Doctor warned Elizabeth Struhs would not be safe at home years before religious sect killed her by withdrawing medicine

Elizabeth Struhs was an eight-year-old with type 1 diabetes. She died at her family home in Toowoomba on 7 January 2022 after going without the insulin needed to keep her alive. Her death matters because the article describes a prolonged failure to provide essential medical treatment, despite earlier warnings about the danger.

Elizabeth’s parents, Jason and Kerrie Struhs, were among 14 adults convicted of manslaughter. The group included her brother, Zachary Struhs, and sect leader Brendan Stevens. Members withdrew her insulin, then sat singing and praying while she became increasingly ill over several days.

The Saints believed Elizabeth would be miraculously healed and resurrected after death. All 14 adults were convicted last year. A coronial inquest is now examining the earlier hospitalisation, child-safety decisions, and events leading to her death. The inquest continues.

The hospital specialist gave child-safety authorities a direct warning: Elizabeth could not be safely placed in Kerrie Struhs’s care if Kerrie continued denying that insulin and related treatment were necessary. The warning mattered because type 1 diabetes requires ongoing care, and missing treatment can quickly become life-threatening.

Elizabeth had arrived at Queensland Children’s Hospital extremely unwell in July 2019. She needed intensive care, intubation, and a ventilator. The specialist said Kerrie refused to attend the hospital, denied that Elizabeth was sick, and said she would never need medication. The doctor wrote a report for child safety and police, after consulting child-protection services.

Elizabeth was nevertheless returned home under an intervention parental agreement, without the hospital team knowing. The specialist later said she would not have supported that discharge plan. She also warned that risks could change with physical or social circumstances. The inquest is examining this decision.

Diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA, is a life-threatening emergency caused by too little effective insulin. Without enough insulin, the body cannot use blood glucose normally for energy. It begins breaking down fat instead, producing acidic chemicals called ketones. Their buildup makes the blood dangerously acidic and can cause severe dehydration, confusion, coma, and death.

For a person with type 1 diabetes, insulin is essential for controlling this process. When the Saints withdrew Elizabeth’s insulin, her body could not properly use glucose. Fat breakdown increased, ketones accumulated, and her condition worsened over several days. The article states that she ultimately died from diabetic ketoacidosis at home on 7 January 2022.

DKA requires urgent medical treatment. Elizabeth’s earlier hospitalisation shows how severe the risk could become when her diabetes was not managed. The inquest is considering warnings made after that episode and how she was later returned home. The article reports that all 14 adult sect members were convicted of manslaughter.

When someone with type 1 diabetes stops receiving insulin, glucose remains in the bloodstream instead of being used properly by the body. The body then turns to fat for energy. This produces ketones, which are acidic. As ketones build up, the person can become severely dehydrated and confused, and may develop diabetic ketoacidosis, coma, or death.

That danger was central to Elizabeth’s case. The hospital specialist described type 1 diabetes as life-threatening and requiring complicated care by parents. Elizabeth had already become extremely unwell in 2019 and needed intensive care, intubation, and a ventilator. In 2022, her insulin was withdrawn again, and she died from diabetic ketoacidosis.

The case shows why essential treatment cannot safely be treated as optional for a child with type 1 diabetes. The article reports that the Saints believed Elizabeth would be healed and resurrected, despite medical warnings. Fourteen adults were convicted of manslaughter, and the coronial inquest continues examining the decisions surrounding her care.

Fourteen adult members of the Saints were convicted of manslaughter for Elizabeth Struhs’s death. The group included her father, Jason Struhs; her mother, Kerrie Struhs; her brother, Zachary Struhs; and sect leader Brendan Stevens. Their convictions show that responsibility extended beyond the household to the adult group involved in the decision.

The adults withdrew the insulin Elizabeth needed to survive. The article says they believed she would be miraculously healed of her incurable illness and resurrected after death. They sat around singing and praying while she slowly died at the family home in Toowoomba over several days.

The convictions followed earlier events in which both parents were found guilty of failing to provide Elizabeth with the necessaries of life. That earlier case concerned her serious 2019 illness. The current coronial inquest is examining warnings made before her death and how authorities handled her return home. The inquest continues.

An intervention parental agreement was a short-term, voluntary, intensive arrangement used when a child was considered in danger. It allowed child safety authorities to assist the family without obtaining a formal child protection order. In Elizabeth’s case, that meant she returned home under an agreement rather than through the stronger formal process described in the question.

Elizabeth had been hospitalised in 2019 in a coma after serious problems managing her diabetes. Doctors warned that she could not safely remain with Kerrie if Kerrie denied the need for insulin. Despite that warning, Elizabeth was returned to her family under the intervention agreement. The hospital team did not know about the discharge plan.

The specialist told the inquest there was still significant risk and said she would not have supported the plan as the clinician involved. The agreement therefore became an important focus of the inquest. The article does not give further details about the legal powers or procedures of a formal child protection order.

Parents usually make decisions about a child’s care, but those decisions become a child-safety issue when they deny treatment needed to prevent serious harm. Type 1 diabetes is life-threatening and requires complicated care, according to the specialist’s report. A child cannot safely be left without that essential treatment because the medical risk can escalate quickly.

In Elizabeth’s case, Kerrie denied that her daughter was sick or would ever need medication. The Saints did not believe in medicine and believed Elizabeth would be miraculously healed. After her insulin was withdrawn, Elizabeth developed diabetic ketoacidosis and died. Doctors had already warned in 2019 that she could not safely be in Kerrie’s care if insulin was denied.

The case also shows why authorities must assess both beliefs and actual care decisions. Elizabeth was returned home under a voluntary intervention agreement despite the hospital warning. The coronial inquest is examining that decision and the events before her death. Its proceedings continue.