Arabic version: تحقيق قضائي يفحص فرصاً ضائعة لحماية إليزابيث ستروس

According to The Guardian, a nine-day coronial hearing in Queensland has examined the actions of agencies responsible for assessing risks to Elizabeth Struhs before her death in January 2022. The eight-year-old had type 1 diabetes and died days after her father, Jason Struhs, began withdrawing the insulin she needed.

Elizabeth had been taken to Toowoomba hospital in a coma in July 2019 and was diagnosed with diabetic ketoacidosis after her previously undetected diabetes. Doctors at Queensland Children’s Hospital warned that her mother, Kerrie Struhs, held religious beliefs that could endanger Elizabeth’s treatment. A 2019 email said Elizabeth would face an “extremely high risk of ongoing harm including death” while living in a household where her mother resided.

Child safety nevertheless assessed Elizabeth as safe and she was discharged into Jason Struhs’s sole care in August 2019 under a voluntary intervention with parental agreement. The inquest heard that the arrangement was intended to involve at least weekly home visits for about 12 weeks, but the assigned case worker did not attend weekly because of a large caseload. After 17 weeks, a senior officer ended the intervention after again assessing Elizabeth as safe.

The hearing also considered whether officials sufficiently examined the family’s religious group, known as the Saints. Witnesses said there was little interest in the group despite Kerrie Struhs repeatedly expressing her views to authorities. All 14 adult members of the church were convicted of Elizabeth’s manslaughter last year. Coroner Ainslie Kirkegaard will deliver findings next year.