Members of a church group accused of killing an eight-year-old girl have denied they acted in a criminal conspiracy to deny her diabetes medication, a court heard.
Elizabeth Rose Struhs died on 7 January 2022 at her family’s home in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, after six days without her prescribed insulin shots for type-1 diabetes.
Elizabeth’s parents and 12 other defendants faced Brisbane Supreme Court on Friday and started giving their closing addresses following seven weeks of prosecution evidence in a judge-only trial before justice Martin Burns.
Lachlan Stuart Schoenfish, 34, is charged with manslaughter and told Burns during his closing address: “We believe in God above medicine.”
No representation, no pleas
Elizabeth’s father, Jason Richard Struhs, 52, and Brendan Luke Stevens, the 62-year-old leader of her family’s church group known as ‘The Saints’, are charged with Elizabeth’s murder.
Schoenfish said he never encouraged Struhs to withdraw Elizabeth’s insulin as he had come to that decision himself after being baptised in The Saints in August 2021.
“Despite what the prosecution allege by some persuasion or manipulation of us towards Jason to do or not do anything, Jason was given power by God to believe in God,” he said.
Elizabeth’s mother, Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, 49, along with 10 other members of the congregation also faced trial charged with manslaughter.
All 14 defendants have refused to enter pleas and represented themselves at trial.
Schoenfish said he denied the prosecution’s claim that he viewed all medication as unnecessary as he only viewed it as unnecessary for himself.
The group refused legal representation and refused to enter pleas. As a result, pleas of not guilty were entered on their behalf. Source: AAP / Michael Felix
The group “certainly have different beliefs about death”, he said.
“We believe she will be raised from the dead.”
His wife Samantha Emily Schoenfish, 26, told Burns there had been a “misrepresentation of our beliefs by the prosecution”.
“I did attend the Struhs’ house to support them … merely as friends and family,” she said.
A miracle becomes an alleged murder
Schoenfish said Elizabeth’s low glucose reading when she was initially taken off insulin was a sign to her “that God did heal Elizabeth and showed us a miracle”.
“I believed she was getting better. I said ‘Wow, that’s amazing. She’ll be sitting up the next morning,'” she said.
“I was shocked when that was not what happened. I trust in God. We still believe that the Lord will rise her again.”
Keita Courtney Martin, 23, told Burns there was no evidence of members of the group communicating plainly to Jason Struhs that he should stop Elizabeth’s insulin.
Martin said prosecutors alleged she knew withdrawing insulin from a diabetic would result in their death.
“My knowledge of God negated such an acceptance in my mind,” Martin said.
Sebastian James Stevens, 28, said he had only acted to support the decision for Elizabeth to stop taking insulin because she “hated” injections.
“There has been an attempt to portray all of us as killers or conspirators in a heinous crime. This is a genre of fiction,” he said.
The defendants told Burns they intended to complete giving their closing addresses on Friday.
