‘Wise advice’: Claims religious leader told mum to replace insulin with grape juice

The mother of Elizabeth Struhs, who allegedly died after lifesaving insulin was withdrawn from her, asked her religious leader for health advice, a court has heard.

Elizabeth Struhs pictured in hospital.

The leader of a fringe religious group advised giving a sick and vomiting girl grape juice after her parents had allegedly withdrawn her life saving insulin, a court has heard

Days later in January 2022 Elizabeth Struhs would die in her family’s Toowoomba home from complications arising from her diabetes.

The crown allege her parents Kerrie and Jason Struhs stopped administering the eight year old insulin on January 3 2022 to prove their faith in god.

The parents were members of a small religious congregation called the Saints who believed in divine healing and deprecated modern medicine, their trial in Brisbane’s Supreme Court has heard.

The religious circle's leader Brendan Stevens. Picture: Supplied

After the insulin was withdrawn from Elizabeth, Kerrie sent a text message to the Saints alleged leader Brendan Stevens asking what she should give her daughter “because he had just left our place and he had seen that Elizabeth was not well and vomiting”.

“I see Brendan as being very wise in his decisions,” she said a statement to police following Elizabeth’s death that was read to court on Wednesday.

“Brendan is the leader of our church, who I will always go to to learn about God, the scriptures and what God promises.”

However Kerrie said she could also go to Brendan about “Elizabeth’s declining health”.

“I knew myself that it was good to give Elizabeth water and I was also thinking of giving her toast, but Brendan’s wise advice of giving her grape juice made sense,” she said in her statement.

The court has heard that Elizabeth’s incurable type one diabetes could only be treated with insulin.

Kerrie Struhs went to her church’s leader for health advice.

Two and half years earlier she had been taken to hospital minutes from death from her then unknown diabetes condition. In her statement Kerrie attributed Elizabeth’s recovery in 2019 to God and not the life saving insulin she was started on.

On January 4 2022, a day after Elizabeth’s insulin had allegedly been withdrawn, Brendan messaged Kerrie, she said

“(Brendan said) we are all so confident that Elizabeth is healed by God, as both he and you have declared,” she said.

“This is just … to prove that you are all truly faithful to our faithful God.”

Kerrie said Brendan “had been appointed by God to lead our congregation”.

“Brendan would go to God for advice and clarity,” she said in her statement

“No one has ever spoken against what Brendan says. Not one of us has ever wanted to, in our church family we never have different views or beliefs.”

Kerrie said despite Elizabeth’s death God had previously brought people back from the dead and he was giving everyone “the opportunity to see a great miracle when Elizabeth rises again.”

Police outside the Struhs home.

“We expect to see Elizabeth physically within our family. I can’t say how or when this will happen,” the last line of her statement said.

Jason Struhs, 52, and Brendan Stevens 62, are on trial for murder,

Kerrie Struhs, 49, and Zachary Struhs, 21, are charged with manslaughter along with 10 other members of the Saints.

They are Loretta Mary Stevens, 67, Therese Maria Stevens, 36, Andrea Louise Stevens, 34, Acacia Naree Stevens, 31, Camellia Claire Stevens, 28, Alexander Francis Stevens, 25, Sebastian James Stevens, 23, Keita Courtney Martin, 22, Lachlan Stuart Schoenfisch, 33, and Samantha Emily Schoenfisch, 25.

The trial continues