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Speaker 1: A warning before we start. This episode contains serious allegations

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Speaker 1: of crimes committed against a child from The Australian. Here's

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Speaker 1: what's on the front. I'm Kristin Amiot. It's Thursday, July eleventh.

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Speaker 1: Gas isn't part of the plan. That's what investors can

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Speaker 1: expect to take away from a draft classification framework produced

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Speaker 1: by the government. But it's at odds with the message

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Speaker 1: from the Australian Energy Market Operator, which says gas is

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Speaker 1: a vital part of building up the nation's arsenal of renewables.

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Speaker 1: Labor politicians have been told to keep cost of living

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Speaker 1: relief front and center, and the party's leadership wants members

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Speaker 1: to lead the nuclear debate to them. The direction comes

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Speaker 1: as the coalition gears up for a possible early election.

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Speaker 1: Those stories alive right now at the Australian dot com

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Speaker 1: dot au. An eight year old girl suffered for days

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Speaker 1: and ultimately died because her Christian fundamentalist parents allegedly withheld

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Speaker 1: life saving medical care. The extraordinary fourteen defendant trial for

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Speaker 1: the alleged murder of Elizabeth Strus is underway in Brisbane,

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Speaker 1: with dozens of witnesses expected to be called in the

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Speaker 1: three month proceedings. That's today's episode. Eight year old Elizabeth

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Speaker 1: Rose Strews had a big toothy grin and long, dark hair,

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Speaker 1: usually pulled back in pigtails. She also had type one diabetes,

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Speaker 1: a chronic health condition where the pancreas doesn't produce enough insulin.

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Speaker 1: It's a hormone that kind of works like a door,

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Speaker 1: letting sugar into ourselves to produce energy. There's no cure,

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Speaker 1: but type one diabetes is manageable. It can lead to

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Speaker 1: serious health concerns and even death if it's left untreated.

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Speaker 1: Elizabeth Strews told her school friends she wanted to be

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Speaker 1: a doctor so she could help other kids just like her,

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Speaker 1: but she never got the chance. She died on January seventh,

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Speaker 1: in twenty twenty two, at her home in Ridgeville, onto

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Speaker 1: Woomba's outer eastern suburbs after her parents, Jason Richard Strews

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Speaker 1: and his wife Kerry Elizabeth, allegedly withheld her insulin. They

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Speaker 1: said they believed God would provide.

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Speaker 2: The tragic twist. In a crime that shocked the nation,

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Speaker 2: eight year old Elizabeth Strews was allegedly left to die

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Speaker 2: by her parents, who thought God would heal her now

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Speaker 2: we can reveal authorities knew about the family's dangerous beliefs

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Speaker 2: and could have prevented the young girl's death.

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Speaker 1: Two years before she died, Elizabeth Strews became seriously ill.

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Speaker 1: She was losing weight from her little frame and drinking

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Speaker 1: excessive amounts of water. She was tired all the time,

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Speaker 1: telltale signs of type one diabetes. Her mother, Kerrie, kept

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Speaker 1: her at home, moving her around on a chair with

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Speaker 1: wheels when she became too weak to walk, and proclaiming

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Speaker 1: her belief that God would make her daughter better. By

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Speaker 1: the time Elizabeth's father, Jason took her to hospital, she

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Speaker 1: was in a coma and weighed less than fifteen kilos.

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Speaker 1: After a month long stint in hospital, where she was

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Speaker 1: never visited by her mother, she was diagnosed with diabetes,

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Speaker 1: and her family was told she'd need daily insulin injections

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Speaker 1: to manage the condition. Two years later, in twenty twenty one,

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Speaker 1: Jason Strews was handed a six month suspended prison sentence

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Speaker 1: after he pleaded guilty to failing to provide the necessities

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Speaker 1: of life to his young daughter. His wife, Kerrie, went

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Speaker 1: to trial, where her husband gave evidence against her and

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Speaker 1: a jury found her guilty on the same charge. She

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Speaker 1: received an eighteen month prison sentence and was released shortly

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Speaker 1: before Christmas of that year. Less than a month later,

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Speaker 1: her daughter Elizabeth, having previously made a remarkable recovery, would

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Speaker 1: be dead. Jason Strews was charged with Elizabeth's murder within

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Speaker 1: days on January eleven, while his wife Kerry was arrested

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Speaker 1: on the lesser charge of manslaughter. But in an unbelievable twist,

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Speaker 1: twelve more people were arrested during an early morning police

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Speaker 1: raid in mid twenty twenty two and charged with the

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Speaker 1: same offenses in relation to Elizabeth's death. The reason why

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Speaker 1: the ricky this morning is I have a warrant.

