The older sister of a Queensland girl allegedly killed by her parents and their fringe religious group has started giving evidence at their trial.
She told the court that during her childhood she never went to the doctor, except when her father took her to get vaccinated.
“The view was and always has been that God created us, so he can heal us, not to rely on medicine, it was all natural, but we would pray to God to heal us,” Jayde Struhs said in Supreme Court in Brisbane on Monday.
Elizabeth Struhs pictured with her older sister Jayde.Credit: Nine News
Jayde’s younger sister Elizabeth Struhs, an eight-year-old type-1 diabetic, died in January 2022 in her Toowoomba home, after she had been denied her insulin.
Her body was allegedly left on a mattress on the floor for 36 hours as the group sang and prayed around her.
Her parents, Jason Richard Struhs and Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, along with 12 others of their religious group, who called themselves “the Saints”, are facing a trial expected to span three months.
The Saints members and charges laid
- Jason Richard Struhs, 52, Elizabeth’s father – Murder charge
- Brendan Luke Stevens, 62, the congregation leader – Murder charge
- Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, 49, Elizabeth’s mother – Manslaughter charge
- Zachary Alan Struhs, 21, Elizabeth’s brother – Manslaughter charge
- Loretta Mary Stevens, 67 – Manslaughter charge
- Therese Maria Stevens, 37 – Manslaughter charge
- Andrea Louise Stevens, 34 – Manslaughter charge
- Acacia Naree Stevens, 31 – Manslaughter charge
- Camellia Claire Stevens, 28 – Manslaughter charge
- Alexander Francis Stevens, 26 – Manslaughter charge
- Sebastian James Stevens, 23 – Manslaughter charge
- Keita Courtney Martin, 22 – Manslaughter charge
- Lachlan Stuart Schoenfisch, 34 – Manslaughter charge
- Samantha Emily Schoenfisch, 26 – Manslaughter charge
Jayde, who had left the family when she was 16, before the girl’s death, told the court she met the Saints’ leader Brendan Luke Stevens on her first day of school, when her mother began speaking to the Stevens family.
Her mother had shown an interest in their religious beliefs, and eventually began taking her to meetings at the Stevens home, Jayde said.