Over the past few months I can honestly say there hasn’t been a day that’s passed where Elizabeth Struhs hasn’t been on my mind.
It’s been more than three years since Elizabeth’s life was cruelly cut short, in January 2022, and I’ve been covering her story ever since, right up until 14 cult members were convicted and jailed earlier this year.
But this story is far from over.
Since the day I drove out to her home in Toowoomba, I felt a deep sense of responsibility to make sure Elizabeth’s voice wasn’t lost in the unrelenting and unforgiving churn of daily news.
I grew up in a Christian home myself and was brought up seeing firsthand what faith can look like when it brings people together, but I had personally never experienced how dark it can turn, until I began covering this case.
A little girl dead. A cult on trial. A tragedy that should have never happened. Listen to the latest episodes on Spotify and Apple.
https://omny.fm/shows/the-saints-podcast/introducing-the-saints/embed?style=cover
Elizabeth was a bubbly and bright eight-year-old girl, who had her whole life ahead of her.
She told her teachers she wanted to be a doctor, to help others with diabetes.
But, the opportunity for her to leave that legacy was snatched from her and, instead, Elizabeth’s name will forever be linked to a killer cult – The Saints.
The radical group’s blind faith in divine healing over medical intervention led to Elizabeth, who was diabetic, suffering for days without insulin as the adults around her prayed instead of helping.
At every stage of this case shocking details surfaced of neglect, religious extremism and alleged system failures that I found both incomprehensible and unacceptable.
Elizabeth deserved better. And that’s what motivated me to create The Saints.
Podcasting gave me a way to tell Elizabeth’s story with the depth, emotion and care it deserves.
Something that, with a case this complex, often isn’t possible in a single television story or article.
It gives listeners a front-row seat to everything that happened behind the scenes; through court transcripts, police recordings and interviews with people linked to the case, the podcast serves up a complete picture of what happened to Elizabeth.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DIHo5v0zoX8/?utm_source=ig_embed&
The Saints is not just about retelling events, it’s about uncovering the decisions, the warning signs, and the systems that failed her.
Because, at the end of the day, this is a story I shouldn’t have even had to tell, had the authorities done their job.
This isn’t just a story about a cult, it’s a story about accountability.
Authorities were warned, the Child Safety Department knew about Elizabeth’s condition and her mother’s extreme religious views, yet the system let her slip through the cracks.
And while 14 cult members now sit behind bars, this podcast investigates, how a vulnerable child was failed not just by those who claimed to love her, but by the very institutions meant to protect her.
Elizabeth should have been starting high school this year. She should still be dreaming about becoming a doctor.
But instead, I’m telling her story. Because it should never, ever happen again.
A little girl dead. A cult on trial. A tragedy that should have never happened. Listen to the latest episodes on Spotify and Apple.
