Elizabeth Struhs death: father jailed for 14.5 years as sect faces sentencing for eight-year-old's manslaughter
The father of eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs has been sentenced to 14.5 years in prison, of which he must serve a minimum of 80%, for the death of his eight-year-old type 1 diabetic daughter by denying her life-saving insulin.
Jason Struhs was the first of 14 members of Toowoomba-based religious sect the Saints to learn his fate at a sentencing hearing in the Queensland supreme court on Wednesday, after they were found guilty of manslaughter over Elizabeth's January 2022 death by diabetic ketoacidosis.
Jason Struhs and the Saints' leader, Brendan Stevens, were convicted of manslaughter alongside the 12 other sect members after being found not guilty of murder by reckless indifference in last year's judge-only trial.
'You allowed your faith to blind you to her real plight,' Justice Martin Burns said to the sect members prior to delivering their sentences.
'Elizabeth suffered a slow and painful death and you are all in one way or another responsible.'
Addressing Jason Struhs, Burns said: 'You put your own personal beliefs ahead of your duty and then staked the life of your eight-year-old child on it.'
Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email
The faith group, which was likened to a cult in court, does not believe in medicine - which some members have described as 'witchcraft'. Instead of administering insulin, they prayed and sang for Elizabeth's miraculous healing as she lay dying over a four-day period at a house in Rangeville, Toowoomba.
Mother Kerrie and father Jason Struhs had previously been convicted of failing to provide the necessities of life for Elizabeth after an in incident 2019.
In that year, Elizabeth, who had yet to be diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, became seriously ill over a period of about six days. When she was eventually taken to hospital by father Jason she was described in court as on the verge of death, and fell into a coma.
Kerrie was sentenced to serve 18 months in prison, but served only five. Jason was given a six-month suspended sentence, reduced partly because he testified against his wife.
Jason then spent years helping treat Elizabeth's incurable illness before being convinced to convert to the Saints faith, and then to end the use of insulin to treat his daughter's diabetes, in 2021.
The 14 defendants were not represented by counsel during the trial or sentencing.
They refused to defend themselves against their charges, which they described as 'religious persecution'.
They also refused to enter pleas. Justice Martin Burns ordered that pleas of not guilty be entered on their behalf, pursuant to Queensland law.
The 14 guilty sect members are: Jason Struhs, 53, Brendan Stevens, 63, Kerrie Struhs, 49, Zachary Struhs, 22, Loretta Mary Stevens, 67, Andrea Louise Stevens, 34, Acacia Naree Stevens, 31, Camellia Claire Stevens, 28, Therese Maria Stevens, 37, Keita Courtney Martin, 22, Lachlan Stuart Schoenfisch, 34, Samantha Emily Crouch, 26, Sebastian James Stevens, 23, and Alexander Francis Stevens, 26.
More details soon …
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
33 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Ofsted delivers damning verdict on reality TV star's care home and shuts it down
Moss Farm Children's Home in Altrincham, Cheshire, was run by Real Housewives of Cheshire star Ampika Pickston and her company AP Care Homes Limited, but it's been forced to close A children's home operated by a television personality has been shut down due to concerns over the quality of care provided. Moss Farm Children's Home, managed by Real Housewives of Cheshire star Ampika Pickston and her firm AP Care Homes Limited, has been ordered to cease operations permanently. The Altrincham-based care home had previously been closed, but an appeal was lodged to maintain its registration. However, Ms Pickston's appeal has now been rejected by a judge. Judge Siobahn Goodrich and a panel concluded at a first-tier tribunal that there was a "significant" risk of "harm to the health, well-being, and safety" of the children residing at the home. The Ofsted investigation into the home revealed an incident where a child had gone "missing from the home" and subsequently "made an allegation of sexual assault" The report noted: "The action taken in response to this to safeguard the child was unclear and undocumented." READ MORE: Matthew Perry's doctor pleads guilty to distributing ketamine to late Friends actor In light of the report's findings, the panel decided that the care home should "no longer be authorised to carry on the regulated activity". The home, which registered with Ofsted in June 2023, was established "to provide care and accommodation for up to four children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties." The Mirror has reached out to the carehome for comment. Inspectors also discovered a high turnover of managers at the home, who reportedly voiced concerns about policies to Ms Pickston. Ofsted also highlighted a "problematic approach to staff" from Ms Pickston. The agency claimed that this had "overruled management decisions and demanded statements in support of her wild and unanchored views regarding views regarding Ofsted". In the scathing report, it was revealed how "the Home's arrangements for protecting children from harm were not effective" and that children were left "at continuing risk of harm". Despite these concerns, the report did concede that the home was "high end in terms of facilities", and that "in terms of comfort the view could be easily reached that any child would be lucky to live there". However, the decision was made to reject Ms Pickston's appeal and revoke the home's registration. The report concluded: "In our view the risk of harm to the health, well-being and safety of children who may come to live at the Home is significant and has been amply demonstrated by objective consideration of the experiences of many of the children who have lived there." After the ruling, Ampika Pickston said she was "heartbroken" by the Ofsted outcome and alleged that the watchdog had "bullied" members of staff into giving negative statements and promised to make a documentary about her ordeal. In a video statement posted on YouTube, May 26, Pickston said: "My registration was granted on July 1 2023 to become a registered children's home. Within four months of the home becoming operational, Ofsted inspectors had placed a notice to close my home down. "There had been no police investigations, criminal activity, medical notes, LADO reports that have led to anyone's DBS being of concern, no social worker or CAMHS supporting evidence to show that any harm has happened to a child while residing at AP Care Homes."
