The leader of a religious healing group accused of killing a young girl by withholding her insulin medication allegedly sent a chilling text message saying “God will prevail” as the girl’s father rushed her to the hospital.
Brendan Luke Stevens is the leader of the hardline religious group known as The Saints and one of 14 people charged with causing the death of Elizabeth Rose Struhs in Toowoomba in 2022.
The mammoth trial began in Brisbane Supreme Court on Wednesday, with Crown prosecutor Caroline Marco set to resume her opening statement on Thursday.
Elizabeth’s father, Jason Richard Struhs, 57, and Brendan Stevens, 67, are charged with Elizabeth’s murder.
Twelve others, including his mother Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, 49, and his older brother Zachary Alan Struhs, 21, face murder charges.
The others include Loretta Mary Stevens, 67, wife of Brendan Stevens, and their adult children Acacia Naree Stevens, 31, Therese Maria Stevens, 37, Sebastian James Stevens, 23, Andrea Louise Stevens, 34, Camellia Claire Stevens, 28, and Alexander Francis Stevens, 26.
Lachlan Stuart Schoenfisch, 34, and his wife Samantha Emily Schoenfisch, 26, and a third woman, Keita Courtney Martin, 22, are also charged with murder.
Elizabeth, a type 1 diabetic, died sometime between the evening of January 6 and the morning of January 7, 2022 at her family home in Rangeville.
Eight-year-old Elizabeth Rose Struhs (pictured) died between January 6 and 7, 2022 after members of a close-knit religious circle allegedly withheld her life-saving insulin medication for days.
Brendan Luke Stevens (pictured), leader of the religious group known as The Saints, is charged with Elizabeth’s murder.
She was only eight years old.
The Crown maintains that Elizabeth’s insulin medication was completely withdrawn on Monday (January 3 that year) in accordance with the group’s religious belief in the healing power of God.
During her opening, Ms Marco said Elizabeth suffered “for days”, vomiting after eating and entering a state of “altered consciousness” where she needed help to go to the toilet.
On Friday (January 7, 2022), she was found not breathing on a mattress in the ground floor living room of the house.
A representation of the 14 defendants at the opening of the trial in the Supreme Court of Brisbane
Elizabeth’s parents, Jason Richard Struhs and Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, are charged with murder and manslaughter respectively.
The court was told Kerrie and Jason Struhs knew Elizabeth needed daily insulin injections and the potential consequences if she did not receive the medication.
Ms Marco said Kerrie Struhs spent five months in jail in 2021 after being found guilty of failing to provide her daughter with basic life necessities in July 2019.
Jason, who drove Elizabeth to the hospital on that occasion, testified against his wife at her trial.
The court was told members of the group were texting each other around the time Elizabeth began falling ill with diabetes in 2019.
Crown prosecutor Caroline Marco (pictured) said Elizabeth suffered “for days”, vomiting after eating and entering a state of “altered consciousness” where she needed help to go to the toilet.
One exchange, read by Ms Marco, allegedly involved Kerrie Struhs warning Brendan Stevens that Jason had almost taken the girl to hospital.
Kerrie says her husband is “torn apart” to which Mr Stevens replies: “God has everything under control and she (Elizabeth) is healed.”
She then allegedly says: “I tried to convince him to pray for peace and told him I would pray for him. Tomorrow morning he will bring Elizabeth.”
Brendan is said to have responded: “God will prevail, not Jason.”
Ms Marco said Kerrie had been a member of Brendan Stevens’ congregation for 17 years but her husband did not share her beliefs.
The court was told Jason Struhs was responsible for helping Elizabeth manage her insulin after she was diagnosed in 2019.
He was baptized into the group in 2021, while his wife was in jail, because he “couldn’t stand” caring for his children and arguing with his son Zachary.
But Jason still didn’t fully share the group’s beliefs around medicine and faith healing.
Lachlan Stuart Schoenfisch and his wife Samantha Emily Schoenfisch
Keita Courtney Martin (pictured) is charged with the murder of Elizabeth Struhs
“Despite Jason Struhs’ resistance, his wife and each of the other defendants united in a mission to persuade him to adhere to all aspects of his faith, including the fundamental principle that God heals,” Marco said.
‘And through sustained pressure on him to conform, they succeeded in convincing him not to administer or require Elizabeth to take insulin and not to obtain medical care or treatment for her, in line with the extreme beliefs of his faith.’
The 14 defendants do not have legal representation and have refused to seek legal advice.
The trial, before Supreme Court Justice Martin Burns, is scheduled to last 55 days.
