Church group member claimed diabetic child ‘wanted’ father to stop insulin: court

[Pelican Press 0]

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******* group member claimed diabetic child ‘wanted’ father to stop insulin: court

A member of a cult-like religious group accused of fatally withdrawing a young girl’s insulin has claimed the child wanted her father to stop giving her the medication in line with the group’s hard line ******-healing beliefs.

Bodycam recordings of members of the ******* group, known as The Saints, were played on the 10th day of a Supreme Court trial over the ****** of Elizabeth Struhs in early 2022.

The group’s 14 members are accused of withdrawing the child’s insulin for several days before she was found ***** at her family’s Rangeville home.

Camera IconFourteen members of a religious circle are on trial accused of causing the ****** of Elizabeth Struhs (pictured) by withholding her insulin for several days until she *****. Supplied Credit: Supplied

During interviews with members of the group following Elizabeth’s ******, Andrea Louise Stevens tells police the girl had repeatedly asked her father, Jason Richard Struhs, to take her off the medication.

“She (Elizabeth) believes in the healing power of ****,” Ms Stevens tells the officer.

“We all believe the same thing.”

Throughout the recordings, members of the group can be heard singing in the background.

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The Crown contends Elizabeth’s parents and members of The Saints withheld her insulin for several days until her ****** from diabetic ketoacidosis between January 6-7, 2022.

During her opening, Crown prosecutor Carolin Marco said Mr Struhs made the decision to stop administering the medication in line with the group’s hard-line beliefs in the healing power of ****.

It is further alleged the group opted to pray for **** to heal the child instead of seeking medical attention.

Mr Struhs is charged with ******* while the girl’s mother, Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, is charged with manslaughter.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconElizabeth’s parents Jason Richard Struhs and Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs are among the 14 people charged over the eight-year-old’s ******. Supplied Credit: Supplied

Eleven others – Elizabeth’s elder 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 – are also charged with manslaughter.

Brendan Luke Stevens, the leader of The Saints, is also charged with *******.

NED-12455-Struhs-factbox

All 14 have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

During her interview, Andrea Stevens tells police officers outside the Struhses’ home that she and members of her family had been sleeping there for several days.

She says they all went to the house after Elizabeth started to get ***** around “Tuesday”.

Andrea is heard acknowledging the child was getting ***** from “diabetes” and she had been on insulin.

“She’s (Elizabeth) asked dad (Jason) to always take her off it, but he didn’t believe it until recently,” Andrea tells the officer.

In another recording heard by the court, Samantha Schoenfisch is heard saying she had come to the home to comfort the Struhs family as Elizabeth became more and more unwell.

She is heard saying Elizabeth appeared healthy and “absolutely perfect” a week prior but the girl had been “unwell” all week.

“We were here a few times, she was still breathing … she got a little bit more unwell,” Ms Schoenfisch tells the officer.

“She was still able to take a bit of food.”

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconBrendan Luke Stevens is charged with Elizabeth’s *******, alongside Jason Struhs. Supplied / A Current Affair Credit: Supplied

The officer asks if there were signs that Elizabeth was in pain, to which Ms Schoenfisch answered: “I don’t really think so. No more than I would be with morning sickness.”

Toowoomba Community Corrections case manager Eleanor Savill gave evidence that she was due to see Kerrie Struhs following her release from jail in late December 2021.

The court has already heard evidence that Kerrie served five months in prison for failing to supply Elizabeth with the necessities of life after the child almost ***** from her then-undiagnosed condition in 2019.

On Tuesday, Ms Savill said Kerrie phoned her in late 2021 to say she would not be attending her appointment.

She recalled Kerrie informing her that she was “unwell” with diarrhoea-related symptoms.

A follow-up appointment was booked but Ms Savill said she no longer had contact with Kerrie after her arrest in January 2022.

The judge-alone trial continues.

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