Child safety officer incorrectly assessed Elizabeth Struhs as ‘safe’ day after she was admitted to hospital in coma
News Source
•Wed, 14 Oct 2026 08:08:10 GMT
📰 What Happened
A Queensland inquest is looking at the death of eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs. The girl had type 1 diabetes. She died in January 2022 after her religious parents refused to give her insulin. Instead they prayed for a miracle.
A child safety officer told the court that Elizabeth was marked safe in 2019. This happened just one day after she arrived at hospital in a coma. A second officer said her case should have been treated as high risk. The wrong call meant she went back home.
🔍 The Backstory
Elizabeth's parents were charged and convicted over her death. They belonged to a small religious sect that rejected medical care. Elizabeth slipped into a coma in 2019 from a lack of insulin. She recovered after hospital treatment.
Yet child safety officers later sent her home again. She died on 7 January 2022. The inquest is asking how the system failed to protect her. It heard her case was complex and hard to manage.
🎯 Why It Matters
This case asks whether child protection services do enough to keep kids safe. It matters to any family who trusts the system to step in. The inquest may lead to changes in how cases are handled.
A Queensland inquest is looking at the death of eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs. The girl had type 1 diabetes. She died in January 2022 after her religious parents refused to give her insulin. Instead they prayed for a miracle.
A child safety officer told the court that Elizabeth was marked safe in 2019. This happened just one day after she arrived at hospital in a coma. A second officer said her case should have been treated as high risk. The wrong call meant she went back home.
Elizabeth's parents were charged and convicted over her death. They belonged to a small religious sect that rejected medical care. Elizabeth slipped into a coma in 2019 from a lack of insulin. She recovered after hospital treatment.
Yet child safety officers later sent her home again. She died on 7 January 2022. The inquest is asking how the system failed to protect her. It heard her case was complex and hard to manage.
This case asks whether child protection services do enough to keep kids safe. It matters to any family who trusts the system to step in. The inquest may lead to changes in how cases are handled.