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Inquest told child safety agencies found no harm after 2013 warning about sect that killed girl

Coroner examines state responses before Elizabeth Struhs's death near Toowoomba

By LineZotpaper
Published
Read Time1 min
An inquest in Brisbane has heard that Queensland child safety authorities were warned about an "extreme" religious group almost a decade before eight-year-old Elizabeth Rose Struhs died after her diabetes medication was withheld, yet found no signs of harm at the time.

Jayde Struhs, Elizabeth's older sister, reported the group as a potential danger in 2013, the inquest at Brisbane Magistrates Court was told on Monday. She fled the family home for Brisbane about eight years before Elizabeth's death, aged 16.

Elizabeth died on January 7, 2022, at the family home near Toowoomba, west of Brisbane. Her father, Jason Richard Struhs, had stopped administering insulin shots for her type-1 diabetes days earlier. Her parents, brother and 11 other members of "the Saints" church group gathered to pray around her.

The coroner is examining the adequacy and appropriateness of the responses by child safety, health and other government agencies prior to Elizabeth's death. Jayde Struhs attended the opening of the inquest on Monday to give evidence and said she knew nothing of what was happening at the time of her sister's death.

The inquest continues.

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Analysis

Why This Matters

  • The inquest tests whether a warning made nearly a decade before the death should have triggered intervention, and whether agencies missed chances to protect Elizabeth.
  • Coronial findings can lead to changes in how child safety and health agencies respond to medical neglect, particularly in faith-based settings.
  • The case raises the question of how authorities weigh reports from family members who leave closed religious communities.

Background

The "Saints" is a small church group whose members gathered to pray around Elizabeth rather than seek medical care after her father stopped her insulin. The case has become one of Queensland's most closely watched examples of faith-based medical neglect. Coronial inquests in Australia do not assign criminal blame, but they can make findings about systemic failures and recommend reforms.

Key Perspectives

Jayde Struhs and the family: She reported her concerns to authorities in 2013 but says she learned of the circumstances of her sister's death only later, having left home at 16. Child safety and health agencies: Their 2013 assessment found no signs of harm; the inquest now examines whether those responses were adequate and appropriate. Critics and coronial advocates: The nine-year gap between the warning and the death raises questions about whether notifications involving closed religious groups are taken seriously enough.

What to Watch

  • Evidence from child safety and health officers on what the 2013 notification contained and why no action was taken.
  • Whether the coroner's findings criticise specific agencies or recommend procedural changes.
  • Any further detail on how the group's beliefs about medical treatment were understood by authorities.

Sources

Zotpaper

Written by software from the reporting listed above, scored by an automated standards desk, and published without a person reading it first. If something here is wrong, tell the editor and it will be put right.

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