Elizabeth Struhs death: 14 members of religious circle charged over girls death face trial review

Members of a religious circle charged with killing an eight-year-old girl allegedly held a collective belief at the time of her death, with a court being told some were accused of negligence and aiding and encouraging the breach of duty to care for the child.

Members of a religious circle charged with killing an eight-year-old girl allegedly held a “collective belief” at the time of her death, with a court being told some were accused of “negligence” and “aiding and encouraging” the breach of duty to care for the child.

The bombshell detail was revealed by crown prosecutor Todd Fuller KC during a trial review on Friday for the 14 people accused of causing the death of Elizabeth Struhs on the outskirts of Toowoomba, west of Brisbane.

Police allege Elizabeth died after her insulin medication was withheld for days in early 2022.

Her parents – Jason and Kerrie Struhs – are among the 14 charged over her death.

Brisbane Supreme Court was told issues around separating the trials for the group – either by proceeding with groupings, or having them tried altogether – were still afoot.

Mr Fuller said one difficulty was the defence for each of the co-accused was “the same”.

“It is, based on my anticipation of it, being a collective belief,” he told the court.

“They often speak as a collective in their statements to police.”

Proceedings were adjourned after technical issues arose from the prison suites the co-accused appeared from.

Elizabeth was found dead at her Rangeville home on January 7 last year.

Police allege members of the religious group – who have professed to believe in the healing power of God and shun medical intervention – withheld lifesaving insulin medication from her in the days prior, leading to her death.

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

Brendan Luke Stevens, the alleged leader of the faith-healing group, and Elizabeth’s father Jason Richard Struhs, are both charged with her murder.

Another 12 are facing charges of manslaughter only.

They include the Elizabeth’s mother Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, her older brother Zachary Alan Struhs, Brendan Steven’s wife Loretta Mary Stevens and their children Acacia Naree Stevens, Therese Maria Stevens, Sebastian James Stevens, Andrea Louise Stevens, Camellia Claire Stevens, and Alexander Francis Stevens.

Another couple – Lachlan Stuart Schoenfisch and Samantha Emily Schoenfisch – along with a third person, Keita Courtney Martin, are also charged with manslaughter.

They have all repeatedly refused to seek legal representation throughout their court appearances.

On Friday, the women appeared from a single room dressed in blue prison garb, while the men were crowded into individual video suites.

Each of them was informed they would receive hard drives containing the prosecution’s disclosure of evidence.

Mr Fuller said information packs about trial procedures, including the application process for separate trials, would also be provided.

He explained one of the items outstanding was a cellebrite download.

“The brief contains text messages and phone records … we’re having an expert correlate all of those into a package,” Mr Fuller said.

The court was told separate trials could proceed in “groupings” due to the allegations against some members of the circle.

“(Some) had great involvement at an early stage, the rest are about being parties to the breach of duty, by aiding or encouraging,” Mr Fuller said.

“The others therefore fall to negligence in the breach of duty.”

Mr Fuller said another matter was the ability of the group to communicate with each other and discuss their positions.

But Supreme Court Justice Martin Burns suggested they could apply for bail to solve any problems.

A further review was listed for September 15 but Friday’s proceedings were adjourned to next Tuesday, after technical issues emerged from the prison suites.

All 14 remain in custody on remand.

During a previous hearing, Mr Schoenfisch told the court the group was “not bothered” about the potential outcome of their pending trials.

He reiterated they would “never” get legal representation and were not worried about “escaping years and years in jail”.

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