Coroner weeps as sister mourns girl denied insulin

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 23 Oct, 04:50 · Archive

An eight-year-old girl died after her father withheld insulin in line with her extremist church's ban on modern medicine.

Elizabeth Struhs, aged eight, died on 7 January 2022 at her family home near Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, after her insulin was withheld. Her father Jason Struhs had agreed to stop providing the insulin for her type-1 diabetes in accordance with the teachings of 'the Saints', an extremist church group of which the family were members. The group, which comprised her parents, brother and 11 other members, rejected modern medicine. Without insulin, Elizabeth developed ketoacidosis, a condition that poisoned her blood and attacked her organs.

Her parents, brother and the other church members gathered to pray around her as she lay dying. The inquest concluded on Thursday. Elizabeth's estranged sister Jayde, who had fled her parents' home aged 16, gave an emotional statement. She told coroner Ainslie Kirkegaard that she had seen Elizabeth only twice: when she was about four months old at a birthday party, and when she lay in her coffin.

Jayde said that had Elizabeth lived to adulthood, she would have had the opportunity to reconnect with her sister and receive support from extended family members in managing her diabetes and health. 'Sadly we aren't able to pull from a lifetime of memories with Elizabeth – that is the brutal reality of family estrangement,' Jayde told the coroner. The coroner wept during the hearing.

How it is being reported

• Coroner weeps as sister speaks of young sibling's deathA coroner has been left in tears after a grieving sister remembered an eight-year-old girl who died when her insulin was withheld by her fundamentalist parents.The West Australian · 23 Oct, 04:17
• Coroner weeps as sister speaks of young sibling's deathA coroner has been left in tears after a grieving sister remembered an eight-year-old girl who died when her insulin was withheld by her fundamentalist parents.Perth Now · 23 Oct, 04:17

In this story: Elizabeth Struhs · Jason Struhs · Jayde Struhs · Ainslie Kirkegaard · Toowoomba · Brisbane · The Saints

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