Child safety worker 'shocked' by father's conversion in Elizabeth Struhs case

A child safety staff member has expressed shock that Elizabeth Struhs's father converted to a religious sect and adopted its extreme views, which ultimately led to her death. An inquest in the Brisbane Magistrates Court has heard from multiple witnesses in its first week, probing whether government departments responded appropriately in Elizabeth's case.

The eight-year-old died in her Toowoomba home in January 2022 after her father, Jason Struhs, stopped providing her with insulin for her type 1 diabetes. The Child Safety Department became involved in mid-2019 after Elizabeth was brought to hospital in a comatose state with late-stage diabetic ketoacidosis.

Child safety worker 'shocked' by father's conversion

According to a child safety witness, Elizabeth's mother did not believe in medical treatment and would not take part, while Mr Struhs appeared to be a keen learner of Elizabeth's diabetes and how to treat it. The inquest heard Mr Struhs had not initially held the same extreme Christian ideology and anti-medical intervention views as his wife and her church group.

"I was really shocked … I never thought he was going to convert,"

the child safety witness said. "Mr Struhs was managing her diabetes really well, Elizabeth was going to school, going to the nurse's bay to inject insulin … it seemed it was being managed well at that particular time."

The witness added:

"I thought he would continue to care for Elizabeth and her diabetes."

Inquest hears of missed opportunities

In 2021, Kerrie Struhs was sent to prison for neglect over the 2019 incident that led Elizabeth to end up in a coma. While she was in jail, Mr Struhs converted to his wife's faith after pressure from his son and other church members.

The inquest heard that in the weeks after Ms Struhs left prison, the church convinced him to withdraw giving Elizabeth her treatment. When questioned whether the intervention with parental agreement (IPA) should have been in place longer, the child safety worker agreed, but said she didn't feel it would have prevented Elizabeth's death.

"I didn't know much about the church group, I was not aware it was a small church group that held the same religious views as Mrs Struhs,"

she said. "I might have learned more about what was happening … I didn't realise what was going on behind the religious scene with that group."

Witness shares condolences

Coroner Ainslie Kirkegaard questioned the witness over whether the department's current tools and decision-making frameworks to evaluate a family's risk had been appropriate in Elizabeth's case.

After giving evidence, the child safety witness shared a message with Elizabeth's loved ones:

"I want to give my deepest condolences to Elizabeth's family, I know this must be a really challenging time,"

"In hindsight and reflection obviously this matter has taught me to move forward for my future practice. Especially when it comes to things I didn't fully understand around religious practices and cultural practices."