In Australia, 12 members of a religious group have been arrested in connection with the death of an eight-year-old girl. Elizabeth Struhs died on January 7 at home south of Brisbane after a person with type one diabetes was reportedly deprived of insulin for nearly a week.
Earlier this year, her parents were charged with murder, torture and failing to provide for the necessities of life. Police now say they will charge 12 others, aged 19 to 64, for the girl’s death.
Queensland Police said in a statement that the group was aware of Elizabeth’s deteriorating medical condition but did not ask for help.
According to local media, her parents, Jason and Kerry Struh, are members of a minor, tight-lipped religious group in the town of Toowoomba that is not affiliated with any mainstream church.
News outlets said police alleged that the couple and others prayed for Elizabeth’s recovery as she became seriously ill. Authorities were not called until a day after the child’s death. Detective Acting Superintendent Gary Watts said police were surprised by what they found, describing the investigation as unprecedented.
“In my 40 years of policing, I’ve never faced a matter like this,” he said. “And I’m unaware of a similar event in Queensland, let alone Australia.”
In a fundraiser to support Elizabeth’s siblings, her oldest sister Jayde Struhs said her extended family had been “completely shattered and heartbroken”.
“We have faced the brutal reality that the people who should have protected her did not, and we may never know the full extent of what took place,” she wrote. She said her estranged parents were part of a “fear-driven and controlling” cult that took religion to extremes.
The 12 people arrested on Tuesday are expected to appear in court on Wednesday. Jason and Kerrie Struhs will return to court later in July.