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14 defendants face court over diabetic girl’s death · The Front

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: A warning before we start. This episode contains serious allegations
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: of crimes committed against a child from The Australian. Here's
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: what's on the front. I'm Kristin Amiot. It's Thursday, July eleventh.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Gas isn't part of the plan. That's what investors can
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: expect to take away from a draft classification framework produced
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: by the government. But it's at odds with the message
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: from the Australian Energy Market Operator, which says gas is
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: a vital part of building up the nation's arsenal of renewables.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: Labor politicians have been told to keep cost of living
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  Speaker 1: relief front and center, and the party's leadership wants members
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  Speaker 1: to lead the nuclear debate to them. The direction comes
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: as the coalition gears up for a possible early election.
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: Those stories alive right now at the Australian dot com
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  Speaker 1: dot au. An eight year old girl suffered for days
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  Speaker 1: and ultimately died because her Christian fundamentalist parents allegedly withheld
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  Speaker 1: life saving medical care. The extraordinary fourteen defendant trial for
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: the alleged murder of Elizabeth Strus is underway in Brisbane,
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  Speaker 1: with dozens of witnesses expected to be called in the
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  Speaker 1: three month proceedings. That's today's episode. Eight year old Elizabeth
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: Rose Strews had a big toothy grin and long, dark hair,
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  Speaker 1: usually pulled back in pigtails. She also had type one diabetes,
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  Speaker 1: a chronic health condition where the pancreas doesn't produce enough insulin.
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  Speaker 1: It's a hormone that kind of works like a door,
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  Speaker 1: letting sugar into ourselves to produce energy. There's no cure,
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  Speaker 1: but type one diabetes is manageable. It can lead to
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  Speaker 1: serious health concerns and even death if it's left untreated.
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  Speaker 1: Elizabeth Strews told her school friends she wanted to be
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  Speaker 1: a doctor so she could help other kids just like her,
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  Speaker 1: but she never got the chance. She died on January seventh,
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  Speaker 1: in twenty twenty two, at her home in Ridgeville, onto
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  Speaker 1: Woomba's outer eastern suburbs after her parents, Jason Richard Strews
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  Speaker 1: and his wife Kerry Elizabeth, allegedly withheld her insulin. They
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: said they believed God would provide.
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: The tragic twist. In a crime that shocked the nation,
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  Speaker 2: eight year old Elizabeth Strews was allegedly left to die
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  Speaker 2: by her parents, who thought God would heal her now
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  Speaker 2: we can reveal authorities knew about the family's dangerous beliefs
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  Speaker 2: and could have prevented the young girl's death.
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  Speaker 1: Two years before she died, Elizabeth Strews became seriously ill.
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  Speaker 1: She was losing weight from her little frame and drinking
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  Speaker 1: excessive amounts of water. She was tired all the time,
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  Speaker 1: telltale signs of type one diabetes. Her mother, Kerrie, kept
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  Speaker 1: her at home, moving her around on a chair with
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  Speaker 1: wheels when she became too weak to walk, and proclaiming
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: her belief that God would make her daughter better. By
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  Speaker 1: the time Elizabeth's father, Jason took her to hospital, she
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: was in a coma and weighed less than fifteen kilos.
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  Speaker 1: After a month long stint in hospital, where she was
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  Speaker 1: never visited by her mother, she was diagnosed with diabetes,
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  Speaker 1: and her family was told she'd need daily insulin injections
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: to manage the condition. Two years later, in twenty twenty one,
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  Speaker 1: Jason Strews was handed a six month suspended prison sentence
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  Speaker 1: after he pleaded guilty to failing to provide the necessities
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: of life to his young daughter. His wife, Kerrie, went
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: to trial, where her husband gave evidence against her and
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  Speaker 1: a jury found her guilty on the same charge. She
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: received an eighteen month prison sentence and was released shortly
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  Speaker 1: before Christmas of that year. Less than a month later,
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  Speaker 1: her daughter Elizabeth, having previously made a remarkable recovery, would
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  Speaker 1: be dead. Jason Strews was charged with Elizabeth's murder within
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: days on January eleven, while his wife Kerry was arrested
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  Speaker 1: on the lesser charge of manslaughter. But in an unbelievable twist,
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  Speaker 1: twelve more people were arrested during an early morning police
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  Speaker 1: raid in mid twenty twenty two and charged with the
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  Speaker 1: same offenses in relation to Elizabeth's death. The reason why
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  Speaker 1: the ricky this morning is I have a warrant.
