Defiant cult’s astonishing court address
Written by admin on September 6, 2024
A congregation of faith healers accused of withholding a girl’s insulin – resulting in her death – have attacked the police case against them as “fiction” and insisted the girl will be raised from the dead.
The mammoth Supreme Court trial of the 14 people accused of killing Elizabeth Struhs, 8, entered its final arc on Friday as the home-church group began delivering their closing arguments.
Elizabeth, who had type 1 diabetes, was found dead at her family’s Rangeville home in Toowoomba in early 2022.
The child died as a result of diabetic ketoacidosis, brought on when her father Jason Richard Struhs allegedly withdrew her insulin over several days at the encouragement of members of the religious sect, known as The Saints.
On Friday, the group denied subjecting Mr Struhs to “pressure” or “persuasion” in making this decision.
They insisted Elizabeth would be raised from the dead and attacked the Crown case as “ludicrous”, denying there was a “common purpose” between all of them.
One man – Alexander Francis Stevens – wept as he described how he loved Elizabeth and would give his life “a thousand times for hers”.
“I prayed for her diligently, with the same faith she had,” he sobbed.
“Her death wasn’t inevitable, but her healing and resurrection is.”
Mr Stevens, 26, is charged with Elizabeth’s manslaughter.
The others charged with manslaughter include Elizabeth’s mother Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, 49, her older brother Zachary Alan Struhs, 22, Loretta Mary Stevens, 67, Acacia Naree Stevens, 32, Therese Maria Stevens, 37, Sebastian James Stevens, 23, Andrea Louise Stevens, 34, Camellia Claire Stevens, 28 Lachlan Stuart Schoenfisch, 34, Samantha Emily Schoenfisch, 26, Keita Courtney Martin, 23.
Mr Struhs, 53, and 62-year-old Brendan Luke Stevens – the leader of The Saints – are charged with the child’s murder.
They have all pleaded not guilty.
The Crown contends members of The Saints encouraged and pressured Jason to adopt their hard-line beliefs before Elizabeth’s death and remain firm in his decision not to readminister the drug when his daughter’s condition deteriorated.
The child became more and more unwell until she died between January 6-7, 2022.
Mr Schoenfisch, who was called to address the court first, said it was not his “specific intention” to fight the manslaughter charge he was facing.
During his closing, he explained the group believed there was a “huge gap” between “the act of faith” and the removal of Elizabeth’s insulin.
He described Jason’s decision as a step of faith he took, not knowing “what path it would take”.
“I believe everything more now, than I ever have, and my faith has only grown stronger,” Mr Schoenfisch said.
Each of the defendants told the court they believed Elizabeth would rise from the dead, some saying God had “healed” her of diabetes before her death.
Alexander said he only intended to provide “emotional, physical and spiritual” support when he went over to the Struhses’s family home when Elizabeth became unwell.
“I’m glad I could say I did not betray her (Elizabeth’s) trust in me as a brother in Christ and a dear friend,” he said as he teared up.
“I didn’t demean her faith because of her age or condition.
“I prayed for her diligently, the same faith that she had.”
Alexander told the court he held “nothing in his heart” against the people he claimed “persecuted and judged us” – saying he prayed and hoped for people to find “the same peace and truth” he and Elizabeth shared.
“Though I know we look like fools and idiots, deceived or brainwashed, a laughing stock, I know the opposite is true – that God’s word is true, no matter how things may appear,” he said.
His brother Sebastian said the prosecution’s narrative “falls squarely on the genre of fiction”, intending to portray the group as “killers and conspirers”.
Sebastian told the court he simply encouraged Jason to rely on his new faith in God and attended the home to offer “love, care and support” during their struggles.
Brendan and Jason are due to address the court later in the afternoon.
