A medical specialist at the Queensland Children’s Hospital reportedly warned that Elizabeth Struhs would not be safe at home with her mother years before her parents allowed her to die by withdrawing life-saving medicine. This information emerged during a coronial inquest which began on Monday.
Elizabeth, who was a type 1 diabetic, died at the age of eight on 7 January 2022, from diabetic ketoacidosis. Her death occurred at her family home in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, after her parents and other members of a religious sect withdrew the insulin she needed to survive.
All 14 adult members of the sect, known as the Saints, were convicted of her manslaughter last year. This included her father, Jason Struhs, mother, Kerrie Struhs, brother, Zachary Struhs, and the sect leader, Brendan Stevens.
The inquest heard that Elizabeth had been hospitalised in 2019 following a similar incident. Her mother, Kerrie, was subsequently charged and convicted in 2021 for failing to provide the necessaries of life after openly refusing medical care for her daughter.
A doctor, whose identity cannot be disclosed for legal reasons, provided care for Elizabeth in 2019 and wrote a report raising concerns about her safety. The report, sent to child safety and the police, stated that if her mother continued to deny the requirement for insulin, Elizabeth could not be in her care. Despite these concerns, Elizabeth was ultimately returned home under an intervention parental agreement, a decision made without the hospital team's knowledge.