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The Guardian
26-02-2025
- The Guardian
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 …
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Australian religious sect members convicted in death of diabetic 8-year-old Elizabeth Struhs
Jan. 29 (UPI) -- A court in Brisbane, Australia, on Wednesday, found 14 members of a religious group guilty of the 2022 killing of an 8-year-old diabetic girl after withholding insulin from her for almost a week. Elizabeth Struhs' father, Jason Struhs, 53, and Brendan Stevens, 63, the leader of the Saints, which eschews modern medicine in favor of the "healing power of God," were convicted of her manslaughter, along with her mother and brother and eight other members of the group. Jason Struhs and Stevens were acquitted of murder charges because the prosecution had failed to prove intent beyond a reasonable doubt -- in Jason's case because he was under the "cloistering" influence of the group's beliefs. Stevens was found not guilty for similar reasons despite the court finding he had persuaded, encouraged and supported Jason to halt Elizabeth's insulin shots. Mother, Kerrie Struhs, 49, brother, Zachary Struhs, and the 10 others were convicted on grounds they counseled or encouraged Jason Struhs to withdraw insulin therapy. However, Justice Burns singled out Kerrie Struhs in his written judgment saying the "complete abdication" of her legal responsibilities of care for her daughter "constituted such an egregious departure from the standard of care as to amount to a crime against the state that is deserving of punishment." While there was no evidence of malice, with Justice Burns saying as he handed down his verdict in Queensland's Supreme Court that it was clear Elizabeth was loved by her parents and all the accused, their actions still led to her death. "It cannot be doubted that Elizabeth was lovingly cared for in almost every way. However, due to a singular belief in the healing power of God, she was deprived of the one thing that would most definitely have kept her alive," Justice Martin said. The testimony of dozens of witnesses called by the prosecution during the six-month non-jury trial depicted a distressing account of the suffering endured by Elizabeth in the days before her death from diabetic ketoacidosis -- a condition in which blood sugar is elevated to deadly levels. "She was described as speaking little, needing help going to the toilet, and being incontinent," said prosecutor Caroline Marco. She would also have suffered vomiting, extreme lethargy and loss of consciousness. As she lay dying at her home in Toowoomba west of Brisbane, the Saints prayed and sang to God to heal her, instead of calling for medical assistance. Authorities were not notified of Elizabeth's death for 36 hours as the group fully expected she would be brought back to life, in a similar way to Jesus' resurrection. They continued to insist she would rise up from the dead in police interviews after being arrested in January 2022. The court heard Elizabeth was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes requiring daily insulin jabs in 2019 following an incident for which Jason Struhs and wife, Kerrie Struhs were charged after Elizabeth was rushed to the hospital in a diabetic coma weighing just 33 pounds and too weak to walk. The accused are scheduled to be sentenced in February.
