A coroner broke down in tears in Brisbane after hearing from the sister of Elizabeth Struhs, an eight-year-old girl who died in January 2022. Elizabeth's father had agreed to stop giving her insulin for type-1 diabetes, in line with the beliefs of the religious group the Saints. Her sister Jayde told the inquest about the childhood milestones Elizabeth would never reach. Elizabeth's parents were jailed for 14 years after being found guilty of manslaughter in 2025. The coroner's findings will be delivered at a later date.
A coroner broke down in tears in Brisbane after hearing from the sister of Elizabeth Struhs, an eight-year-old girl who died in January 2022. Elizabeth's father had agreed to stop giving her insulin for type-1 diabetes, in line with the beliefs of the religious group the Saints. Her sister Jayde told the inquest about the childhood milestones Elizabeth would never reach. Elizabeth's parents were jailed for 14 years after being found guilty of manslaughter in 2025. The coroner's findings will be delivered at a later date.
A coroner says a lack of curiosity about a family's religious beliefs was a missed opportunity to save eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs. Elizabeth died in January 2022 of diabetic ketoacidosis after her father stopped giving her insulin. Her parents had told police, health workers and child safety staff about their views, but few asked why they held them. Coroner Ainslie Kirkegaard is considering whether recommendations from Victoria's cults inquiry should apply in Queensland. Police said the issue was complex and that a new reporting flag had been created for ideologies of concern.
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A senior Queensland police officer has told an inquest that no protocol existed in 2019 for the Queensland Police Service and the Department of Child Safety to share information about criminal charges. The officer was questioned at the Coroners Court about communications before the death of eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs in Toowoomba in 2022. Her father, Jason Struhs, stopped giving her insulin for type 1 diabetes. Her mother, Kerrie Struhs, had earlier served a jail sentence for child neglect. The inquest continues.
An inquest in the Brisbane Magistrates Court is examining the responses of several authorities before the death of eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs. She died at her Toowoomba home in January 2022 after her father, Jason Struhs, stopped giving her insulin for type 1 diabetes. A Queensland Corrections officer told the court she met Elizabeth's mother, Kerrie Struhs, in December 2021. Kerrie said she would keep her trust in God that Elizabeth would be healed. The officer said Corrections did not engage with Child Safety in that period, as concerns were below the threshold for action. The inquest continues.
A coronial inquest in Brisbane has heard that Child Safety ignored repeated hospital warnings before eight-year-old Elizabeth Rose Struhs died in Toowoomba in January 2022. She died of diabetic ketoacidosis after her parents stopped her insulin, believing God would heal her. The family belonged to a religious group called The Saints, which rejected modern medicine. Doctors at Queensland Children's Hospital said they warned Child Safety that Elizabeth was at extremely high risk if returned to her mother. The inquest continues, examining the decisions of several government agencies.
A child safety officer has told a Queensland inquest that Elizabeth Struhs's case was not prioritised or handled intensively because she was very busy. The case worker said she may have been overly influenced by the family's upper class home, placing cases that seemed more immediately risky ahead of Elizabeth's. Elizabeth, eight, died in January 2022 of diabetic ketoacidosis after her father stopped giving her insulin for type 1 diabetes at their Toowoomba home. The coroner, Ainslie Kirkegaard, is holding the inquest into her death. The inquest continues.
A child safety worker has told a coronial inquest she never expected Elizabeth Struhs's father to convert to a religious sect and adopt its extreme views. Jason Struhs stopped giving his eight-year-old daughter insulin for type 1 diabetes, and she died at their Toowoomba home in January 2022. The inquest in Brisbane heard the worker had been shocked by the conversion, which came after Kerrie Struhs was jailed for neglect. The inquest is examining whether government departments responded appropriately. Jason and Kerrie Struhs were found guilty of manslaughter last year.
Child Safety workers have told a Brisbane coronial inquest they overrode repeated hospital warnings that eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs faced an extremely high risk of death. Elizabeth died in January 2022 after her parents withdrew her insulin, believing God would heal her. Both parents and 12 other members of the Toowoomba-based group known as the Saints are serving prison sentences after being convicted of her manslaughter. Evidence on the 2019 decision to return her home was heard in court. The inquest continues on Friday and into next week.
Doctors warned Queensland Child Safety that six-year-old Elizabeth Rose Struhs was at extremely high risk of harm from her mother, who refused to give her medication. A Brisbane inquest has heard the doctors were excluded from later safety meetings. Elizabeth died in January 2022 at her home near Toowoomba after her insulin was withheld, while her parents and church members prayed around her. Her father later agreed to stop giving her insulin. Both parents and the cult leader are now in custody. The inquest continues.
A child safety officer incorrectly assessed Elizabeth Struhs as safe one day after she arrived at hospital in a coma, a Queensland coronial inquest has heard. Elizabeth, who had type 1 diabetes, was later sent home to Toowoomba, where she died in January 2022 while her parents and members of their religious sect prayed for her healing. The officer's colleague told the court Elizabeth should have been recorded as unsafe. The inquest continues.
A Queensland child safety officer who returned eight-year-old Elizabeth Rose Struhs to her family has told a coroner they felt out of their depth regarding the family's extreme religious beliefs. Officers also lacked formal training and procedures for tracking cases, education department staff testified in Brisbane. Elizabeth died in January 2022 at the family home near Toowoomba after her father agreed to withhold insulin for her type-1 diabetes, in line with a church ban on modern medicine.
A police officer told a Queensland coronial inquest that child safety staff could not be persuaded to change their 2019 decision to return six-year-old Elizabeth Struhs to her Toowoomba home, despite concerns raised by some doctors. Elizabeth died in January 2022 after her parents stopped her insulin, which she needed for type 1 diabetes. Her parents belonged to a sect that rejected medicine. Doctors at the Queensland children's hospital had warned the mother might undermine treatment, yet staff judged the father able to manage insulin. The officer described the stance as professional courtesy.
A specialist doctor has told a coronial inquest in Brisbane that she repeatedly warned child safety officers that Elizabeth Struhs would not be safe living with her mother. Elizabeth, a type 1 diabetic, died at the family home in Toowoomba in January 2022 after her family and other members of their religious sect withdrew her insulin. The doctor said she felt stonewalled when raising concerns. Elizabeth's parents and others from the sect were convicted of her manslaughter last year. The inquest continues.
Child safety officials were warned that a diabetic girl faced an extreme risk of death if returned to her mother, a coroner has heard. Eight-year-old Elizabeth Rose Struhs died at her family's home near Toowoomba in January 2022 after her parents stopped her insulin. Her father had stopped giving her insulin days earlier, and members of the Saints church group gathered to pray around her. A pediatrician told the inquest that Child Safety had not received an endocrinologist's report but knew its contents when returning Elizabeth home. The inquest into agency responses is due to run for two weeks.
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An inquest has heard a doctor warned Child Safety not to return eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs to her parents after a near-fatal hospitalisation in 2019. Elizabeth died in January 2022 at the family home in Toowoomba after her parents stopped her insulin, believing God would heal her. Fourteen members of the faith-healing group The Saints have been convicted of her manslaughter. The coronial inquest will examine potential failings by several government departments over the next two weeks, with up to 30 witnesses expected to give evidence.
