Diabetic daughter lay dead for 36 hours before triple-0 call as group prayed for girl to rise again
A diabetic girl lay dead for 36 hours before triple-0 was called, while members of a faith-healing circle all the while prayed for her to rise again.
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Members of a cult-like religious group alleged to have withheld a young girl’s lifesaving insulin – leading to her death – spent 36 hours praying over her body as she lay dead on the floor.
The harrowing final hours of Elizabeth Rose Struhs’ life in January 2022 have been laid bare during the trial of 14 members of the religious circle in Brisbane’s Supreme Court.
On Thursday, multiple pictures of the eight-year-old in her final hours - lying on a pink mattress surrounded by members of the group - were shown in court.
Elizabeth’s father Jason Richard Struhs, 57 and Mr Stevens, 62, are both charged with Elizabeth’s murder.
Twelve others, including her mother Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, 49 and elder brother Zachary Alan Struhs, 21, are facing charges of manslaughter.
The others include 67-year-old Loretta Mary Stevens – the wife of Brendan Stevens – and their adult children Acacia Naree Stevens, 31, Therese Maria Stevens, 37, Sebastian James Stevens, 23, Andrea Louise Stevens, 34, Camellia Claire Stevens, 28, and Alexander Francis Stevens, 26.
Lachlan Stuart Schoenfisch, 34 and his wife Samantha Emily Schoenfisch, 26 – and a third woman, Keita Courtney Martin, 22, are also charged with manslaughter.
Elizabeth, a type-1 diabetic, died sometime between the evening of January 6 and the morning of January 7, 2022 at her family’s Rangeville home.
She was just eight.
The Crown contends Elizabeth’s insulin medication was withdrawn entirely on Monday (January 3 that year) in line with the group’s religious belief in the healing power of God.
Crown prosecutor Caroline Marco said the girl suffered “for days”, vomiting after eating and entering a state of “altered consciousness” where she needed help going to the toilet.
By Friday (January 7, 2022) she was found not breathing on a mattress in the downstairs living area of the home.
The court was told Kerrie and Jason Struhs were aware Elizabeth needed daily insulin injections and of the potential consequences if she did not receive the medicine.
Ms Marco told the court Jason Struhs woke on the morning of January 7, 2022 to Sebastian, Acacia and Camellia Stevens praying “happily and loudly” over Elizabeth’s body.
He ran downstairs and began praying with them thinking it was a sign his daughter had been “healed”.
“Unfortunately, Elizabeth had passed away,” Ms Marco said.
She said Jason Struhs was alleged to have told police they did not move the girl’s body.
Members of the Schoenfisch and Stevens families attended the Struhs’ home to gather and pray for the “rising” of Elizabeth.
“They believed, following Elizabeth’s passing, God would raise her from the dead so she could walk amongst them again in this worldly existence,” Ms Marco said.
“They all stayed at the Struhs house overnight to provide the Struhs with their continued support and company.”
It was only until 5.07pm on Sunday when Jason called authorities to report the death of his daughter.
He is alleged to have told everyone that even though God would raise Elizabeth they could not leave a corpse in the house, Ms Marco said.
Paramedics then attended the home anddiscovered Elizabeth lying on the same mattress in the house’s downstairs living area.
The court was told Jason was alleged to have told one paramedic the delay in reporting the death was because everyone was praying for God to bring back Elizabeth.
When asked if Jason wanted a funeral for Elizabeth, he allegedly said he did not believe in funerals, that “Elizabeth was with God” and he wouldn’t be burying “a bag of bones”.
Photos shown to the court showed Elizabeth in the days before her passing lying on the same mattress, surrounded by members of the congregation.
Dad ‘manipulated’ by faith healers: court
More details of the Crown’s case against the group were detailed by Ms Marco over Thursday, including how Brendan Stevens was gifted a weekly tithe by the Struhs family after Jason’s baptism.
The court was told in October 2021, Jason, Kerrie and Zachary Struhs settled upon giving Brendan Stevens $200 a week as a tithe.
Jason was initially reluctant to do so, allegedly saying “God doesn’t need the money”, the court was told.