NBC News
an hour ago
- NBC News
Jury finds MyPillow founder defamed a former voting equipment firm employee
DENVER — A federal jury in Colorado on Monday found that one of the nation's most prominent election conspiracy theorists, MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, defamed a former employee for a leading voting equipment company after the 2020 presidential election. The employee, Eric Coomer, sued after Lindell called him a traitor and accusations about him stealing the election were streamed on Lindell's online media platform. Coomer was the security and product strategy director at Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems, whose voting machines became the target of elaborate conspiracy theories among allies of President Donald Trump, who continues to falsely claim that his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020 was due to widespread fraud. Dominion won a $787 million settlement in a defamation lawsuit it filed against Fox News over its airing of false claims against the company and has another lawsuit against the conservative network Newsmax. Newsmax apologized to Coomer in 2021 for airing false allegations against him. Coomer said during the two-week Lindell trial that his career and life were destroyed by the statements. His lawyers said Lindell either knew the statements were lies, or conveyed them recklessly without knowing if they were true. Lindell's lawyers denied the claims and said his online platform, formerly known as Frankspeech, is not liable for statements made by others. Lindell said he went to trial to draw attention to the need to get rid of electronic voting machines that have been targeted in a web of conspiracy theories. He said he used to be worth about $60 million before he started speaking out about the 2020 election and is now $10 million in debt. Reviews, recounts and audits in the battleground states where Trump contested his loss in 2020 all affirmed Democrat Joe Biden's victory. Trump's attorney general at the time said there was no evidence of widespread fraud, and Trump and his allies lost dozens of court cases seeking to overturn the result. Lindell stuck by his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen during the trial, but did not call any experts to present evidence of his claims. Lindell said his beliefs that the 2020 election was tainted by fraud were influenced by watching the 2020 HBO documentary 'Kill Chain' and by the views of Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn. In an interview for a documentary Lindell made in 2021, Flynn said foreign interference was going to happen in U.S. elections, and Lindell said he had no reason to doubt the claim since Flynn had worked for both political parties in intelligence. Lindell distanced himself from an account by a Colorado podcaster who claimed to have heard a conference call from the anti-fascist group Antifa before the 2020 election. The podcast claimed that on the call someone named Eric from Dominion said he would make sure that Trump would not win, a story that was recounted on Frankspeech during a 2021 event. Lindell said he only learned about that during the trial. Lindell said he never accused Coomer of rigging the election, but he did say he was upset because he said Newsmax blocked him from being able to go on air to talk about voting machines after it apologized to Coomer. Coomer denied there was any such deal to block Lindell under his agreement with the network. Coomer's lawyers tried to show how their client's life was devastated by the conspiracy theories spreading about him. Lindell was comparatively late to seize on Coomer, not mentioning him until February 2021, well after his name had been circulated by other Trump partisans. Coomer said the conspiracy theories cost him his job, his mental health and the life he'd built and said Lindell's statements were the most distressing of all. He specifically pointed to a statement on May 9, 2021, when Lindell described what he believed Coomer had done as 'treason.' Lindell's attorneys argued that Coomer's reputation was already in tatters by the time Lindell mentioned him. They said that was partly because of Coomer's own Facebook posts disparaging Trump, which the former Dominion employee acknowledged were 'hyperbolic' and had been a mistake.
Belfast Telegraph
8 hours ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Legal challenge over alleged state funding of NI companies potentially linked to providing F-35 jets to Israel to be heard in High Court
A legal challenge over alleged state funding of Northern Ireland-based companies potentially linked to providing F-35 fighter jets to Israel will be heard in the Autumn, a High Court judge has confirmed.
