Last updated on August 27th, 2024 at 05:20 pm
Members of an Australian religious group have gone on trial, accused of killing an eight-year-old diabetic girl by denying her medical care and offering prayer instead. Elizabeth Struhs was found dead in a house in Toowoomba, about 125 km west of Brisbane, in January this year, after allegedly losing access to insulin for several days.
Prosecutors say the sect eschews medical treatment and practices divine healing – an “extreme belief” that in almost identical circumstances three years ago had nearly cost Elizabeth her life.
Charged are the 8-year-old girl’s father and stepmother
Two men, whom Elizabeth called dad, Jason Struhs, 52, and the group leader to whom she turned for guidance, Brendan Stevens, 62, were charged with murder. Prosecutors say they knew that the girl’s mother, Kerrie Struhs, 49; brother Zachary Struhs, 21; and 10 others, ages 22 to 67, likely were forming acts that could lead to Elizabeth’s death in the ‘world beyond.’.
As the trial got under way in the Queensland Supreme Court on Wednesday, the members of the group filed into the courtroom one by one, dressed in prison garb, and took their positions in a makeshift courtroom built to seat them all. This trial, by reason of the complexity and high profile of the case, is being heard by a justice alone, no jury, and expected to last approximately three months.
In one opening statement, prosecutor Caroline Marco referred to Elizabeth as an “intelligent, spiritual child” who was simply too young to understand the grave results of her parents’ decisions that would ultimately cost her life. Ms. Marco said that in the beginning of January 2022, the parents decided first to reduce and then to completely withdraw insulin from Elizabeth.
Members of the sect then gathered at the house to pray, even though it was obvious that Elizabeth was seriously ill to any observer. No attempt was made to summon the doctor or any other kind of medical aid, and Elizabeth died after ‘suffering for days,’ the prosecution alleged.
The court was told Mrs Struhs had only recently come out from prison after serving time for starving Elizabeth of insulin earlier in 2019. That time, she spent a month in the hospital after her father eventually sought medical help.
The judge was informed that Jason Struhs had in the first instance not believed the group’s convinced but had later on been baptized while his wife was still in jail. “He knew if he did not change, he would lose his family and wife, so he placed the convictions of faith once held to the side and went with them,” Ms. Marco said.
The trial, which opened Monday, is expected to feature 60 witnesses, including one of the Struhs’ estranged daughters. Ms. Marco said the evidence would show a small, “insular” religious group focused on Brendan Stevens.
Prosecutors will continue to present their case on Thursday, followed by the opportunity for defendants to make their case before the court.
Before the trial commenced, Justice Martin Burn emphasized that he had to provide all needed information to secure a fair trial for the convicted but could not guide them on legal issues.