‘Lethargic, vomiting, incontinent’: Court hears young diabetic girl’s agonising final hours inside ordinary family home
Inside this ordinary family home, a young girl spent the last hours of her life in agony, a court has heard, as 14 members of a ‘cult-like’ group stand trial for her death.
Behind the ordinary brick and mortar facade of this suburban Queensland home, something horrifying was happening.
A court has heard that over the course of a week, eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs lay in agony, struggling to talk, eat, drink and use the toilet.
She spent days lying on a pink mattress, barely able to move, as her faith-healing parents and other members within their “cult-like” religious circle prayed for God to heal the child of her Type-1 diabetes.
Details and allegations surrounding her agonising last moments have been revealed during a Supreme Court trial of the 14 members of the religious sect known as The Saints, which include her parents Jason Richard Struhs and Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, who are accused of withholding her insulin for several days before her death.
Mr Struhs, 52, is charged with murder while his wife, 49, is charged with manslaughter.
11 others are facing charges of manslaughter - including Elizabeth’s brother Zachary Alan Struhs, 21, Loretta Mary Stevens, 67, Acacia Naree Stevens, 31, Therese Maria Stevens, 37, Sebastian James Stevens, 23, Andrea Louise Stevens, 34, Camellia Claire Stevens, 28, Alexander Francis Stevens, 26, Lachlan Stuart Schoenfisch, 34, his wife Samantha Emily Schoenfisch, 26, and Keita Courtney Martin, 22.
62-year-old Brendan Luke Stevens - the leader of The Saints - is also charged with Elizabeth’s alleged murder.
All 14 have pleaded not guilty to their charges, with Brendan Stevens telling the court the trial is about “religious persecution” instead of the murder of a child.
In early January, Jason Struhs began to modify his daughter’s insulin intake, the Brisbane Supreme Court has heard.
It had been just months since he had been baptised into The Saints, after years of resisting efforts to join and adopt the group’s faith-healing beliefs.
The Crown has argued members of the group, including Kerrie, persisted with Jason to adopt their hard line beliefs surrounding medicine - that is, that medicine and medical treatment, beyond basic first aid, was to be rejected in favour of the healing power of God.
At first, Elizabeth’s insulin readings appeared normal. It earned praise from The Saints, who believed she had been healed from the condition.
On Monday (January 3, 2022), Jason completely withdrew the drug, the court heard.
As a result Elizabeth’s health began to rapidly decline, crown prosecutor Caroline Marco said during her opening statement.
By Tuesday (January 4), she began vomiting after every meal and was described as “lethargic”.
“The next day, the vomiting continued and Elizabeth fell into a state of altered consciousness - a state she spent most of the day in,” Ms Marco told the court.
As the days passed, Jason began to doubt the efficacy of the group’s beliefs.
In a text to Brendan that day, read to the court, Kerrie said: “Jason is not going too well. I’m not sure what else you could say. He’s reading your texts and he is not able to be encouraged by you.”
She tells The Saints’s leader Jason was still looking at his daughter through “fleshy” eyes and their prayers were not working.
Jason was also texting Brendan through the ordeal, the court heard.
“Hi Brendan, thanks for your thoughts but I still really struggle with my flesh, with Elizabeth still being sick.”
He continued: “I can’t seem to break out of this, even with prayer and songs. I am so scared and lost in my thoughts. I thought I was ready for this step but I am now questioning it.”
Members of The Saints came and went from the Rangeville property over the following days - at times helping to clean the Struhs’s house and look after Elizabeth, feeding her soft fruits and helping her go to the toilet.
Their movements were captured on CCTV at neighbouring properties.
In images taken from their phones, some are seen surrounding Elizabeth and placing their hands on her as she lies, unresponsive, on the pink mattress.
During her opening, Ms Marco told the court Jason told Brendan he feared his daughter might die if God did not heal her.
Brendan, she said, had responded by saying he had to trust in God because “God had his hand on the situation and he’s dealing with it” - something that “comforted” Jason from his “flesh thoughts”.
“The support Mr Stevens provided to Mr Struhs that day, and from then on, was instrumental to Mr Struhs continuing to provide insulin to his daughter and not obtaining medical treatment for her despite her declining condition,” Ms Marco said.
Over Wednesday, Elizabeth could still walk to the toilet and talk, but spent most of the day asleep. Others in the house described her words as “slurred” and said she was lethargic.
By Thursday (January 6) Elizabeth had not only stopped vomiting, but talking altogether.
Sebastian, Camellia and Acacia Stevens stayed the night to look after the girl as her parents slept. The little girl slept “feverishly”, tossing and turning as the trio helped her to use the toilet.
By Friday, Elizabeth had stopped breathing and died.
Jason woke at 5.30am that morning to the sound of the Stevens children praying “happily and loudly”, thinking his daughter had been healed, only to find her lifeless body.
In the 36 hours that followed, members of the group came to the house and prayed for God to raise her from the dead, until Jason phoned an ambulance.
Why The Saints broke off from mainstream church
The court heard that years before its members were confined to the walls of the Struhs and Stevenses homes, The Saints were ordinary churchgoers.
At first, Jayde Struhs, her family, and the Stevenses attended a church called Revival Centres International (RCI) in Brisbane while they lived in Tarampa, the court heard during her evidence in the mammoth trial.
She was only five when she first met Brendan.
Jayde and her mother were baptised at RCI - something described in court as being fully immersed in water.
As a result, she and her mother received the “Holy Spirit from God” and were able to speak in tongues, the court heard.
But years later, the families broke off from RCI.
Jayde explained the decision was due to Brendan’s unsuccessful push to become a pastor within the group, and feeling the church itself was “not on the righteous path”.
To supplement this, the families began hosting their own weekly church sessions between the Struhs and Stevens homes.
Jayde described these gatherings as reading scripture from the King James Bible and sharing in songs and a meal.
All the while, their beliefs strengthened and became more entrenched.
Jayde described holidays like Christmas and Easter being branded as “pagan” festivals and not celebrated - something that led to fights between her unbelieving father and devout mother.
The court heard school was only seen as a tool for spreading the gospel and attracting more people to church. Assessments were always prepared with a religious standpoint to be shared with the class.
Some attended church sessions on the encouragement of its members, but Jayde explained few would stay permanently.
Fundamental to the budding home church’s belief was the rejection of medicine and medical treatment. Instead, the court heard, prayer was opted for treatment on anything from headaches to injuries.
Jayde told the court she never remembered going to the doctor or dentist growing up.
The only exception was when her father took his children to get vaccinated - a belief not shared with his wife.
In addition to their rejection of medicine, the court heard The Saints held strong beliefs in specific gender roles for men and women.
Homosexuality was described as an “abomination” and being gay was “not okay”, according to Brendan.
It led to a massive rift after Jayde came out as gay at age 16.
Brendan and her mother spent “hours” trying to convince her she was straight, warning she could lose her connection with God and “bad things” would happen.
“He was reading scriptures about why I can’t be gay … (said) I needed to turn back to him and find him because I was straying,” Jayde told the court.
It was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“I kind of crumbled a little,” she said.
“I was so scared. I was scared of what was going to happen to me if I didn’t accept myself. It was talked about that I would endure hell forever.
Jayde ended up leaving home - living with a friend from school.
From there on, the court heard she had minimal contact with her family.
“It’s not something I wanted to do. I didn’t feel safe there,” Jayde explained.
The trial continues.
Originally published as ‘Lethargic, vomiting, incontinent’: Court hears young diabetic girl’s agonising final hours inside ordinary family home
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