The leader of a faith healing group accused of killing a young girl by withholding her insulin medication is said to have sent a chilling text message saying “God will prevail” as the girl’s father took her to hospital.
Brendan Luke Stevens is the leader of the radical religious group The Saints and one of 14 people accused of causing the death of Elizabeth Rose Struhs in Toowoomba in 2022.
The mammoth trial began in Brisbane Supreme Court on Wednesday, with prosecutor Caroline Marco set to resume her case on Thursday.
Elizabeth’s father Jason Richard Struhs, 57, and Brendan Stevens, 67, are both charged with Elizabeth’s murder.
Twelve others, including her mother Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, 49, and her older brother Zachary Alan Struhs, 21, are charged with manslaughter.
The others are 67-year-old Loretta Mary Stevens – the wife of Brendan Stevens – and their adult children Acacia Naree Stevens, 31, Therese Maria Stevens, 37, Sebastian James Stevens, 23, Andrea Louise Stevens, 34, Camellia Claire Stevens, 28, and Alexander Francis Stevens, 26.
Lachlan Stuart Schoenfisch, 34, and his wife Samantha Emily Schoenfisch, 26 – and a third woman, Keita Courtney Martin, 22 – also face manslaughter charges.
Elizabeth, a patient with type 1 diabetes, passed away sometime between the evening of January 6 and the morning of January 7, 2022, at her family’s home in Rangeville.
Eight-year-old Elizabeth Rose Struhs (pictured) died between January 6 and 7, 2022 after members of a close-knit religious circle withheld her life-saving insulin medication for days
Brendan Luke Stevens (pictured), the leader of the religious group known as The Saints, is accused of murdering Elizabeth
She was only eight.
The plaintiff alleges that Elizabeth’s insulin medication was completely stopped on Monday (January 3 of that year), in accordance with the group’s religious belief in the healing power of God.
During her opening, Ms Marco said Elizabeth suffered from vomiting after eating for “days” and entered a state of “altered consciousness” where she needed help to go to the toilet.
On Friday (January 7, 2022), she was found dead on a mattress in the downstairs living room.
A sketch of the 14 accused at the opening of the trial in the Brisbane Supreme Court
Elizabeth’s parents, Jason Richard Struhs and Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, are charged with murder and manslaughter, respectively.
The court was told that Kerrie and Jason Struhs knew Elizabeth needed daily insulin injections and what the potential consequences were if she did not receive the medication.
Ms Marco said Kerrie Struhs spent five months in prison in 2021 after being found guilty of failing to provide for her daughter’s necessities in July 2019.
Jason, who took Elizabeth to the hospital at the time, testified against his wife at her trial.
The court was told that the group members were texting each other around the time Elizabeth first fell ill with diabetes in 2019.
Prosecutor Caroline Marco (pictured) said Elizabeth suffered “for days”, vomiting after eating and entering a state of “altered consciousness” where she needed help to go to the toilet.
In one of the conversations, read out by Mrs. Marco, Kerrie Struhs is said to have warned Brendan Stevens that Jason had almost taken the girl to hospital.
Kerrie says her husband is ‘torn’, to which Mr Stevens replies: ‘God is in control and she (Elizabeth) is healed’.
She is said to have said at the time: ‘I tried to get him to pray for peace and said I would pray for him. He is taking Elizabeth with him tomorrow.’
Brendan is said to have replied, “God will prevail, not Jason.”
Mrs Marco said Kerrie had been a member of Brendan Stevens’ congregation for 17 years, but her husband did not share their beliefs.
The court was told that Jason Struhs was responsible for helping Elizabeth administer insulin after she was diagnosed in 2019.
He was baptized into the group in 2021 – while his wife was in prison – after he “couldn’t cope” with caring for their children and was feuding with his son Zachary.
But Jason still did not fully share the group’s beliefs about medicine and faith healing.
Lachlan Stuart Schoenfisch and his wife Samantha Emily Schoenfisch
Keita Courtney Martin (pictured) is accused of the manslaughter of Elizabeth Struhs
“Despite Jason Struhs’ resistance, his wife and the other defendants united in a mission to convince him to adhere to all aspects of their faith, including the fundamental principle that God heals,” Ms. Marco said.
“And through the persistent pressure they put on him to conform, they succeeded in convincing him not to administer or require Elizabeth to take insulin and not to seek medical care or treatment for her, which was in keeping with the extreme views of their faith.”
All 14 suspects are unrepresented and have refused to seek legal advice.
The trial, presided over by Chief Justice Martin Burns, is expected to last 55 days.