when the decision was made by Jason Struhs to cease the administration of insulin to Elizabeth and the time when she died.”
Justice Burns was satisfied Kerrie Struhs was guilty of manslaughter by the “complete abdication” of the legal duty she owed to Elizabeth to provide her with a reasonable standard of care.
The others were found guilty of manslaughter because they “counselled and aided the unlawful killing of Elizabeth by intentionally encouraging Jason Struhs to cease providing insulin as well as medical care and treatment to Elizabeth”.
Content retrieved from: https://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/courts-law/elizabeth-struhs-death-14-found-guilty-of-manslaughter-to-be-sentenced/news-story/44ca47f7fba9219eeedb3e56f705c03d .
