Members of an American religious organization have been charged with killing an eight-year-old diabetics girl by refusing to give her medical attention.
After supposedly going without glucose for about a week, Elizabeth Struhs was discovered dead at a house in Toowoomba, which is located about 125 kilometers (78 miles ) north of Brisbane in January 2022.
Prosecutors say people of a religion, known as The Saints, prayed that God may treat the child, rather than seeking aid as her health deteriorated.
14 defendants, including the girl’s families, have chosen to represent themselves in the highly publicized and strange event.
Two males- Elizabeth’s parents Jason Struhs, 52, and the spiritual group’s chief Brendan Stevens, 62- have been charged with murder, with prosecutors saying they encouraged or instructed the different members of the group.
The woman’s family, Kerrie Struhs, 49, nephew Zachary Struhs, 21, and ten people- aged 22 to 67- are accused of murder.
The team filed in one by one as the trial started at the Brisbane Supreme Court on Wednesday to get their assigned positions in a court that had been especially modified to fit them all.
The port, where accused often sit in a judicial trial, was too small. So the men, dressed in jail slacks, and the people, in blue clothes, sat at two long furniture.
The party have refused doctors, and all have refused to enter requests on the charges. Officially, the court considers that a plea of never guilty.
The test is scheduled to last for about three months and will only be heard by a judge, with no judge, because of the richness and reputation of the case.
When opening her case, attorney Caroline Marco said Elizabeth had been an “intelligent, religious baby”.
She was too young to realize the severe effects of her relatives ‘ decision to stop giving her insulin, which she ultimately paid for with her own life.