ClueTrail
Uncovering forgotten cases, chilling mysteries, and overlooked truths from around the world. From hidden histories to modern investigations and unsettling disappearances, each episode follows the clues...wherever they lead.
ClueTrail
The Tragic Case of Elizabeth Struhs
This week’s release is a reworked edition of our Elizabeth Struhs episode.
How far would you go for your beliefs? Would you risk your child's life? That's the heartbreaking question at the core of Elizabeth Struhs story, an 8-year-old girl who loved the colour pink, dreamed of becoming a doctor, and died surrounded by 14 adults who chose prayer over the insulin she needed to survive.
Elizabeth's parents belonged to "the Saints," a small religious sect led by Brendan Stevens that rejected modern medicine as "witchcraft." Though they had been convicted once before for denying Elizabeth medical care after her diabetes diagnosis in 2019, everything changed when her father Jason converted to the group in August 2021. Four months later, Elizabeth's insulin treatments stopped completely.
For six agonizing days, as her condition deteriorated the group gathered around her singing, dancing, and praying—believing God alone would heal her.
Join us as we examine the case that left a community forever marked by a preventable tragedy.
Welcome to Clue Trail, where true stories unravel one step at a time. If you're enjoying the show, check out Patreon for bonus episodes and early access. Just search Clue Trail or hit the link in the show notes, and don't forget to follow, rate or review the podcast. It helps more curious minds find us. Now let's dive into today's case. I'm sorry. 8-year-old Elizabeth Struth had type 1 diabetes a manageable condition with proper care. But instead of giving her insulin, her parents stopped treatment, believing God would heal her. Surrounded by members of their religious sect, elizabeth grew weaker over six days. They sang, they prayed, but they never called for help until it was far too late. In this episode, we take you inside the case that horrified the nation, exposed the dark side of religious extremism and reignited a crucial conversation when does religious freedom end and where does child protection begin? This is the story of Elizabeth Struth and the community that let her die.
Speaker 1:Elizabeth lived in Toowoomba, queensland, in a modest home with her parents and siblings. By all outward appearances, her life was quiet and routine. Elizabeth loved the color pink, she was dreaming of becoming a doctor, she was bubbly and she loved life. Unfortunately, elizabeth carried something most kids didn't. She was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and, like many with this condition, elizabeth needed daily insulin injections to survive. It was manageable, but never optional. Without insulin, her body would begin to shut down. At just 8 years old, elizabeth already understood more about life and death than most children ever will. She depended on the adults. She trusted her family to keep her alive. Her family was deeply religious. They belonged to a small, independent Christian group called the Saints, a house church not affiliated with any major denomination. They belonged to a small, independent Christian group called the Saints, a house church not affiliated with any major denomination. They believed in the power of prayer. The church leader was Brendan Stevens. He ran the church for 17 years.
Speaker 1:Even after the trial, brendan Stevens and the Saints still remain a mystery. We know he had a pretty normal childhood, raised with strong religious beliefs, not of the extremist type, though. An average student went on to joining the police force for a few years before leaving the force and turning more and more towards religion. He ended up in something of a leadership position with the Brisbane Revival Centre International Church. He married Loretta Stevens and they have seven children together. His time in church didn't last very long. He used his position more and more to preach his extremist views, preaching a literal representation of the Bible. This wasn't very well received by the other members of the church or the pastor, so he was asked to leave. That is when, in 2004, four years after joining Brisbane Revival, he left and established the Saints. Kerry Struess followed through and joined him.
Speaker 1:For nearly two decades, members met several times a week in each other's homes, and at the heart of this group were the two families, the Strews and the Stevens. They were bound not just by faith, but by belief that they were spiritually chosen, united by what they called the Holy Spirit. Brendan Stevens was seen as the messenger, the healer and a direct conduit to God. His words carried the weight of divine authority. The saints practiced a rigid and insular form of Christianity. They believed in speaking in tongues which they saw as a divine language gifted by the Holy Spirit, rejecting holidays like Christmas, easter and even birthdays, calling them pagan and unbiblical. They had strict gender roles where men held authority and women were expected to submit, and they had a deep hostility towards modern medicine, which they referred to as witchcraft. In the later interviews with the police, carey explained that the group considered themselves closer than any blood relations because, in their eyes. They were joined not by family ties but by faith. We are all united by the Holy Spirit, she said. The saints didn't recruit in public. There were no flyers or loud sermons on the street corners. Instead, the group worked quietly and personally, gaining trust, embedding themselves into lives and slowly replacing biological families with their spiritual one.
