Elizabeth Rose Struhs died at her family’s home on Jan. 7, 2022, four days after her father stopped administering the insulin needed for her Type 1 diabetes. As she grew weaker and fell unconscious, members of the sect gathered around her and sang and prayed rather than seeking medical help, according to the court decision. Mr. Stevens, who led a small church based out of his home in Toowoomba, in the northeastern state of Queensland, claimed during the trial that the criminal case was religious persecution. Members of the church, who sometimes referred to themselves as “the Saints,” held a fervent belief in the healing power of God and that medical care would go against their faith.

Two bereaved parents and 12 fellow members of an Australian religious congregation accused of killing an 8-year-old girl by withholding her diabetes medication were found guilty on Wednesday of manslaughter. Elizabeth Rose Struhs died on Jan. 7, 2022 at her family’s home in Toowoomba in Queensland state after six days without her prescribed insulin shots for type-1 diabetes. Her father, Jason Richard Struhs, 53, and the leader of the family’s religious group called “The Saints,” Brendan Luke Stevens, 63, had been charged with the more serious crime of murder, but Queensland Supreme Court Justice Martin Burns found both guilty of her manslaughter. Burns also found another 12 members of the congregation, including the victim’s mother, Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, 49, and the victim’s bother Zachary Alan Struhs, 22, guilty of manslaughter. No one charged escaped conviction.

The small, home-based church in the Queensland city of Toowoomba held a "core belief" in the healing power of God, leaving no room for medical care or treatment, Justice Martin Burns said in a written judgement. The young girl died of ketoacidosis - a severe complication of diabetes - after her insulin medication was halted for several days, the court heard. "Until her death, Elizabeth Rose Struhs was a vibrant, happy child with, of course, her whole life ahead of her," the judge said. She was lovingly cared for "in almost every way" by her parents and adored by members of the religious group, he said. But "she was deprived of the one thing that would most definitely have kept her alive - insulin". The girl's father Jason Struhs had told police that she was "bouncin' around, playin'" at first but over the following days was "slowly gettin' weaker and weaker", court documents showed.