In 2019, Jason rushed Elizabeth to hospital after she became unwell from her then undiagnosed diabetes.
In 2020, Jason and Kerrie were both charged with failing to supply the necessaries of life to Elizabeth over the 2019 incident.
Kerrie was alleged to have said things got “really bad” between herself and Jason as a result, the court was told.
She was supported by members of the congregation during her 2021 trial, with Acacia Stevens allegedly saying she was “excited” to hear Kerrie share her testimony.
Kerrie was sentenced to five months’ jail after being found guilty at Toowoomba District Court in July 2021.
During the sentence, the trial judge at the time said it was “very fortunate” that Elizabeth did not have any long-term consequences as a result of Kerrie’s failure to supply Elizabeth with the necessaries of life.
Ms Marco said Jason was left to care for his children while his wife was in prison.
He was “lonely” and “struggled to deal with it all” as he had no one to talk to, the court was told.
Ms Marco said Jason’s employers and co-workers would give evidence during the trial about his struggle.
Kerrie also told police she planned to end her marriage to Jason as she was fed up with him.
Five days after Kerrie was convicted, Therese Stevens sent Zachary Struhs a message urging him to “be bold” and tell his father to turn to God.
“Tell him he needs to make up his mind now,” Therese is alleged to have written.
The court was told in August 2021, Zachary “broke down” in front of his father and said he couldn’t have a relationship with him anymore.
Jason ended up breaking down at his work the next day.
A colleague is alleged to have told him to “do whatever you need to do” to save his family.
As a result, Jason asked Zachary for help, to which he told him the only thing he could do was pray to God.
That same month, Jason was baptised into the group by Brendan Stevens.
In a video recording, which will be played to the court, Ms Marco said Jason was submerged in a small tub of water while Brendan was “speaking in tongues”.
Jason is alleged to have said he was “cleansed of his sin” as a result of the baptism.
The court was told Lachlan and Samantha Schoenfisch were baptised into the group and “accepted the Holy Spirit” shortly after Jason’s baptism.
“(By this time) the congregation had grown to three full families,” Ms Marco said.
“Kerrie and others had succeeded in manipulating Jason to join.”
The response drew audible scoffs from the defendants seated behind Ms Marco.
‘God shall prevail’: Brendan Stevens’ chilling text
The court was told members of the group were texting each other around the time Elizabeth first became unwell in 2019, including when Elizabeth was recovering in hospital.
One exchange – read out by Ms Marco – allegedly involved Kerrie Struhs warning Brendan Stevens that Jason nearly took the girl to hospital.
Kerrie says her husband is “torn” to which Mr Stevens replies: “God has it all in hand, and she (Elizabeth) is healed”.
She then allegedly says: “Tried to get him to pray for peace and told him I’d pray for him. He is taking Elizabeth in the morning”.
Brendan is alleged to have responded with: “God shall prevail, not Jason”.
Ms Marco said Kerrie Struhs spent five months in jail in 2021 after being found guilty of failing to supply the necessaries of life for her daughter in July 2019.
Jason, who took Elizabeth to hospital on that occasion, gave evidence against his wife at her trial.
Ms Marco said Kerrie had been a member of Brendan Stevens’ congregation for 17 years but her husband did not share their beliefs.
The court was told Jason Struhs was responsible for helping Elizabeth administer her insulin after she was diagnosed in 2019.
He was baptised into the group in 2021 – while his wife was in jail – because he was “not coping” looking after their children and arguing with his son Zachary.
But Jason still did not fully share the group’s beliefs around medicine and faith-healing.
“Notwithstanding Jason Struhs’ resistance, his wife and each of the other defendants united in a mission to persuade him to adhere to all aspects of their faith, including the fundamental tenet that God heals ” Ms Marco said.
“And by the sustained pressure they placed upon him to conform, they succeeded in managing to convince him not to administer or require Elizabeth to take insulin and not to obtain medical care or treatment for her, consistent with the extreme beliefs of their faith.”
All 14 defendants are unrepresented and have refused to seek legal advice.
The trial, before Supreme Court Justice Martin Burns, is scheduled to run for 55 days.
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