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  Speaker 2: That's been issued under the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act.
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  Speaker 1: To search this dwelling in relation to property. Okay, we've
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: been talking about to Woomba alone lately on the front.
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: Just last week, the former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehreman was
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: committed to stand trial there on two counts of rape
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  Speaker 1: relating to an incident that's alleged to have occurred in
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  Speaker 1: twenty twenty one.
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  Speaker 2: Bruce Lehman's lawyers fought to have his charges thrown out,
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  Speaker 2: but a magistrate decided there is enough evidence for him
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  Speaker 2: to stand trial.
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  Speaker 1: Bruce Leraman has denied those claims to Wwoomba is a
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  Speaker 1: couple of hours drive west of Brisbane. It's the country's
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  Speaker 1: second biggest inland city, and it's famed for its sprawling
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  Speaker 1: gardens and heritage architecture. It has an affluent side, wealthy
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  Speaker 1: retirees who come here for the warm weather and the
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: slower pace, but there are also those who aren't so
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  Speaker 1: well off, and parts of town where crime is rife.
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  Speaker 1: Somewhere in the middle, a small, fringed religious group known
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  Speaker 1: as the Saints emerged. They're strict followers of the King
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  Speaker 1: James Bible. It's an early English translation of the Bible
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  Speaker 1: that was commissioned in the seventeenth century by King James
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  Speaker 1: the city for the Church of England. Though it's still
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: a favorite of Christian fundamentalists, the Saints group isn't affiliated
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  Speaker 1: with an established church and has just twenty three members
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  Speaker 1: from three families. The small, tight knit congregation is led
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  Speaker 1: by sixty two year old Brendan Luke Stephens, his wife
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  Speaker 1: Loretta Mary Stevens by his side. Elizabeth Strew's mother Kerry,
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  Speaker 1: has been a member of the group for about two decades,
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  Speaker 1: though her husband Jason, was only baptized in the months
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  Speaker 1: before his daughter's death. Her older sister, Jade, left home
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: at sixteen years old after coming out as gay. She
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  Speaker 1: talked about her experience with the Saints in an episode
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  Speaker 1: of A Current Affair, saying Christmas celebrations were forbidden and
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  Speaker 1: mainstream healthcare was shunned by the group.
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  Speaker 3: Well, no medical intervention was very early on.
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  Speaker 4: It was Scott Hills.
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  Speaker 1: At a Queensland Supreme Court hearing held in May, Crown
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  Speaker 1: Prosecutor Caroline Marco reiterated the group's suspicions of medical interventions.
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: A voice actor is reading her words spoken in court.
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  Speaker 4: They believe that God heals and that medication is to
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  Speaker 4: be rejected unless it is in the nature of no
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  Speaker 4: more than first aids, such as applying a band aid.
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  Speaker 1: The Crown alleges the group encouraged the Strews to withhold
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  Speaker 1: Elizabeth's life saving insulin in accordance with those religious beliefs.
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  Speaker 1: The fourteen congregation members appeared in the Queensland Supreme Court
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  Speaker 1: in Brisbane yesterday where they're facing trial as a group.
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  Speaker 1: Coming up how this incredible proceeding unfolded in a packed
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  Speaker 1: Queensland court room. Subscribers to The Australian get this kind
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: of in depth reporting and analysis around the clock, along
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: with breaking news alerts, newsletters, special events and lively commentary.
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  Speaker 1: Join us at the Australian dot com dot a U
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: and we'll be back after this break. Courtroom sixteen of
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  Speaker 1: the Queensland Supreme Court has never seen a trial quite
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  Speaker 1: like this one. Information sent to media ahead of Wednesday's
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  Speaker 1: hearing warned those planning to attend that seating in the
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  Speaker 1: public gallery would be limited. That's because the space had
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  Speaker 1: to be reconfigured in order to accommodate the large number
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  Speaker 1: of defendants fourteen in total. Leader of the Saints religious group,
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  Speaker 1: Brendan Stephens, is charged with Elizabeth Strew's murder, along with
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: her father Jason Strews. Stephen's wife Loretta, and their six
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: adult children, Acacia, teres Sebastian, Andrea, Camellia and Alexander are
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  Speaker 1: all charged with manslaughter, as are Elizabeth's mother, Kerrie Strews
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  Speaker 1: and her older brother Zachary. Another couple, Lachlan and Samantha
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  Speaker 1: shown Fish, also face manslaughter charges, along with congregation member
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  Speaker 1: Keta Martin. The group are representing themselves at trial, and
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: none of the defendants entered a plea. When the proceedings
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  Speaker 1: got underwag just after two pm, the presiding judge, Supreme
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  Speaker 1: Court Justice Martin Burns, then instructed not guilty please to
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  Speaker 1: be entered on each of the defendant's behalf because they've
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: repeatedly declined legal representation. The judge said he was obligated
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  Speaker 1: to give them enough information to ensure they received a.
