Religious cult guilty of killing girl urged to consider psych evaluation
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Members of a religious cult found guilty of killing a Queensland girl have been asked by a judge to consider having psychiatric evaluation before they are sentenced.
Eight-year-old diabetic Elizabeth Struhs died in January 2022 while lying on a mattress on the floor of her family’s house in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane.
Her parents, Jason Richard Struhs and Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, were members of a group called “the Saints”, which believed in the healing power of God.
The group was accused by doctors, police and prosecutors of withholding insulin from the girl before she died.
In January, the 14 defendants were found guilty of Elizabeth’s manslaughter and were advised it was still not too late to seek legal representation before their sentencing.
During a review on Tuesday in the Supreme Court in Brisbane, Justice Martin Burns explained the sentencing process to them over video link.
Elizabeth’s father sat at the back, with his head against the wall for most of the court hearing.
Their sentencing had been scheduled to start on Tuesday, but was delisted so the defendants had further time to read prosecution submissions against them.
Content retrieved from: https://www.watoday.com.au/national/queensland/religious-cult-guilty-of-killing-girl-urged-to-consider-psyche-evaluation-20250211-p5lb92.html.