Speaker 1:According to Jade Strews, elizabeth's estranged sister and a former member of the sect, children in the group didn't attend school to learn in the traditional sense. They went to school to spread the word of God, she said. Even their schoolwork was filtered through scripture. Any assessment, no matter the subject, was answered from a religious standpoint and slowly, more and more members joined. Danielle Martin later testified in court about how her daughter, keita Martin, was gradually drawn into the group. What started as harmless visits or drum lessons with the Stevens turned into long stays. By January 2018, keita was baptized into the sect. That same year, when Danielle forbade her daughter from returning to the Stevens, keita just 17, moved out. Danielle received a chilling message in a Christmas card from the Stevens. It read we are your true family. We love you more than your family does. This was meant for Keita Lachlan Shoalfish, once a civil engineer, was baptized into the group in August 2021.
Speaker 1:His father, cameron, testified that Lachlan transformed within weeks. By September or October he was no longer the son I knew, cameron said. But he didn't give up. He made one final attempt to speak reason into him. This is going to end badly, and when it does, when you get to the end of the road, you don't know where to go. Just remember that we love you desperately, no matter what. You've got a special place in your mother's heart, cameron said. But it was too late. The group had already become his reality.
Speaker 1:Not all members of Elizabeth's family wholeheartedly followed the saints. Jason, elizabeth's dad, didn't join the group until 2021. Jason later told police that his wife wasn't very religious during the first few years of their marriage, but that changed when she met leader Brendan Stevens and his wife Loretta in 2004. Although Kerry had a very close relationship with the Stevens, jason remained a non-believer who insisted that their eight children be vaccinated. Their conflicted beliefs caused many years of friction in the household. This led Jason moving to the garage to escape the tension for some time. He also started working night shifts and preferred to stay away from the house either working or playing golf, and preferred to stay away from the house, either working or playing golf. Carrie later told the police that her husband was an angry man for many years who was choosing not to believe in God. She was planning to leave him after her release from prison in 2021, but she changed her mind after she discovered that Jason had joined the church, describing him as much calmer now, like a new person.
Speaker 1:It all started in 2019, when Elizabeth became gravely ill. Over the course of six days, her condition worsened, but no one in her family called for medical help. By the time Jason finally took her to the hospital, she already slipped into a coma. Doctors managed to save her life, and that is when she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, chronic conditions that require daily insulin to survive. Her near-death experience raised immediate red flags and her doctors notified the authorities right away. Both Jason and Carrie were convicted of failing to provide the necessities of life. Carrie was sentenced to 18 months in prison, though she served just five months. Jason, who had eventually brought Elizabeth to the hospital and testified against Carrie, received a six-month suspended sentence. That was because he said he would not let this happen again. Maybe he believed it at the time, but three years later, the same failure returned, and this time it would cost Elizabeth's life. And this time it would cost Elizabeth's life For the next two years. Jason helped Elizabeth with her medication and died despite Carrie's and the Saints' protests, and everything seems to be back on track.
Speaker 1:But everything changed just four months before Elizabeth's death, on 21st of August 2021, while Carrie Struess was serving a sentence in jail, jason was baptized into the saints. The day began with something simple and joyful a birthday picnic for one of their children. But afterwards the family went to the Stevens' home, where the tone shifted dramatically. There, in the backyard, jason was submerged in water, with Brent and Stevens speaking in tongues as he performed the ceremony. Police later recovered a video of the baptism from a phone. Jason reportedly said afterwards that he has been cleansed of his sins. From that moment on, he was no longer the reluctant father who once testified against his wife. He was a believer. Jason later told police he suffered a mental breakdown and sought support from other members. To the other church members. His conversion was something of a miracle proof that God has cured his anger.
Speaker 1:This shift in Jason would, unfortunately, also lead to Elizabeth losing her only parent, which helped her manage her condition While Carrie was behind bars. She was not cut off from the group. According to the evidence presented in court, she exchanged letters and phone calls with members of the Saints. In these communications, the group spoke of their mission to convert Jason and, more disturbingly, their plans to wean Elizabeth of her insulin. This was a coordinated effort. Jason conversion marked the beginning of the end for Elizabeth. Once he joined the saints, he fully embraced their doctrine, including the belief that God alone would heal his daughter and that medication was a sign of mistrust in divine power. This belief would come to replace medicine In late December 21,.
Speaker 1:Elizabeth was growing weak, jason had stopped her medication and her blood sugar was rising dangerously high. Her parents didn't call an ambulance, didn't take her to a hospital. Instead, they gathered their religious community to pray over poor Elizabeth. They continued to sing, dance and pray around her body for 36 hours before Jason said it was time to phone for help. According to the police, the group waited, believing it was God's will and that prayer has already done all it could.
Speaker 1:Paramedics who arrived at the scene described the heartbreaking situation. Elizabeth had died in her home, surrounded by people who watched her deteriorate, believing faith would be enough. What followed wasn't just a family in mourning. It was a full-scale police investigation and a growing national outcry rightly so. This was a crime, a horrific crime, and fortunately, authorities weren't about to let it go unanswered. You, in the days following Elizabeth's death, queensland police began an investigation and what they uncovered wasn't just parental neglect. This was a wider circle of inaction and shared belief. All these people standing over this dying little girl praying. All these people standing over this dying little girl praying, and yet no one, not one single one, decided it was too far. Everyone failed her.