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Speaker 2: That's been issued under the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act.

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Speaker 1: To search this dwelling in relation to property. Okay, we've

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Speaker 1: been talking about to Woomba alone lately on the front.

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Speaker 1: Just last week, the former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehreman was

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Speaker 1: committed to stand trial there on two counts of rape

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Speaker 1: relating to an incident that's alleged to have occurred in

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty one.

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Speaker 2: Bruce Lehman's lawyers fought to have his charges thrown out,

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Speaker 2: but a magistrate decided there is enough evidence for him

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Speaker 2: to stand trial.

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Speaker 1: Bruce Leraman has denied those claims to Wwoomba is a

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Speaker 1: couple of hours drive west of Brisbane. It's the country's

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Speaker 1: second biggest inland city, and it's famed for its sprawling

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Speaker 1: gardens and heritage architecture. It has an affluent side, wealthy

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Speaker 1: retirees who come here for the warm weather and the

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Speaker 1: slower pace, but there are also those who aren't so

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Speaker 1: well off, and parts of town where crime is rife.

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Speaker 1: Somewhere in the middle, a small, fringed religious group known

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Speaker 1: as the Saints emerged. They're strict followers of the King

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Speaker 1: James Bible. It's an early English translation of the Bible

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Speaker 1: that was commissioned in the seventeenth century by King James

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Speaker 1: the city for the Church of England. Though it's still

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Speaker 1: a favorite of Christian fundamentalists, the Saints group isn't affiliated

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Speaker 1: with an established church and has just twenty three members

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Speaker 1: from three families. The small, tight knit congregation is led

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Speaker 1: by sixty two year old Brendan Luke Stephens, his wife

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Speaker 1: Loretta Mary Stevens by his side. Elizabeth Strew's mother Kerry,

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Speaker 1: has been a member of the group for about two decades,

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Speaker 1: though her husband Jason, was only baptized in the months

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Speaker 1: before his daughter's death. Her older sister, Jade, left home

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Speaker 1: at sixteen years old after coming out as gay. She

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Speaker 1: talked about her experience with the Saints in an episode

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Speaker 1: of A Current Affair, saying Christmas celebrations were forbidden and

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Speaker 1: mainstream healthcare was shunned by the group.

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Speaker 3: Well, no medical intervention was very early on.

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Speaker 4: It was Scott Hills.

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Speaker 1: At a Queensland Supreme Court hearing held in May, Crown

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Speaker 1: Prosecutor Caroline Marco reiterated the group's suspicions of medical interventions.

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Speaker 1: A voice actor is reading her words spoken in court.

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Speaker 4: They believe that God heals and that medication is to

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Speaker 4: be rejected unless it is in the nature of no

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Speaker 4: more than first aids, such as applying a band aid.

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Speaker 1: The Crown alleges the group encouraged the Strews to withhold

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Speaker 1: Elizabeth's life saving insulin in accordance with those religious beliefs.

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Speaker 1: The fourteen congregation members appeared in the Queensland Supreme Court

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Speaker 1: in Brisbane yesterday where they're facing trial as a group.

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Speaker 1: Coming up how this incredible proceeding unfolded in a packed

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Speaker 1: Queensland court room. Subscribers to The Australian get this kind

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Speaker 1: of in depth reporting and analysis around the clock, along

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Speaker 1: with breaking news alerts, newsletters, special events and lively commentary.

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Speaker 1: Join us at the Australian dot com dot a U

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Speaker 1: and we'll be back after this break. Courtroom sixteen of

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Speaker 1: the Queensland Supreme Court has never seen a trial quite

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Speaker 1: like this one. Information sent to media ahead of Wednesday's

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Speaker 1: hearing warned those planning to attend that seating in the

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Speaker 1: public gallery would be limited. That's because the space had

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Speaker 1: to be reconfigured in order to accommodate the large number

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Speaker 1: of defendants fourteen in total. Leader of the Saints religious group,

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Speaker 1: Brendan Stephens, is charged with Elizabeth Strew's murder, along with

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Speaker 1: her father Jason Strews. Stephen's wife Loretta, and their six

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Speaker 1: adult children, Acacia, teres Sebastian, Andrea, Camellia and Alexander are

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Speaker 1: all charged with manslaughter, as are Elizabeth's mother, Kerrie Strews

