Fourteen members of a small religious sect in Australia have been found guilty of the manslaughter of an 8-year-old girl, who died after they withheld insulin needed to treat her diabetes because of their unwavering belief that God would heal her.
Instead, as she lay dying, they turned to prayer and song, maintaining a vigil around her bed, and even after she’d stopped breathing, sought divine intervention to raise her from the dead.
Elizabeth Struhs’s parents were among members of the home-based church found guilty Wednesday after a nine-week, judge-only trial at Brisbane’s Supreme Court that heard evidence from 60 witnesses and examined hundreds of exhibits.
Handing down the verdicts, Justice Martin Burns said Elizabeth’s death was “inevitable” after the group failed to administer insulin or seek medical help as she lay dying over six days in January 2022 at her home in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane.
All 14 members had refused to enter a plea, which was formally accepted as not guilty, and the courtroom was adapted to seat all defendants so they could stand trial together.
In his ruling Wednesday, Burns said that, until her death, Elizabeth was a “vibrant, happy child” who was “lovingly cared for… and adored” by all members of the church, including the accused.
“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,” Burns wrote.
Elizabeth was diagnosed with Type-1 diabetes in 2019, but died on January 7, 2022 of diabetic ketoacidosis, a complication caused by a lack of insulin and medical treatment for the condition, according to the ruling.
The group’s spiritual leader Brendan Stevens and the girl’s father Jason Struhs were originally charged with murder by reckless indifference, but both were found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter because Burns wasn’t convinced beyond reasonable doubt that they “knew Elizabeth would probably die.”
Decline into “severe illness”
During the trial, the court heard the sect was almost completely confined to three families who at the time of Elizabeth’s death met three days a week.
They didn’t ascribe to any religious denomination, but saw themselves as Christians who followed the Bible. They believed that through prayer, a person could receive the Holy Spirit, which would enable them to speak in tongues.
A central tenet of their faith was the healing power of God, and they rejected conventional medicine, which some members described as “witchcraft,” the ruling said.
The court heard that Jason Struhs joined the church in August 2021, following his wife Kerrie Struhs, who’d become a firm believer in its teachings.
Just months later, on January 2, Jason Struhs declared to a church meeting that “God had healed Elizabeth of her diabetes,” according to Burns’ written ruling.
That night, Elizabeth had one last dose of slow-acting insulin, and the next morning her glucose levels were so normal that Jason Struhs became convinced God had intervened.
Struhs told his daughter to put away her glucometer because “she didn’t need it anymore,” and the group members praised the “miraculous” development, the ruling said.
Glucometers measure the amount of glucose in blood and indicate if a dose of insulin is needed. Elizabeth Struhs used hers for the last time on January 3.
Over the next four days, church members took turns monitoring Elizabeth’s condition, sitting by her bedside as she steadily deteriorated.
They shared text message updates, with some describing her as “restless.” She was vomiting and “fairly weak.” Yet, Stevens repeatedly reassured Elizabeth’s parents that “God shall prevail,” according to the ruling.
Justice Burns wrote that any belief that God had intervened “ought to have been dispelled” when church members watched Elizabeth decline “into severe illness.” Instead, the group called for prayers, sang and talked about the goodness of God.
Even after the 8-year-old stopped breathing early on January 7, the group gathered around her, singing “choruses” and praying for her “to be raised from the dead by God.”
One text message between defendants said: “Elizabeth does not appear to be breathing apparently, but we will see a victory very soon. God can do anything!”
Jason Struhs finally called emergency services 36 hours after his daughter’s death, telling others that “though God would still raise Elizabeth, they could not leave a corpse in the house,” the ruling said.
When police arrived at the house, they set up a crime scene, ushering church followers outside. One detective told the court that when she arrived, she saw about 20 people in the front yard playing music, singing and praying.
Outside court on Wednesday, Elizabeth’s older sister Jayde Struhs told reporters she was “relieved” that those responsible for her death had been found guilty.
“It’s been a long and hard three years. Not a moment has gone by that I haven’t thought about my little sister, Elizabeth,” Struhs said.
All 14 found guilty will be sentenced on February 11.