14 religious group members face trial over 8-year-old Elizabeth Struhs’ death in Toowoomba
A mammoth trial has begun for a religious group charged over the death of an 8-year-old Toowoomba girl more than two years ago. 14 people, including the child's parents, are accused of withholding her life saving diabetes medication and praying to God to heal her instead. The defendants are all representing themselves in the case which is set to run for several weeks.
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00:00Her condition had no cure, but Elizabeth Strews' type 1 diabetes was treatable.
00:08Despite this, for a second time in her short life, prosecutors allege the 8-year-old was
00:13deliberately deprived of her insulin.
00:16In January 2022, after days of being gravely unwell, she died in her Toowoomba home.
00:22Allegations about Elizabeth's final moments have been laid out by prosecutors, as her
00:27father, Jason Strews, and another man, Brendan Stevens, stand trial for her murder.
00:33Twelve others, including her mother and older brother, are also fighting charges of manslaughter.
00:39The prosecution's case centres around the religious practices of the group, a fringe
00:44home-based faith calling themselves the Saints.
00:47In accordance with the extreme beliefs of the small congregation, they believed that
00:52God would heal her, and they deprecated the use of medicine to treat illness.
00:57The trial, which is being held in Brisbane in front of a judge only, is expected to be
01:02lengthy, set down to run until September.
01:05It will hear from 60 witnesses, including the Strews' other daughter, who was due to
01:09give evidence about her little sister's near-death just two years earlier.
01:14The court heard in 2019 Kerry Strews spent time in custody for failing to provide her
01:19daughter with the necessities of life after she became critically ill from the withdrawal
01:24of her medicine.
01:26Just three weeks after her release, prosecutors allege her husband, who was only recently
01:31converted, was convinced by her and the others to do it again.
01:35Opening addresses will continue tomorrow, where the self-represented defendants will
01:40have the chance to address the court.