A Queensland Court in Australia has found 14 members of an Australian religious group guilty of involuntary homicide in the death of an eight -year -old girl whose parents paid their medicine against insulin.
Elizabeth Rose Struhs died on January 7, 2022 at her home in Towoomba after spending six days without treatment for type 1 diabetes.
His parents, Jason Richard Struhs, 53, and Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, 49, along with 12 companions of her religious congregation known as “Los Santos”, were convicted on Wednesday.
The Supreme Court of Queensland, Judge Martin Burns, found Jason Struhs and the group leader, Brendan Luke Stevens, 63, guilty of involuntary homicide, despite the fact that both face initial murder charges. Burns also condemned the remaining 12 members, including Elizabeth's brother, Zachary Alan Struhs, 22.
The 14 were sent in custody and will be scheduled to be sentenced on February 11. Each faces a maximum perpetual chain potential sentence.
Outside the court, the victim's adult sister, Jayde Struhs, welcomed the verdicts but criticized the authorities for not intervening before.
“Although today we had a good result, I have to recognize that the system could not protect Elizabeth in the first place,” he said.
“We are alone here because they were not done sooner to protect or eliminate it from a crediblely insecure situation in their own home,” he added.
By ruling out a condemnation for murder, Burns declared that the Prosecutor's Office had not shown that Father or Stevens showed an indifference imprudent to life.
“It follows there was a reasonable possibility that, in the cloistered atmosphere of the church that wrapped Struhs … that he (the father) never realized that Elizabeth would probably die,” said the judge.
However, Burns discovered that the victim's parents had committed an “atrocious deviation of the standard of attention”, and the other defendants provided support and encouragement.
During the trial, Stevens argued on behalf of all the defendants who believed that God would heal the child. Each of the defendants was represented in the Court and spoke individually during the closing statements.
Before placing, Burns urged all defendants to seek legal representation before the sentence.
Read too Main stories OF Nigerian tribe