14 members of religious group convicted of manslaughter in death of eight-year-old in Australia
Fourteen members of a religious group have been convicted of manslaughter in the death of eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs, who was denied insulin for almost a week in Toowoomba in Queensland state, Australia, BBC News reported.
The verdict was delivered on Wednesday, with her father, Jason Struhs, and group leader Brendan Stevens found guilty of the lesser charge after facing murder charges.
Twelve other members, including Elizabeth’s mother and brother, were also convicted of manslaughter. All had pleaded not guilty.
Justice Martin Burns handed down an almost 500-page verdict, stating that while Elizabeth’s parents and every member of the church adored her, their actions resulted in her death.
The court heard that Elizabeth’s treatment was withheld because the group, known as the Saints, opposed medical care, believing God would heal her.
The defendants were aged between 22 and 67, and represented themselves at trial, refusing legal representation and entering not guilty pleas, which the court had to enter on their behalf.
Most were charged for counselling or aiding her father in the decision to withhold insulin. Struhs claimed he and Elizabeth had agreed to “stop the insulin” together and still believed she would be resurrected, stating, “Elizabeth is only sleeping, and I will see her again.”
Struhs explained that the group had the right to “believe in the word of God completely” and that their refusal to enter pleas was because they had “no intention of fighting” the case using law.
“Elizabeth is only sleeping, and I will see her again,” he told the court.
Struhs’s adult sister, Jayde Struhs, welcomed the verdicts outside court.
“She was described as speaking little, needing help going to the toilet, and being incontinent,” prosecutor Caroline Marco said, adding that the girl would have endured vomiting, extreme lethargy, and a loss of consciousness.
The judge-alone trial in the Supreme Court of Queensland began in July last year and lasted several months.
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The court also heard that Elizabeth’s life had been in danger in 2019 when she was admitted to the hospital in a diabetic coma, weighing just 15 kg (2st 5lb), after becoming too weak to walk.
The group is expected to be sentenced next month, raising concerns about the intersection of religious beliefs and medical care.
The Saints are not affiliated with an established church in Australia and have roughly two dozen members from three families.
She was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and her family was told she would need daily insulin injections.
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