Speaker 1:In January 22, jason and Carrie's troops were charged with Elizabeth's murder, torture and, once more, failing to provide the necessities of life. But the story didn't end there, because justice hasn't been served. In July 2022, police arrested 12 more members of the Saints who had been present in the home while Elizabeth was suffering. I am saying it again Twelve people sat there and watched this little girl die. Twelve. All were charged with murder and failure to seek medical assistance. That brought the total number of people charged to fourteen. Amongst them were several relatives of the family. These were not strangers. Elizabeth knew and trusted these people, and all of them were so indoctrinated that believed medical treatment was a form of spiritual betrayal and they allowed the little girl, who had all her life ahead of her, to die a terrifying death. They just prayed over her, watched her decline and did nothing.
Speaker 1:This case sparked national interest. It was everywhere and everyone in Australia was enraged. How was this allowed to happen? Kerry has clearly said to her parole officers upon her release she will withhold medication if she has the opportunity, but she will not oppose anyone giving Elizabeth her medication. Well, with Jason converted by that point, elizabeth had no one with some common sense around her to give her the life-saving medication. For months, public figures, legal experts and child advocates weigh in. Many question how such extreme beliefs could be allowed to flourish unchecked and how a child with a known medical condition could fall so far through the cracks. Queensland Child Protection Services came under the fire. It was later reported that Elizabeth had been removed from her parents once before but returned to their care. That relevation prompted outrage. In the months that followed, politicians and child safety advocates began calling for stricter oversight, began calling for stricter oversight, mandatory reporting and better tracking of at-risk families, especially those operating in isolated religious communities.
Speaker 1:After the initial wave of arrests, the case moved onto the courts and everyone arrested. All 14 of them remained in custody awaiting trial. Meanwhile, elizabeth's surviving siblings were taken into protective care Out of respect for their privacy and well-being. Authorities have not released further information. The full legal proceedings took months. This case was a landmark for Australian justice system.
Speaker 1:The trial started in 2024, and all 14 defendants represented themselves. The trial lasted for nine weeks and it was a judge-only trial. None of the 14 gave or called any evidence. Speaking on their behalf, brent and Stevens called the trial a religious persecution. All 14 members were found guilty of manslaughter. Jason and Carrie were sentenced to 14 years in prison. Brandon Stevens, now 63 years old, the group's self-proclaimed pastor and spiritual leader, was sentenced to 13 years in prison. And spiritual leader was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Eleven other members of the sect, who stood by singing and praying as Elizabeth's conditions worsened over six days, were also sentenced. Their punishment ranged from six to nine years behind bars.
Speaker 1:In his powerful sentencing remarks, justice Burns said it marked a moment of long-awaited accountability, but for many, including Elizabeth's sisters Jade, it can never undo the loss. After the sentencing, jade stood outside the courtroom and faced the media. No sentence will ever be enough. It doesn't bring her back, jade said.
Speaker 1:Jade left the sect in 2014. She had spent years trying to warn authorities about what was happening behind closed doors. Her pleas went unheard. My little sister died because of blind faith, because adults who were supposed to protect her chose prayer over medicine, jade said. In her statement, she expressed both sorrow and relief. Sorrow for what her sister endured. Relief that finally those responsible would be held accountable. Today there is justice, but there is no joy. This is a victory rocked in grief. Jade has since become a vocal advocate for stronger protections against coercive control and religious extremism. Her courage in speaking out has kept Elizabeth's story alive and helped her ensure her voice, even in death, will never be silenced. Her kind soul and infectious laughter will forever hold a place in our hearts as we remember her. She told reporters Today.
Speaker 1:All those accused sit in prison serving their long sentences. Justice Byrne said at their sentencing that the prospects of the offender's rehabilitation were bleak, to say the least. That the prospects of the offender's rehabilitation were bleak, to say the least, to quote. Each of you engaged in some sort of spiritual gamble with the life of a child, a child you professed to love. The arrogance of your belief in that regard was, and remains bewildering. Elizabeth's story is one of unimaginable loss of a life cut short, but not by illness but by belief. It's a reminder of what happened when fate is twisted into control, when love is clouded by doctrine and when the most vulnerable are left unheard. Though justice has been served, the pain remains. She should have grown up, gone to school, laughed with her siblings, lived. But in telling her story, in saying her name, we ensure Elizabeth is never forgotten and in her memory we keep fighting to protect every child from suffering the same fate. Elizabeth deserved better and we owe it to her to make sure this never happens again. Thank you.