‘I will see her again’: Dad charged with diabetic daughter’s murder tears up at trial
A dad charged with his daughter’s murder after allegedly withholding her insulin medication for days has broken his silence at court.
The father of a young girl who allegedly withheld her insulin for days until she died has teared up upon declaring his child was “only sleeping” and he would “see her again”.
Jason Richard Struhs is charged with the murder of his eight-year-old daughter Elizabeth Struhs back in early 2022, after the child died from diabetic ketoacidosis in her family home in Rangeville, a suburb of Toowoomba.
He is among 14 members of a faith-healing congregation, known as The Saints, who are all on trial over the child’s death.
The mammoth Supreme Court trial has come to a close after each of the defendants delivered their closing arguments on Friday.
Supreme Court Justice Martin Burns will deliver his verdict at a later date.
Mr Struhs, 53, became emotional as he said it had been 973 days since his daughter “fell asleep”.
“They have accused me of murder, after spending 905 days by her side, caring for her the best I could, after she became ill in 2019,” a shaky Mr Struhs said.
“There’s not a minute of every day I don’t miss her, and remember the true bond we share together.”
He went on to describe his biggest regret as watching her “suffer” through the ordeal by making her “do something she didn’t want to do”.
The Crown contends Mr Struhs made the decision to stop administering Elizabeth’s insulin on January 3, 2022.
Members of The Saints allegedly encouraged and pressured Jason to adopt their hard-line beliefs before Elizabeth’s death and remain firm in his decision not to readminister the drug when his daughter’s condition deteriorated.
The child became more and more unwell until she died between January 6-7, 2022.
During his closing, Mr Struhs declared God “can heal”, referencing his anger going away after he was baptised into The Saints.
“It was only mine and Elizabeth’s decision to stop insulin – no-one else” he said.
“It was the moment I had a crossroad in front of me – do I trust what I’ve always been brought up to trust, or do I trust in God?”
Mr Struhs concluded by saying his daughter was “only sleeping”.
“And I will see her again, because God has promised that she is healed. Amen,” Mr Struhs said.
Mr Struhs and 62-year-old Brendan Luke Stevens – the leader of The Saints – are charged with the child’s murder.
Elizabeth’s mother Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, 49, her older brother Zachary Alan Struhs, 22, Loretta Mary Stevens, 67, Acacia Naree Stevens, 32, Therese Maria Stevens, 37, Alexander Francis Stevens, 26, Sebastian James Stevens, 23, Andrea Louise Stevens, 34, Camellia Claire Stevens, 28 Lachlan Stuart Schoenfisch, 34, Samantha Emily Schoenfisch, 26, Keita Courtney Martin, 23, are all charged with manslaughter.
God ‘allowed’ child to pass to bring knowledge of the Gospel
In his closing address, Brendan Stevens said God “allowed” Elizabeth to pass away to bring “the knowledge of the Gospel” to the world.
For over an hour, the leader of The Saints railed against the Crown’s submissions that he murdered Elizabeth by way of reckless indifference, asserting he did not believe the child would die and claiming the evidence did not establish the charge against him.
At times Brendan rambled about the Five Eyes alliance being “Israel of old”, the phrase “In God we trust” being printed on American currency and turned to referencing biblical stories involving the resurrection of Lazarus and King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
Another included a tangent where he claimed Americans had transplanted “a pig’s liver” into a person and “got them to stay alive a little longer”.
He said the congregation observed this as “where medication goes”.
Brendan claimed society was in “absolute breakdown” – telling the court he was confident he and his co-accused were “here at a time to bring forth the knowledge of God”.
“I will always follow God, but we never expected Elizabeth to pass,” Brendan explained.
“But we do believe that Elizabeth’s passing is something that God has allowed as something to bring the knowledge of the gospel to the world.”
Brendan argued the congregation did not deprecate medical treatment and denied encouraging the withdrawal of Elizabeth’s insulin.
He argued no-one saw the possibility of death with their actions, saying the argument of reckless indifference could not be applied to his case.
The rest of the group denied subjecting Mr Struhs to “pressure” or “persuasion” in making this decision.
They insisted Elizabeth would be raised from the dead and attacked the Crown case as “ludicrous”, denying there was a “common purpose” between all of them.
One man – Alexander Francis Stevens – wept as he described how he loved Elizabeth and would give his life “a thousand times for hers”.
“I prayed for her diligently, with the same faith she had,” he sobbed.
“Her death wasn’t inevitable, but her healing and resurrection is.”
During his closing, Alexander explained the group believed there was a “huge gap” between “the act of faith” and the removal of Elizabeth’s insulin.
He described Jason’s decision as a step of faith he took, not knowing “what path it would take”.
“I believe everything more now, than I ever have, and my faith has only grown stronger,” Mr Schoenfisch said.
Each of the defendants told the court they believed Elizabeth would rise from the dead, some saying God had “healed” her of diabetes before her death.
Alexander said he only intended to provide “emotional, physical and spiritual” support when he went over to the Struhs family home when Elizabeth became unwell.
“I’m glad I could say I did not betray her (Elizabeth’s) trust in me as a brother in Christ and a dear friend,” he said as he teared up.
“I didn’t demean her faith because of her age or condition.
“I prayed for her diligently, the same faith that she had.”
Alexander told the court he held “nothing in his heart” against the people he claimed “persecuted and judged us” – saying he prayed and hoped for people to find “the same peace and truth” he and Elizabeth shared.
“Though I know we look like fools and idiots, deceived or brainwashed, a laughing stock, I know the opposite is true – that God’s word is true, no matter how things may appear,” he said.
His brother Sebastian said the prosecution’s narrative “falls squarely on the genre of fiction”, intending to portray the group as “killers and conspirers”.
Sebastian told the court he simply encouraged Jason to rely on his new faith in God and attended the home to offer “love, care and support” during their struggles.