Australia: Religious parents jailed over death of diabetic daughter denied insulin

The parents of an eight-year-old diabetic girl in Australia who died after being denied insulin for nearly a week have each been sentenced to 14 years in prison for manslaughter.

Elizabeth Struhs, diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2019, required daily insulin injections. However, her parents, Jason and Elizabeth Struhs, were members of a religious sect known as The Saints, which rejected medical care in favour of faith healing. 

The child died in January 2022 at her home in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, from diabetic ketoacidosis, a life-threatening condition caused by a severe lack of insulin.

Last month, the couple was among 14 people convicted of manslaughter. The Saints’ leader, Brendan Stevens, was sentenced to 13 years in prison, with the judge at the Supreme Court of Queensland describing him as a “dangerous, highly manipulative individual.” Eleven other members received jail terms ranging from six to nine years.

Stevens and Jason Struhs had initially been on trial for murder but were convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter. All defendants had pleaded not guilty.

Justice Martin Burns, delivering his verdict, acknowledged that Elizabeth’s parents and the congregation “adored her,” but stated that their actions ultimately led to her death. 

“Due to a singular belief in the healing power of God… she was deprived of the one thing that would most definitely have kept her alive,” he said.

During the trial, prosecutor Caroline Marco detailed the suffering Elizabeth endured in her final days, including vomiting, extreme lethargy, and eventual loss of consciousness. 

Prosecutors called 60 witnesses, portraying Elizabeth as an “intelligent” child who suffered greatly while the congregation prayed and sang for her instead of seeking medical help.

Believing she could be resurrected, sect members delayed notifying authorities for 36 hours after her death. Jason Struhs defended his beliefs, telling the court, “Elizabeth is only sleeping, and I will see her again.”

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Stevens, 63, maintained that the group’s actions were based on faith, calling the trial an act of “religious persecution” and insisting they were within their “rights to believe in the word of God completely.”

Elizabeth’s sister, Jayde Struhs, previously revealed that she had left The Saints and fled home at 16 after coming out as gay. Now estranged from her family, she and other witnesses described the sect as rejecting mainstream healthcare and regarding Christmas and Easter as “pagan” celebrations.

The Saints, which is not affiliated with any established church in Australia, comprises around two dozen members from three families.

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