Elizabeth Struhs's father baptised into Toowoomba religious group four months before her death, court hears

The father of an eight-year-old girl who died after her insulin was withheld on religious grounds, was only baptised into the religious group four months before her death, a Brisbane court heard on Monday.

The baptism came two years after an earlier incident in which the little girl almost died before being taken to hospital, in similar circumstances.

New detail about the Toowoomba religious group, known as The Saints, was revealed in a Supreme Court hearing, involving 14 members who are charged with the little girl's death.

Elizabeth Struhs, a type 1 diabetic, was found dead in her Rangeville home in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, on January 7, 2022, after she allegedly had her insulin medication withheld for days.

It is alleged the group of six men and eight women, which included her parents, prayed to God to heal her, rather than seeking medical attention and held a belief that "God would heal".

The group is facing a pre-trial hearing to determine admissibility of evidence ahead of their trial in July.

Among those facing charges are the parents of Elizabeth Struhs, along with the alleged leader of The Saints, 62-year-old Brendan Luke Stevens.

Mr Stevens and Elizabeth's father, Jason Richard Struhs, 52, are both charged with murder. Elizabeth's mother, Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, 49, and 11 other alleged members of The Saints, all face charges of manslaughter.

The 14 accused did not appear in person at Monday's hearing and appeared instead via video-link from three different prisons.

All have opted not to have lawyers representing them and are all held in custody, after not applying for bail.

Crown Prosecutor Caroline Marco told the court each of the defendants was a member of a congregation that adhered to a belief "that God heals and that medication is to be rejected unless it is in the nature of no more than first aid, such as applying a bandaid".

"The congregation membership is finite in number. It consists of three families, each family member is a part of the congregation," Ms Marco said.

She said out of the total 23 people in the congregation, the 14 defendants in this case were all the adult members of the group.

Ms Marco further revealed that Elizabeth Struhs's father, Jason, was only baptised into the group on August 21, 2021.

This was well after his daughter Elizabeth was taken to Toowoomba hospital in July 2019.

"He wasn't a member of the congregation that was adhering to this faith at the time he was interviewed or provided his sworn statement to police or that he gave that evidence at trial. He was baptised on 21 August, 2021," Ms Marco told the court.

Mr Struhs's baptism was about one month after Elizabeth's mother, Kerrie Struhs, was convicted and sentenced, on July 15, 2021, to 18 months jail in the Toowoomba District Court.

Ms Marco told Justice Glenn Martin that the Crown was seeking an order to render admissible the evidence of the past investigation and trial of Kerrie and Jason Struhs, along with the fact that several congregation members now on trial had also attended the previous trial.

"The Crown case against each of the defendants relies on proof that Jason Struhs or Kerrie Struhs or both caused the death of Elizabeth Struhs by failing to provide the necessities of life to their daughter by ceasing to provide Elizabeth with insulin to treat her diabetes," Ms Marco said.

They also failed to obtain medical treatment, the court heard.

Ms Marco said that Mr Struhs was charged with murder by reckless indifference in that it was alleged that he knew that failing to provide the insulin would probably cause death.

She said other members of the group were charged on the basis that they were criminally responsible for procuring or counselling Jason or Kerrie Struhs to fail to provide the necessities of life to their daughter.

Ms Marco also submitted that there were similarities between Elizabeth's hospital presentation in July 2019 and her death in January 2022.

The group's leader, Brendan Stevens, is charged with murder on the basis that he counselled either or both Jason and Kerrie Struhs to cease providing insulin to and/or not provide medical care and treatment for Elizabeth, knowing it would probably cause her death.

The other 11 defendants consist of members of the Struhs and Stevens families and members of The Saints group, who are each charged with manslaughter.

The court heard that during the upcoming trial, friends and relatives of some of the accused will be called to testify.

During submissions about admissibility of evidence, snippets of the Crown case against the group were revealed, including claims that pressure was placed on Jason Struhs to place his belief in God if he wanted to continue to be part of the group.

The court also heard that one of the accused, Samantha Schoenfisch, is alleged to have spoken about trying to get Jason to take insulin off his daughter.

"We are so excited for when he does," she is alleged to have said, in reference to the congregation.

The court has already granted a Crown application for a judge-only trial.

At the conclusion of Monday's hearing, Justice Martin asked if any of the defendants wished to say anything.

No-one responded but Brendan Stevens, who shook his head and held his hands up.

Justice Martin has now given the 14 defendants until May 27 to respond to the Crown's application.

The matter was adjourned to a date to be fixed for his decision ahead of the trial set down for July 8.