TRIGGER WARNING: This article discusses the death of a minor and may be triggering for some readers. Please contact Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14 if you are in need of support.
With a simple shrug and smile to one another, the 14 defendants found guilty of killing eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs last month remained silent as they were led out of the dock.
The group, which includes Elizabeth’s parents Jason and Kerrie Struhs, is part of a faith-healing cult known as ‘The Saints’. They believe in divine healing and that modern medicine is “witchcraft”.
Elizabeth died at home in Toowoomba, QLD, on January 7, 2022, from diabetic ketoacidosis.
She suffered a slow and painful death over four days after the group took away her insulin for her type-1 diabetes, while they sat around her and sang, praying for her resurrection.
“I’m happy for her,” he told police. “I’m not jumping up and down in joy, but I’m at peace. I gave my little girl what she wanted. And I expect God to look after her.”
When, predictably, Elizabeth did not wake, Jason, 53, shockingly said: “There were no feelings of ‘Oh well, that didn’t work.’”
He added: “I am fully at peace at heart. I don’t feel sorry, I feel happy because now she’s at peace and so am I … she’s not dependent on me for her life now. I’m not trapped by diabetes as well.”
On February 26, Justice Martin Burns sentenced Jason and Kerrie, 49, to more than 14 years in jail for manslaughter. Elizabeth’s older brother Zachary, 22, was also jailed for six years over his involvement.
Originally, Jason was charged with murder alongside the Saints’ leader, Brendan Stevens, 63. However, they were found not guilty.
When sentencing Stevens to 13 years behind bars, Justice Burns slammed him as a “dangerous, highly manipulative individual” whose attempts to distance himself from his influence on Elizabeth’s death was “deplorable”.
Stevens’ wife Loretta, 67, was sentenced to nine years, while their six adult children were ordered to serve seven years.
Married couple Lachlan and Samantha Schoenfisch (aged 34 and 26) and a third woman, Keita Martin, 24, were also sentenced to seven years.
The court heard the group had united in persuading Jason to join their faith, including convincing him not to administer Elizabeth’s insulin.
Prior to that, he had been providing the life-saving medication, much to Kerrie’s disapproval.
Justice Burns described the group’s prospects of rehabilitation as “bleak”.
“Each of you engaged in some sort of spiritual gamble with the life of a child, a child you profess to love,” he said. “The arrogance of your belief in that regard was and remains bewildering.
“What you did was gamble with the life of the child based on your peculiar interpretation of disparate passages from the Bible and nothing more.”
Standing outside Brisbane’s Supreme Court after the sentences were handed down, Elizabeth’s older sister, Jayde Struhs, said justice had prevailed.
“The coercion and the manipulation Brendan used to control not only his own family but mine, is the most unforgivable and disgusting abuse of people’s vulnerability,” she said.
“Elizabeth was a young, bright girl with big dreams of helping others like her with diabetes. Her kind soul and infectious laughter will forever hold a place in our hearts as we remember her.”
