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A judge has returned a verdict in the Queensland trial of 14 members of a cult-like religious circle accused of killing Elizabeth Struhs.
Jason Struhs and Brendan Luke Stevens — who is the leader of The Saints — were both charged with Elizabeth’s murder.
Members of a fringe faith-healing congregation accused of fatally withholding a young girl’s lifesaving medicine have been found guilty of her manslaughter — with the father and leader of the “church” found not guilty of murder.
Supreme Court Justice Martin Burns handed down his verdict against the 14members of the cult-like religious sect The Saints, who are on trial over the death of Elizabeth Struhs in early 2022.
The 8-year-old had incurable Type 1 diabetes and was found dead in her family home in Rangeville, a suburb of Toowoomba in regional Queensland.
Elizabeth Struhs died in her family’s Rangeville home after members of her home ‘church’ group allegedly withdrew her insulin.
Members of The Saints — which include her parents Jason Richard Struhs and Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs — believe in the healing power of God and shun medical intervention and medicine, outside basic first aid.
Struhs and Struhs are alleged to have withdrawn their daughter’s insulin on January 3, 2022, as a test of Struhs’ new-found faith in God.
Elizabeth Struhs (right) pictured with her sister, Jayde, who testified against the Saints at trial. Elizabeth Struhs died at her home in 2022.
As Elizabeth grew more and more unwell over the week, the pair and 12 other members of the sect are alleged to have instead prayed for God to “heal” her instead of seeking medical attention.
The child’s condition worsened until she died of diabetic ketoacidosis between January 6-7.
Jason Struhs, 53, and 63-year-old Brendan Luke Stevens — leader of The Saints — were both charged with Elizabeth’s murder, while Kerrie Struhs, 49, is charged with manslaughter.
Elizabeth’s older brother Zachary Alan Struhs, 22, Loretta Mary Stevens, 67, — the wife of Brendan Stevens — and the couple’s 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 charged with manslaughter.
