‘The road is narrow’: Son of murder-accused religious leader’s creepy ‘goodnight’ text as diabetic 8yo lay dying

A member of a cult-like church group charged with causing a diabetic girl’s death told his father “peace, healing and comfort are your birthright”, urging him to have a “peaceful sleep” as the child lay dying. Creepy texts sent by members of the religious sect, known as The Saints, were obtained from downloads of the 14 co-accused’s phones following the death of Elizabeth Struhs, 8, in early 2022. The Crown contends the church group’s members – which include Elizabeth’s father Jason Richard Struhs and mother Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs – withheld her insulin for several days in line with their beliefs on the healing power of God. She died of diabetic ketoacidosis between January 6-7, 2022. Mr Struhs, 52 and The Saints’ leader Brendan Luke Stevens, 62 are charged with the girl’s murder. Kerrie Struhs, 49, Zachary Alan Struhs, 21, Loretta Mary Stevens, 67, Acacia Naree Stevens, 31, Therese Maria Stevens, 37, Sebastian James Stevens, 23, Andrea Louise Stevens, 34, Camellia Claire Stevens, 28, Alexander Francis Stevens, 26, Lachlan Stuart Schoenfisch, 34, his wife Samantha Emily Schoenfisch, 26, and Keita Courtney Martin, 22 – all charged with manslaughter. All 14 have pleaded not guilty to their charges. In a text to his father about 10.50pm on January 5, 2022, Sebastian Stevens urges his father Brendan to have a “peaceful sleep” after “enduring another day”. The text – shown to Brisbane Supreme Court on Tuesday – was sent in the days before Elizabeth died. In the message, Sebastian says “Praise the Lord, dad” and declares he had “sought the Lord in your time and trial and have declared his true following in front of The Saints, as usual.” “We are both one day nearer the end of Elizabeth’s sickness and one day nearer the Lord’s return. The road is narrow and there are few that follow but when he returns he will find faith in Israel,” Sebastian’s message continues. “Goodnight and God bless – peace, healing and comfort are your birthright so take them all.” NED-12455-Struhs-factbox Other images taken from their phones were displayed to the court, including some of Elizabeth recovering in hospital following an incident where she almost died from the condition in 2019. The court was told she spent weeks recovering in Brisbane Children’s Hospital before she was diagnosed with Type-1 diabetes. Jason was responsible for administering the girl’s insulin and had resisted for years to join The Saints until August 2021. A video of his baptism was played to the court where Brendan Stevens can be seen dunking the 52-year-old into a large basin of water. Other members of the group can be seen and heard singing, playing music and clapping as Jason is submerged before Brendan speaks in an unknown dialect. NED-12516-Inside-the-beliefs-of-The-Saints The court was previously told this was in line with the group’s beliefs of “speaking in tongues” – described as a special, unknown language known only to God. Another text seized from a defendant’s phone was sent to Lachlan and Samantha Schoenfisch on January 7, 2022. It read: “Hi Sam and Lachlan, please pray as much as you can and get to Struhs as soon as you can. Elizabeth does not appear to be breathing but we will see a victory very soon. God can do anything.” A text sent to Kerrie Struhs’s mobile by Child Safety in July 2019 was also shown, where they asked her to meet with “Jason, Child Safety and hospital staff once Elizabeth is out of hospital”. The trial continues.