AN EIGHT-year-old girl was left to die by her cult family who sang and prayed around her instead of providing lifesaving insulin.
Fourteen religious extremists, which included her parents, have been found guilty in the death of Elizabeth Struh. They were convicted because they thought that “God would cure her”.
A cult consisting of three families in Toowoomba, located near Brisbane in eastern Australia, has been convicted of manslaughter for neglecting to provide insulin to the young girl as she was dying, despite knowing that she had diabetes.
The family formed a ring around her bed – singing and hallelujah-ing even after she had stopped breathing – expecting she would rise from the dead.
Justice Martic Burns, who delivered the judgments, stated that Elizabeth’s passing was certain because the group rejected all medical assistance as she deteriorated over a period of six days.
He continued: “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.”
Her father Jason Stuhs is seen on police bodycam footage the day after Elizabeth died defending his actions and saying he is “happy for her”.
The deluded dad told Detective Sergeant Sharny O’Brien: “So on Monday, she decided she’d had enough, so I haven’t given her insulin since Monday.
“And yesterday she fell asleep and passed away.
“The world can’t heal her because she’s got to do it for her whole life, and she wanted to have a go without insulin.
“So this is where we ended up.”
Elizabeth was diagnosed with type-1 diabetes in 2019.
But at the end of November 2021, she became severely unwell with diabetic ketoacidosis – a complication caused by a lack of insulin.
A central belief of the group was the healing power of God, the court heard, and they considered normal medicine to be “witchcraft” – so they would not give her insulin.
On January 2, 2022, Elizabeth’s father, Jason Struhs, declared to the church that “God had healed Elizabeth of her diabetes”, according to Burns’ written ruling.
That night, Elizabeth had her last dose of slow-acting insulin.
Her normal blood tests the next morning convinced Jason that God had healed his daughter, the ruling said.
Jason told his daughter to get rid of her monitoring equipment because she didn’t need it anymore – with the rest of the group lauding the “miraculous” progress.
Over the next four days, the cult took turns watching over the dying little girl.
They updated one another via text, noting that Elizabeth was “restless”, “fairly weak” and vomiting.
The spiritual leader, Brendan Stevens, repeatedly assured Elizabeth’s parents that “God shall prevail” – even after the girl had died.
One chilling text between the members read: “Elizabeth does not appear to be breathing apparently, but we will see a victory very soon. God can do anything!”
The court recorded that Jason finally called an ambulance 36 hours after his daughter had withered away, explaining that “though God would still raise Elizabeth, they could not leave a corpse in the house”.
Cops set up a crime scene when they arrived.
One detective told the court she found about 20 people in the front yard singing, playing music and praying.
Burns said that Elizabeth was a “vibrant, happy child” who was “lovingly cared for […] and adored” by all members of the church – including those convicted.
Her family was one of three that formed a tight-knit religious sect, meeting three times a week.
Jason joined the church in August 2021, following his wife Kerrie Struhs, and both became spellbound by the religious teachings of leader Brendan Stevens.
The group considered itself Christian and followed the Bible.
They believed that through prayer a person could receive the Holy Spirit, which would allow them to speak in tongues.
Jason and Brendan were initially originally charged with murder, but the judge found them guilty instead of manslaughter because he could not be sure they “knew Elizabeth would probably die”.
All fourteen members accused had refused to enter a plea, which was officially interpreted as not guilty.
When invited to make an opening statement at the start of the trial, Brendan told the court his church was a victim of “religious persecution.”
Outside court after the verdict, Elizabeth’s older sister, Jayde Struhs, told reporters she was “relieved” that the group had been found guilty.
She said: “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.”
All 14 found guilty will be sentenced on February 11.
