‘She didn’t pay the price!’: Killer cult leader Brendan Luke Stevens explodes during police interview over Elizabeth Struhs’ death

Explosive footage captured a killer cult leader’s defiant outburst to police after the fringe Christian sect fatally withdrew an 8yo girl’s insulin for God to “heal” her.

Shoeless, hunched at the shoulders and dressed in prison greens, Brendan Luke Stevens cuts a frosty demeanour as detectives usher him into an interview room at Toowoomba Police Station.

It had been hours since Mr Stevens, his wife and six adult children were arrested at a Harristown address over the death of Elizabeth Struhs in early 2022.

The eight-year-old girl, who had Type 1 diabetes, was left to suffer and die for days after her father, Jason Richard Struhs, withdrew her insulin as a test of his newfound faith in God.

Mr Struhs was a recent convert to the fringe Christian sect led by Mr Stevens - known as The Saints.

Among their extreme beliefs was a major tenet that God healed all ailments and injuries - and that medicine and medical treatment in any form was to be deprecated.

Elizabeth Struhs died from diabetic ketoacidosis, brought on by the withdrawal of insulin by members of the fringe Christian cult known as The Saints, in early 2022. Picture: Supplied

Brendan Luke Stevens, the leader of The Saints, was among 14 convicted of Elizabeth’s manslaughter in February. Picture: Supplied

Elizabeth was also a believer in the group’s teachings, and yet paid the ultimate price after The Saints spent days praying for God to heal her of her diabetic condition, instead of seeking medical attention.

Shocking footage of Mr Stevens’ interview with police can be revealed after all 14 members of the sect were jailed for Elizabeth’s manslaughter in February.

Mr Stevens spends most of the interview with detectives keeping his arms folded and his posture hunched – occasionally becoming irritable as the investigators probe him with questions about Elizabeth Struhs’ death in the months prior.

During the combative exchanges, Mr Stevens accuses detectives of trying to “persecute” the church and accuses them of making an “innocent death” look like a murder.

“You’ve locked up all my friends,” he tells detectives when asked if there is anyone he wishes to contact.

During a tense interview with detectives following his arrest in July 2022, Brendan Stevens exasperatedly denies causing Elizabeth’s death and accuses police of trying to ‘persecute’ the church. Picture: Supplied

The leader of the fringe church congregation – known as The Saints – continues to maintain his frosty demeanour as he is asked about the church’s actions up until the eight-year-old’s 2022 death, including his baptism of Elizabeth’s father Jason Richard Struhs and texts with her mother, Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs.

Detectives show him a photograph of the dying Elizabeth lying on a pink mattress in the Struhs home – surrounded by members of her church who are seen praying for God to heal her.

Brendan then snaps.

Asked what he sees, Brendan exasperatedly says: “I see a photograph!” before sliding the picture away.

He becomes more agitated as detectives probe further.

“That’s what sick people do! They lie down in bed! Have you ever been sick before?” He shouts.

One detective then tells him: “You’re a 60-year-old man who’s lived a full life and has several adult children. This is an eight-year-old girl who has paid the price.”

“She didn’t pay the price! A dead person doesn’t pay the price!” He cries.

“You’ve got no idea – she had no outward pain and suffering at all!”

Brendan (right) becomes increasingly shill and irate as he is probed about why he left Elizabeth to suffer and die for days. Picture: Supplied

Mr Stevens embarks on several tangents where he talks about children dying in hospital and the police’s “anti-God” approach to the murder investigation.

One detective then asks: “Brendan why did you let this happen?”

He responds: “It wasn’t me that let it happen, and (Elizabeth) herself did not want medical intervention.”

The same detective points out she was an eight-year-old girl and may not have been able to make that decision.

Mr Stevens responds with another tangent about children in Victoria being able to have “sex changes” and questioning why police were not prosecuting “everyone that dies in hospital”.

“She (Elizabeth) got sick and died… (which) people have done for eons,” he says.

“She didn’t want to be on it (insulin) and she wanted to trust in God, and so did her father and mother.”

Mr Stevens also says he would do nothing differently in the circumstances.

Group should have ‘nothing’ to do with care of children

Mr Struhs, his wife Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, 49, their eldest son Zachary Alan Struhs, 22, and Mr Stevens were all found guilty of Elizabeth’s manslaughter in late January.

Mr Stevens’ wife Loretta Mary Stevens, 67, and their adult children Acacia Naree Stevens, 32, Therese Maria Stevens, 37, Sebastian James Stevens, 24, Andrea Louise Stevens, 35, Camellia Claire Stevens, 29, and Alexander Francis Stevens, 26, Lachlan Stuart Schoenfisch, 34, and his wife Samantha Emily Schoenfisch, 26, and a third woman, Keita Courtney Martin, 24, were also found guilty of manslaughter.

Kerrie and Jason both received jail terms of 14 years, Brendan 13 years, Loretta nine and Zachary and Samantha six.

The rest all received jail terms of seven years.

Jason Richard Struhs, Elizabeth’s father, was jailed for 14 years for his daughter’s manslaughter. Picture: Supplied

Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs - Elizabeth’s mother - received the same sentence as her husband. Picture: Supplied

In a grim twist, those sentenced to six to seven years could soon be eligible to apply for parole after serving 50 per cent of their sentences.

Aside from Kerrie and Jason, the other 12 co-accused have been in custody since July 5, 2022.

Supreme Court Justice Martin Burns also made a reporting order for each co-accused under child protection legislation.

This means each co-accused will need to report an extensive range of personal details to the Commissioner of Police - including any changes to their details while on release.

In his judgment, Justice Burns noted many of the members of the congregation would go on to have their own children when released from custody.

Elizabeth spent months recovering in hospital after she almost died from the condition in 2019, which had not yet been diagnosed. Yet three years later her father initiated the course of action which cost Elizabeth her life. Picture: Supplied

Others still had young children of their own, Justice Burns said.

Evidence was given during the trial that The Saints would perform “outreach” activities where they would try to recruit members of the public.

“The deliberate conduct in which you each engaged in this case, if repeated in the case of any other child, will I have no doubt pose a serious risk to the life of that child,” Justice Burns said.

“It is my opinion that you should have nothing at all to do with the care or custody of any child, and nor should you even have either direct or indirect contact with a child unless any such contact is strictly supervised.”

The group will be subject to reporting orders for five years after their release.

Justice Burns was particularly critical of Brendan Stevens – calling him a “dangerous, highly manipulative individual” and calling out his attempts to distance himself from the consequences of his conduct as deplorable.

“You have taken the life of a vibrant, happy child who should have gone on to enjoy a full life,” he said.

“(Her) death was, and remains, profoundly disturbing, if for no other reason than that it was so entirely and easily preventable.

“Each of you engaged in some sort of spiritual gamble with the life of a child – a child you professed to love.

“The arrogance of your belief in that regard was and remains bewildering.”