Arabic version: الطبيب الشرعي سيتحقق من وفاة قابلة للتجنب لطفلة تبلغ من العمر ثماني سنوات في كوينزلاند
According to ABC News,
The Queensland coroner will examine interactions the Struhs family had with state government agencies before Elizabeth Struhs died at her Toowoomba home. The eight-year-old diabetic died in January 2022 after her family withheld her insulin due to extremist religious views.
The inquest will begin in October and is set to run for two weeks. Counsel assisting the coroner, Simon Hamlyn-Harris, stated that the inquiry will not revisit evidence from the previous criminal trial but will focus on the decisions made by various government departments involved with the family, including Child Safety and the Department of Health.
Elizabeth’s tragic death has sparked widespread public outrage and condemnation, and the coroner aims to determine whether there were missed opportunities to protect her. The court heard that Child Safety had a brief involvement with the Struhs family in 2013 and became significantly involved in 2019 when Elizabeth almost died.
Coroner Ainslie Kirkegaard emphasized the public’s concern regarding the circumstances surrounding Elizabeth’s death and the need to explore how agencies can better respond to situations where extreme beliefs may endanger children. The inquest aims to identify lessons learned from the multi-agency involvement with the Struhs family.
