Story perspectives

Parents Convicted for Withdrawing Insulin From Elizabeth Struhs

By Drooid · Oct 15, 2026, 10:01 AM UTC · How we work

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Summary

Struhs Parents Convicted

Child safety officers returned six-year-old Elizabeth Struhs to her parents in August 2019.
Specialist doctors warned Elizabeth was unsafe in her mother’s care because Kerrie Struhs denied insulin.
A child safety officer marked Elizabeth “safe” a day after hospital admission.
Parents Jason and Kerrie Struhs, plus 12 Saints sect members, were convicted of manslaughter for withdrawing insulin.
Elizabeth died on 7 January 2022 from diabetic ketoacidosis after her father stopped insulin in 2021.

Summary

Hospital Staff Criticize

Hospital staff called Kerrie Struhs delusional and lacking capacity, urging a mental-health assessment.
The staff said Child Safety stonewalled them when they tried to file a protection report.
No formal safety plan was created for Elizabeth upon her July 2019 hospital discharge.
The discharge plan required the six-year-old to self-report illness, which was developmentally inappropriate.
Coroner Ainslie Kirkegaard noted intense public scrutiny compounded the family’s grief during the inquest.

History

Historical Context

Megan’s Law, enacted in 1996 after the 1994 murder of 7-year-old Megan Kanka in New Jersey, mandated public sex-offender registration. Governor Christine Todd Whitman championed the statute, Congress allocated $12 million for state rollout, and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children launched a nationwide database. The 2022 Elizabeth Struhs tragedy, involving Queensland Child Safety officers, doctors, the Saints sect, and Coroner Ainslie Kirkegaard, mirrors those protective-system failures. Megan’s Law’s legacy spurred the 2020 Queensland Child Protection Review, which mandated mandatory interdisciplinary alerts for at-risk children.

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Struhs Parents Convicted

Child safety officers returned six-year-old Elizabeth Struhs to her parents in August 2019.
Specialist doctors warned Elizabeth was unsafe in her mother’s care because Kerrie Struhs denied insulin.
A child safety officer marked Elizabeth “safe” a day after hospital admission.
Parents Jason and Kerrie Struhs, plus 12 Saints sect members, were convicted of manslaughter for withdrawing insulin.
Elizabeth died on 7 January 2022 from diabetic ketoacidosis after her father stopped insulin in 2021.

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