Four members of a religious group have appeared in court in Australia on charges of murdering an eight-year-old diabetic girl who died after allegedly being deprived of vital medication for nearly a week.
Elizabeth Struhs, who had type 1 diabetes, died on January 7 in her family’s home in Rangeville, near Brisbane in eastern Australia. Police say the home-based religious group, which comprised three families, failed to give the little girl life-saving insulin for six days before her death.
Authorities also allege that the group’s members did not seek medical assistance for Elizabeth, despite being aware of her condition, opting instead to sing, chant, and pray as she died. Nobody called paramedics until the evening after Elizabeth’s death, police say.