An eight-year-old girl suffered “for days” after members of a religious faith-healing group, including her parents, allegedly denied her life-saving insulin medication.
Fourteen members of the religious group, known as The Saints, are on trial in the Brisbane Supreme Court over the death of Toowoomba girl Elizabeth Struhs in 2022.
The entire group did not enter a plea or appear on charges of murder and manslaughter at the start of the trial on Wednesday afternoon.
Those charged in her death include her parents, Jason Richard Struhs, 52, and Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, 49, along with her older brother Zachary Alan Struhs, 21.
Elizabeth, a type 1 diabetic, was found dead at her family home in Rangeville on January 7, 2022.
The Crown alleges that members of the close-knit religious circle withheld the girl’s life-saving insulin medication for several days before she died.
Its members have professed belief in the healing power of God and have rejected medical intervention.
The group is further alleged to have prayed for Elizabeth to be “healed” by God instead of seeking medical attention.
Elizabeth’s parents, Jason Richard Struhs (left) and Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, are among 14 members of a religious circle charged over the girl’s death. Photo: provided
Brendan Luke Stevens, the 67-year-old frontman of The Saints, and Jason Struhs are charged with her murder.
Twelve others, including Kerrie and Zachary Struhs, face charges of murder alone.
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.
Another couple, Lachlan Stuart Schoenfisch, 34, and his wife Samantha Emily Schoenfisch, 26, and a third woman, Keita Courtney Martin, 22, are also charged with murder.
Crown prosecutor Caroline Marco told the court that Elizabeth died sometime between the evening of January 6 and the morning of January 7, 2022.
Ms Marco said the cause of the girl’s death was diabetic ketoacidosis resulting from the discontinuation of her insulin medication, which left her suffering “for days”.
Kerrie and Jason Struhs were well aware of Elizabeth’s condition and the consequences of her not receiving her medication following an incident in which the girl was hospitalized in 2019, she said.
The court was told Kerrie Struhs was found guilty of failing to provide the necessities of life for this incident in 2021 and was jailed for five months.
A portrait of the 14 defendants in Brisbane Supreme Court on Wednesday. The three with the most profile faces are Elizabeth’s father, Jason Richard Struhs (wearing glasses) and the leader of the religious group, Brendan Struhs (with the long beard). Elizabeth’s mother, Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, sits next to them. Photo: NewsWire
Jason testified against her during the proceedings.
Ms Marco said Kerrie Struhs had been a member of the congregation for 17 years, sharing the group’s belief that God would heal everyone and rejecting medical intervention.
Jason was baptized into the group while his wife was in jail because she “couldn’t stand” caring for their children and arguing with their son Zachary.
“Mr. Jason Struhs knew that if he didn’t change, he would lose his wife and family,” Marco said.
But Jason Struhs didn’t fully embrace the group’s belief in rejecting medical intervention, especially around Elizabeth’s need for insulin, Marco said.
The court was told on Monday 3 January 2022 that Jason and Kerrie Struhs made the decision to completely remove Elizabeth’s insulin in line with the congregation’s “extreme” beliefs.
On Tuesday, Elizabeth began vomiting after every meal and was described as “lethargic.”
“She was described as a person who spoke little… needed assistance to go to the bathroom and was incontinent,” Ms Marco said.
On Thursday, Elizabeth was nearly unconscious and had stopped talking, Marco said.
The court was told that members of the Stevens family had been caring for her overnight but she was found to be no longer breathing the next morning.
“He was only eight years old when he died,” Marco said.
“He was too young to understand the terrible consequences of having his insulin taken away… something that ultimately cost him his life.”
Keita Courtney Martin is charged with the involuntary manslaughter of Elizabeth Struhs. Photo: Facebook
Ms Marco said both Jason and Kerrie had a duty of care to Elizabeth to provide her with basic needs and that they breached this duty by failing to provide her with insulin.
“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,” he 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 Crown will call 60 witnesses, including Jayde Struhs, the adult daughter of Kerrie and Jason Struhs, who left home in 2014 as a teenager.
Ms Marco said that throughout the trial, reliance would be placed on multiple text messages exchanged between the group.
Some of the messages, taken from the phones of Stevens family members, were read in court Wednesday.
Ms Marco said some of the messages showed Kerrie Struhs speaking to Loretta Stevens about Elizabeth’s diabetes on July 11, 2019.
On July 16, 2019, Kerrie Struhs allegedly tells Brendan Stevens that her husband almost took Elizabeth to the hospital while she was sick.
“He’s torn,” he allegedly claims, later explaining that he “doesn’t know how to stop it.”
Brendan Stevens then allegedly responds: “God has everything under control and she (Elizabeth) is healed.”
In another message, Brendan allegedly said, “God will prevail, not Jason” when he was told Jason Struhs would take his daughter to the hospital the next morning.
None of the members of the religious circle have sought legal advice or representation, nor have they requested bail.
The trial courtroom has been modified to accommodate the 14 defendants and allow them to meet each day before proceedings begin.
This includes two long tables with microphones and screens to allow each of the accused to speak.
During their arraignment Wednesday afternoon, each of the defendants said “I plead no contest” or “I plead not guilty” when asked how they pleaded to their respective charges.
Supreme Court Justice Martin Burns ordered not guilty pleas to be entered for each of the defendants in response.
He told the group he was obliged to give each of the defendants “sufficient information” to help them during the trial, since all of them were unrepresented.
“But I can’t offer you legal advice,” Judge Burns said.
Lachlan Stuart Schoenfisch, his wife and Samantha Emily Schoenfisch are among 12 others charged with the murder of Elizabeth Struhs. Photo provided
The trial follows lengthy legal reviews that have moved through the Supreme Court since the first charges were filed last year.
Jason Struhs is charged with murder on the allegation that he caused Elizabeth’s death by failing to provide her with insulin, medical care or treatment, knowing that doing so would likely cause her death.
Kerrie Struhs is charged with murder on the allegation of failing to provide Elizabeth with insulin and/or failing to provide her with medical care and treatment.
The murder charge against Brendan Stevens relates to the allegation that he advised either Jason or Kerrie Struhs to stop providing insulin and/or medical care and treatment to Elizabeth, knowing that doing so would likely cause her death.
In the alternative, the Crown alleges that Brendan Stevens aided or permitted Jason Struhs or Kerrie Struhs, or both, to unlawfully kill Elizabeth by encouraging and supporting them to stop providing her with insulin and/or to fail to provide her with medical care and treatment, knowing that doing so would likely result in her death.
The other 11 defendants are charged with murder on the allegation that they “counselled and/or procured and/or assisted Elizabeth’s parents… by their words and actions” to unlawfully kill Elizabeth.
The trial, before Supreme Court Justice Martin Burns, is scheduled to last 55 days.
