Doctors were so concerned about the religious beliefs of Elizabeth Struhs' mother, Kerrie Struhs, that they recommended an involuntary mental health assessment, a coroner has heard. They believed she held a delusional belief that her daughter would be healed from type 1 diabetes.
Despite these objections from Brisbane-based doctors, child safety officers decided to return the eight-year-old home to live with her mother in 2019. Elizabeth had previously been hospitalised in July 2019 with late-stage diabetic ketoacidosis, a potentially fatal condition for individuals with type 1 diabetes who do not receive insulin.
During an interview with child safety officers and health staff, Kerrie Struhs stated her belief that Elizabeth would be healed and that she had to trust in God. Doctors noted that no child had ever recovered from type 1 diabetes. Elizabeth died on 7 January 2022, after her father, Jason Struhs, stopped her insulin in 2021, having converted to his wife's religious sect which denied the use of medicine.