Elizabeth Struhs death: ‘dangerous, highly manipulative’ sect leader among 14 jailed for eight-year-old’s manslaughter

Elizabeth’s parents and 12 other members of Toowoomba religious group the Saints are responsible for the girl’s ‘slow and painful death’, judge says

A “dangerous, highly manipulative” Queensland religious sect leader has been sentenced to 13 years behind bars for the death of eight-year-old type 1 diabetic Elizabeth Struhs, while her father and mother have each been handed jail terms of more than 14 years.

Elizabeth’s father, Jason Struhs, was the first of 14 members of Toowoomba-based religious sect the Saints to learn his fate at a sentencing hearing in the Queensland supreme court on Wednesday, after they were found guilty of manslaughter over Elizabeth’s January 2022 death by diabetic ketoacidosis. Justice Martin Burns sentenced him to 14.5 years in jail, with a minimum of 80% of that time to be spent in prison.

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