Health professionals warned Elizabeth’s return to Kerrie Struhs’s home was unsafe due to Kerrie’s beliefs, but case workers felt pressured and ultimately approved an intervention with parental agreement that allowed Elizabeth to go back home.

Queensland officials and medical teams advised against returning Elizabeth to the parental home, yet an IPA enabled her return to Kerrie and Jason Struhs under a safety plan.

Doctors pressed for an involuntary mental health assessment for Kerrie because of delusional beliefs about healing Elizabeth through faith, but authorities returned Elizabeth to her mother in 2019 despite objections.

Elizabeth Struhs died on January 7, 2022, shortly after Jason Struhs withdrew insulin from the home, with the family group later convicted of manslaughter.

There are concerns of organizational pressure to close cases quickly and possible bias from a case worker with a past experience with type 1 diabetes.

The inquest is ongoing, featuring testimony from multiple witnesses with protections in place to limit identifying information.

Witnesses, including officers and professionals, have testified while some are anonymized, as the investigation continues.

Three weeks before Elizabeth’s death, Kerrie Struhs was assessed as posing no immediate risk by an officer who did not have Kerrie’s full offending history.

In 2019, Kerrie and Jason were convicted of neglecting Elizabeth’s medical needs after a hospital admission for undiagnosed diabetes complications.

Queensland police added a cult-related crime class and ideologies of concern to risk flags within their system.

The family were part of a Toowoomba-based cult, ‘the Saints,’ which rejects modern medicine; 14 adults connected to the group were convicted of Elizabeth’s manslaughter.

Witnesses say Elizabeth’s case was not prioritized due to heavy caseloads and staffing constraints.