By Rex Martinich in Brisbane

The father of a young girl who died after her insulin was withheld has been acquitted of murder along with a church group leader due to a lack of evidence.

However they were among 14 members of a congregation, also including the girl’s mother and older adult brother, found guilty of manslaughter in Queensland’s Supreme Court on Wednesday

Elizabeth Rose Struhs died on January 7, 2022 at her family’s home in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, after six days without her prescribed insulin shots for type-1 diabetes.

The eight-year-old’s father, Jason Richard Struhs, 53, faced a judge-only trial for murder by reckless indifference to life at the Supreme Court in Brisbane over nine weeks in 2024.

The leader of the family’s religious group, Brendan Luke Stevens, 63, also faced a murder charge during the same trial before Justice Martin Burns.

After considering his verdicts for nearly five months, Justice Burns delivered them on Wednesday in a courtroom specially modified to put all 14 defendants on trial.

In his written judgment, Justice Burns said the prosecution had not proven Stevens or Struhs had the “mental element” of reckless indifference to life.

“There remained a reasonable possibility that, in the cloistered atmosphere of the church which enveloped Struhs … that he never came to the full realisation Elizabeth would probably die,” he said.

“(Struhs believed) instead God would not allow that to happen.”

Prosecutor Caroline Marco had told the trial that Struhs knew Elizabeth would likely die without insulin as he had signed a diabetes management plan.

Elizabeth’s 49-year-old mother, Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, and 22-year-old brother Zachary Alan Struhs had also stood trial for manslaughter.

Jayde Struhs, Elizabeth’s adult sister, attended court on Wednesday and said after the verdict it had been a long and hard three years.

“Not a moment has gone by that I haven’t thought about my little sister Elizabeth,” Jayde Struhs said.

“I think the court made the right decision, and I believe that those responsible were found guilty for their actions.”

Stevens spoke for all defendants at the start of the trial and claimed they held a reasonable belief that God would heal Elizabeth.

All defendants represented themselves and refused to enter pleas.

Stevens had baptised Jason Struhs into the church in the months before Elizabeth’s death.

Justice Burns did not accept text messages between Jason Struhs and Stevens had proven the church leader had feared Elizabeth would die as she lost consciousness in the days after her insulin was stopped.

“I could therefore not be satisfied that Stevens knew … that Struhs knew his failure to provide (Elizabeth) with insulin would probably cause her death,” Justice Burns said.

The judge did find that Elizabeth’s parents had shown an “egregious departure from the standard of care” with the support and encouragement of the other defendants.

“Elizabeth was a vibrant, happy child with, of course, her whole life ahead of her,” he said.

“It cannot be doubted that she was lovingly cared for in almost every way by her parents or that she was adored by every member of the church.”

Justice Burns said the defendants’ singular belief in the healing power of God left no room for medical treatment.

“She was deprived of the one thing that would most definitely have kept her alive – insulin,” he said.

Therese Maria Stevens, 37, Sebastian James Stevens, 24, Loretta Mary Stevens, 67, Camellia Claire Stevens, 29, Andrea Louise Stevens, 35, Alexander Francis Stevens, 26, Acacia Naree Stevens, 32, Samantha Emily Schoenfisch, 26, Lachlan Stuart Schoenfisch, 34, and Keita Courtney Martin, 24 were the other religious group members on trial.

All 14 defendants were remanded in custody and will be sentenced on February 11.

“I have again urged the prisoners to seek legal representation,” Justice Burns said.