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Speaker 1: and her older brother Zachary. Another couple, Lachlan and Samantha

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Speaker 1: shown Fish, also face manslaughter charges, along with congregation member

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Speaker 1: Keta Martin. The group are representing themselves at trial, and

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Speaker 1: none of the defendants entered a plea. When the proceedings

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Speaker 1: got underwag just after two pm, the presiding judge, Supreme

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Speaker 1: Court Justice Martin Burns, then instructed not guilty please to

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Speaker 1: be entered on each of the defendant's behalf because they've

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Speaker 1: repeatedly declined legal representation. The judge said he was obligated

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Speaker 1: to give them enough information to ensure they received a.

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Speaker 2: Fair trial, but I cannot provide you with legal advice.

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Speaker 1: A voice actor reading Justice Burns words from court there.

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Speaker 1: Prosecutor Caroline Marco opened the Crown's case by laying out

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Speaker 1: what it believes to be the circumstances of Elizabeth Stru's

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Speaker 1: final days. Her official cause of death was diabetic ketoacidosis,

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Speaker 1: essentially fatally high blood sugar. The prosecutor said the little

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Speaker 1: girl would have suffered for days, vomiting, enduring extreme lethargy,

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Speaker 1: and slipping in and out of consciousness.

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Speaker 4: She was dis as speaking, little, needed help going to

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Speaker 4: the toilet, and being incontinent.

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Speaker 1: Marco alleged Elizabeth lay dying on a mattress on a

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Speaker 1: tiled floor while her parents slept upstairs. She was being

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Speaker 1: cared for by three other members of the Saints group

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Speaker 1: at the time. She said Elizabeth's parents were well aware

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Speaker 1: of the consequences of withholding her insulin after a near

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Speaker 1: death experience in twenty nineteen. The prosecutor also alleged Jason

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Speaker 1: Strews wasn't convinced by the Saints beliefs surrounding medical care,

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Speaker 1: but committed to the group in order to preserve his

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Speaker 1: family connections.

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Speaker 4: Mister Jason Strews knew that if he did not change,

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Speaker 4: he would lose his wife and family. The prosecutor will

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Speaker 4: seek to prove the Saints congregation, including his wife, Kerry,

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Speaker 4: put pressure on Jason to conform. Notwithstanding Jason Streu's resistance,

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Speaker 4: his wife and each of the other defendants united in

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Speaker 4: a mission to persuade him to adhere to all aspects

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Speaker 4: of their faith, including the fundamental tenant that God heals,

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Speaker 4: and by the sustained pressure they placed upon him to conform,

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Speaker 4: they succeeded in managing to convince him not to administer

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Speaker 4: or require Elizabeth to take insulin, and not to obtain

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Speaker 4: medical care or treatment for her consistent with the extreme

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Speaker 4: beliefs of their faith.

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Speaker 1: Still. Caroline Marco said Elizabeth's parents ultimately jointly agreed to

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Speaker 1: cease her medical care.

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Speaker 4: She was just eighty years old when she died. She

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Speaker 4: was too young to understand the dire consequences to withdraw

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Speaker 4: the insulin, which she ultimately paid for with the cost

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Speaker 4: of her life.

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Speaker 1: The trial is expected to run for three months and

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Speaker 1: will be heard by Supreme Court Justice Martin Burns alone.

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Speaker 1: Crown Prosecutor Caroline Marco indicated she'll call sixty witnesses, including

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Speaker 1: Elizabeth Strew's older sister, Jade. Marco says Jade will share

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Speaker 1: her experience growing up under the group's dogged belief that

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Speaker 1: God heals all.

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Speaker 4: In accordance with that belief, they were instructed to call

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Speaker 4: God to heal them at all times of sickness, rather

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Speaker 4: than rely on doctors and medicine, which were created by man.

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Speaker 1: When she spoke with a Current Affair in late twenty

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Speaker 1: twenty three, Jade expressed her regret about her little sister's

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Speaker 1: continued involvement with the group.

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Speaker 3: She was just a young, bubbly, energetic soul that was

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Speaker 3: always happy and pure at heart. If I had any

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Speaker 3: inkling of knowing what was going to happen, I would

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Speaker 3: have banged that door down.

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Speaker 1: The trial returns to Brisbane's Supreme Court on Thursday. You

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Speaker 1: can keep up to date with all our reporting at

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Speaker 1: the Australian dot Com.

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Speaker 4: You