Cult’s wild claim on 8yo’s death: court

The moment an accused killer dad was baptised into a cult-like religious group in the weeks before his daughter’s death has been played to a court.

Jason Richard Struhs is one of 14 members of a church group known as The Saints, who are all charged over the death of eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs after her insulin was allegedly withdrawn over several days in early 2022.

A Supreme Court trial in Brisbane has heard evidence Mr Struhs, 52, for years resisted efforts to join the group, despite his wife Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs and son Zachary Alan Struhs being members.

On Tuesday, a video showing Mr Struhs’ baptism into the group in August 2021 was played to the court.

Brendan Luke Stevens, the leader of The Saints, can be seen dunking Mr Struhs’ body into a basin of water as members of the church group break into song and clap along to music.

“Praise the Lord God, hallelujah,” Mr Stevens can be heard saying before appearing to speak in an unknown language.

The Crown contends Elizabeth’s parents and members of The Saints withheld her insulin for several days until her death from diabetic ketoacidosis between January 6-7, 2022.

During her opening, Crown prosecutor Carolin Marco said Mr Struhs made the decision to stop administering the medication in line with the group’s hard-line beliefs in the healing power of God.

It is further alleged the group opted to pray for God to heal the child instead of seeking medical attention.

Mr Struhs is charged with murder while Ms Struhs is charged with manslaughter.

Eleven others – Elizabeth’s older brother Zachary Alan Struhs, 21, Loretta Mary Stevens, 67, Acacia Naree Stevens, 31, Therese Maria Stevens, 37, Sebastian James Stevens, 23, Andrea Louise Stevens, 34, Camellia Claire Stevens, 28, Alexander Francis Stevens, 26, Lachlan Stuart Schoenfisch, 34, his wife Samantha Emily Schoenfisch, 26, and Keita Courtney Martin, 22 – are also charged with manslaughter.

Brendan Luke Stevens, the leader of The Saints, is also charged with murder.

All 14 have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In the video of Jason’s baptism – obtained from the phone of the defendants – Brendan Stevens can be heard saying he will baptise the 52-year-old “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”.

He tells Jason to “take a breath” before dunking him backwards into the basin.

Members of the group can be heard breaking into song while Brendan Stevens says: “Praise the Lord God, hallelujah! Thank you Father.”

The clip continues with Brendan appearing to speak in an unknown language over Jason.

The court has already heard evidence this practice was referred to as “speaking in tongues” – an unknown language “between them and God”.

Separate images of the Schoenfisches being baptised into the group were also shown to the court.

Multiple messages taken from the defendants’ phones were also showed.

One text, sent to Lachlan and Samantha Schoenfisch on January 7, 2022, read: “Hi Sam and Lachlan, please pray as much as you can and get to Struhs as soon as you can. Elizabeth does not appear to be breathing but we will see a victory very soon. God can do anything.”

Bodycam recordings of members of the church group in the aftermath of Elizabeth’s death were played earlier in the morning.

Andrea Stevens can be heard telling police officers outside the Struhses’ home that she and members of her family had been sleeping there for several days.

She says they all went to the house after Elizabeth started to get sick around “Tuesday”.

Andrea is heard acknowledging the child was getting sick from “diabetes” and she had been on insulin.

“She’s (Elizabeth) asked dad (Jason) to always take her off it, but he didn’t believe it until recently,” Andrea tells the officer.

In another recording heard by the court, Samantha Schoenfisch is heard saying she had come to the home to comfort the Struhs family as Elizabeth became more and more unwell.

She is heard saying Elizabeth appeared healthy and “absolutely perfect” a week prior but the girl had been “unwell” all week.

“We were here a few times, she was still breathing … she got a little bit more unwell,” Ms Schoenfisch tells the officer.

“She was still able to take a bit of food.”

The officer asks if there were signs that Elizabeth was in pain, to which Ms Schoenfisch answered: “I don’t really think so. No more than I would be with morning sickness.”

Toowoomba Community Corrections case manager Eleanor Savill gave evidence that she was due to see Kerrie Struhs following her release from jail in late December 2021.

The court has already heard evidence that Kerrie served five months in prison for failing to supply Elizabeth with the necessities of life after the child almost died from her then-undiagnosed condition in 2019.

On Tuesday, Ms Savill said Kerrie phoned her in late 2021 to say she would not be attending her appointment.

She recalled Kerrie informing her that she was “unwell” with diarrhoea-related symptoms.

A follow-up appointment was booked but Ms Savill said she no longer had contact with Kerrie after her arrest in January 2022.

The judge-alone trial continues.