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  Speaker 2: Fair trial, but I cannot provide you with legal advice.
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  Speaker 1: A voice actor reading Justice Burns words from court there.
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  Speaker 1: Prosecutor Caroline Marco opened the Crown's case by laying out
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  Speaker 1: what it believes to be the circumstances of Elizabeth Stru's
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  Speaker 1: final days. Her official cause of death was diabetic ketoacidosis,
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  Speaker 1: essentially fatally high blood sugar. The prosecutor said the little
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  Speaker 1: girl would have suffered for days, vomiting, enduring extreme lethargy,
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  Speaker 1: and slipping in and out of consciousness.
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  Speaker 4: She was dis as speaking, little, needed help going to
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  Speaker 4: the toilet, and being incontinent.
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  Speaker 1: Marco alleged Elizabeth lay dying on a mattress on a
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  Speaker 1: tiled floor while her parents slept upstairs. She was being
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  Speaker 1: cared for by three other members of the Saints group
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  Speaker 1: at the time. She said Elizabeth's parents were well aware
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  Speaker 1: of the consequences of withholding her insulin after a near
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  Speaker 1: death experience in twenty nineteen. The prosecutor also alleged Jason
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  Speaker 1: Strews wasn't convinced by the Saints beliefs surrounding medical care,
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  Speaker 1: but committed to the group in order to preserve his
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  Speaker 1: family connections.
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  Speaker 4: Mister Jason Strews knew that if he did not change,
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  Speaker 4: he would lose his wife and family. The prosecutor will
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  Speaker 4: seek to prove the Saints congregation, including his wife, Kerry,
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  Speaker 4: put pressure on Jason to conform. Notwithstanding Jason Streu's resistance,
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  Speaker 4: his wife and each of the other defendants united in
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  Speaker 4: a mission to persuade him to adhere to all aspects
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  Speaker 4: of their faith, including the fundamental tenant that God heals,
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  Speaker 4: and by the sustained pressure they placed upon him to conform,
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  Speaker 4: they succeeded in managing to convince him not to administer
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  Speaker 4: or require Elizabeth to take insulin, and not to obtain
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  Speaker 4: medical care or treatment for her consistent with the extreme
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  Speaker 4: beliefs of their faith.
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  Speaker 1: Still. Caroline Marco said Elizabeth's parents ultimately jointly agreed to
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  Speaker 1: cease her medical care.
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  Speaker 4: She was just eighty years old when she died. She
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  Speaker 4: was too young to understand the dire consequences to withdraw
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  Speaker 4: the insulin, which she ultimately paid for with the cost
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  Speaker 4: of her life.
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  Speaker 1: The trial is expected to run for three months and
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  Speaker 1: will be heard by Supreme Court Justice Martin Burns alone.
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  Speaker 1: Crown Prosecutor Caroline Marco indicated she'll call sixty witnesses, including
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: Elizabeth Strew's older sister, Jade. Marco says Jade will share
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  Speaker 1: her experience growing up under the group's dogged belief that
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  Speaker 1: God heals all.
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  Speaker 4: In accordance with that belief, they were instructed to call
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  Speaker 4: God to heal them at all times of sickness, rather
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  Speaker 4: than rely on doctors and medicine, which were created by man.
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  Speaker 1: When she spoke with a Current Affair in late twenty
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  Speaker 1: twenty three, Jade expressed her regret about her little sister's
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  Speaker 1: continued involvement with the group.
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  Speaker 3: She was just a young, bubbly, energetic soul that was
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  Speaker 3: always happy and pure at heart. If I had any
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  Speaker 3: inkling of knowing what was going to happen, I would
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  Speaker 3: have banged that door down.
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  Speaker 1: The trial returns to Brisbane's Supreme Court on Thursday. You
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: can keep up to date with all our reporting at
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: the Australian dot Com.
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  Speaker 4: You