Brace yourselves for a horrific story, Perezcious readers…
As we previously reported, 8-year-old Elizabeth Struhs, who had Type 1 diabetes, was found dead in January 2022 at her family’s home in Queensland, Australia. According to multiple outlets, the young girl died from diabetic ketoacidosis — which the Mayo Clinic says is a complication that occurs when someone’s body is unable to produce enough insulin — after she was denied her medication for several days. Instead of giving her insulin while she was very ill, her parents, Jason and Kerrie Struhs, allegedly held a “prayer ritual” to cure her. They then invited members of their religious group called “The Saints” to join, having them play guitar, sing, and pray for more than 24 hours, rather than getting her the treatment she needed once again. What the f**k.
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It wasn’t until the following day they called emergency services. But sadly, it was too late. Elizabeth didn’t make it. Her dad and the cult leader, Brendan Stevens, were charged with her murder. Per BBC, Her mom, 21-year-old brother Zachary Struhs, and several members of The Saints were also charged with manslaughter in her death.
Now, the trial has begun at the Queensland Supreme Court on Wednesday. All 14 defendants pleaded not guilty and refused to enter a plea deal on the first day of the court case. However, they may regret not taking a deal because the evidence presented in court so far is pretty damning…
According to the outlet, prosecutor Caroline Marco argued in court that the religious group rejected the use of medicine and believed God would “heal” Elizabeth. And it was those “extreme beliefs” that nearly ended the child’s life three years before. Yeah, the days leading up to her death weren’t the first time she suffered that kind of torture.
Per the Australian Broadcast Corporation, the girl was taken to the hospital in July 2019 by her father when she was found unresponsive due to weight loss and incontinence. Louise Conwell — a senior endocrinologist at Queensland Children’s Hospital Paediatric Intensive Care Unit — testified in court that Elizabeth had a “severe” case of diabetic ketoacidosis, The Guardian reported. The doctor recalled Elizabeth was “extremely emaciated” and “malnourished” at the time she was admitted to the hospital, weighing only 13 kg — that’s just 28 pounds. Jeez. In fact, her condition was so bad, Conwell said, that she was “minutes from death” and needed to be intubated:
“She was the most seriously unwell child I’d ever seen in this context in that 20 years [of my career].”
So, so awful. Elizabeth eventually made a near-full recovery. But when Conwell called Kerrie, who refused to go to the hospital, about her daughter’s care moving forward, you won’t believe the mom’s reaction. Per The Guardian, the endocrinologist said she stressed to the mother how “insulin would be essential for her life.” However, Kerrie didn’t agree. The mom told Conwell that she “did not believe [Elizabeth] would need any of the medical care that I was describing, including the insulin.” WHAT?!
Conwell then noted she had a separate conversation with Jason, once again making it clear Elizabeth “would have died” without the necessary medical care. Kerrie was sent to prison for five months after being convicted of failing to provide the necessities of life to her daughter following the 2019 hospitalization. She was only out of jail for a few weeks when the fatal incident happened. Although Jason did not agree with the religious sect’s beliefs at first, per the BBC, he eventually got baptized while Kerrie was locked behind bars. Marco said:
“He knew if he did not change he would lose his family and wife so pushed aside convictions of faith he once held, and joined them.”
And sadly, Elizabeth suffered because of his decision. Marco claimed both parents decided to reduce the amount of insulin Elizabeth got in early January 2022 — after being convinced by other Saints members to fall in line with their religious beliefs. They later withdrew it entirely on January 3. When the members went to the home to pray, the prosecutor alleged it was “visible to all who saw her” that Elizabeth’s health was in danger. Yet “no attempt” to get a doctor was made by anyone. Marco said she “suffered for days” until she died.
What happened to this little girl is terrible. We have a long road ahead before we find out if justice will be served. The trial is expected to last the next three months, with over 60 witnesses set to testify and more than 70 hours of phone and video recordings planned to be presented. Reactions, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments below.
[Image via GoFundMe]
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