Elizabeth Struhs murder: Andrea Louise Stevens, Loretta Mary Stevens, accused of being members of religious group that withheld lifesaving medicine, face committal hearing

Evidence against two women charged with the murder of an eight-year-old Toowoomba girl has been put towards the court, with one woman giggling from her seat.

A woman accused of being a member of a religious group charged with the murder of an eight-year-old girl has laughed in court after being asked about gathered evidence.

Andrea Louise Stevens, 31, along with her mother Loretta Mary Stevens, 65, in a separate hearing, appeared at the Toowoomba Magistrates Court on October 14 for a committal hearing, charged with the murder of Toowoomba girl Elizabeth Struhs.

Police allege the two women, as well as 12 others including Elizabeth’s parents, were at Elizabeth’s Meredith Crescent home in Rangeville in the days leading up to her death on January 7.

They also allege the accused were aware that Elizabeth had Type 1 diabetes, that the medication was being withheld but did not call for help, instead holding a prayer service believing God would save Elizabeth’s life.

Elizabeth Rose Struhs

At the commencement of the committal hearing, both women confirmed they had been given access and read the brief of evidence against themselves when asked by Magistrate Kay Philipson, however both declined legal representation.

The pair both told the court they declined to make any applications to cross-examine any witnesses, after police prosecutor Sergeant Alister Windsor presented to the court more than 100 witness statements and exhibits that made up their brief of evidence.

Documents, videos and images tendered to the court included witness statements, CCTV footage, medical evidence including Elizabeth’s diabetes action plan and autopsy results, post-mortem images, dashcam footage and more.

From the outside, the house were Elizabeth Rose Struhs died seems like any other Rangeville home.

The brief of evidence also included a Queensland Police Service employment history of the group’s alleged ringleader Brendan Stevens.

The court was told police also retrieved data from the defendant’s iPhones, and that police had retrieved telecommunication data.

Sergeant Windsor also revealed the brief of evidence contained screenshots of a GoFundMe established by Elizabeth’s older sister Jayde, as well as a variety of social media posts and messages.

Ms Philipson told the court she would not conclude the proceedings that day as “there is a significant amount of evidence” she would continue to view into next week.

When asked if she understood, Andrea Stevens, who smirked throughout her hearing, laughed from her seat.

“What do you mean by that,” she said.

Ms Philipson proceeded to rephrase her statement, to which Ms Stevens smirked, folded her arms and nodded.

Ms Philipson remanded both women in custody, reserving her decision on whether the pair would stand trial for murder in the Supreme Court.

Both women will next appear at the Toowoomba Magistrates Court on October 19.

Originally published as Elizabeth Struhs murder: Andrea Louise Stevens, Loretta Mary Stevens, accused of being members of religious group that withheld lifesaving medicine, face committal hearing