Coroner hears how Elizabeth Struhs was deemed safe before death
Officers assessed Elizabeth as safe despite her mother's extreme religious beliefs that rejected medical care.
Elizabeth Struhs died in January 2022 after her parents withdrew insulin she needed for type 1 diabetes. Three years earlier, she nearly died in hospital of diabetic ketoacidosis.
Queensland child safety officers assessed her as safe two days after that crisis. Her mother, Kerrie, held extreme religious beliefs that rejected medicine and told authorities repeatedly she trusted God to heal.
Yet the department recorded her as posing no risk. Doctors at Queensland Children's Hospital warned Kerrie's beliefs would sabotage Elizabeth's treatment.
Their warnings were ignored.
Why it mattersThe coroner's inquiry may reveal systemic failures in how child safety assesses risk from parental ideology and medical neglect.
AustraliaQueensland's child protection system faces scrutiny after a preventable death that officers had multiple chances to stop.
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