Australia has arrested twelve members of a religious group in connection with the death of an eight-year-old girl.
Elizabeth Struhs died on January 7 at a residence south of Brisbane after allegedly being denied insulin for nearly a week.
Her parents were charged with murder, torture, and failure to provide necessities earlier this year.
The police now say that they will charge an additional 12 people, aged 19 to 64, in connection with the girl’s death.
Queensland Police stated in a statement that the group was aware of Elizabeth’s deteriorating medical condition but did not seek assistance.
Local media report that her parents, Jason, and Kerrie Struhs, are members of a small, close-knit religious group in Toowoomba that is not affiliated with a mainstream church.
According to news reports, police allege that the couple and others prayed for Elizabeth’s recovery as she became gravely ill.
The authorities were not contacted until one day after the child’s death.
Detective Acting Superintendent Garry Watts stated that the police were astonished by what they discovered and that the investigation was unprecedented.
In his forty years as a police officer, he had never encountered a situation like this.
“I am unaware of a comparable event occurring in Queensland, let alone Australia.”
Jayde Struhs, Elizabeth’s eldest sister, stated that her extended family was “completely shattered and heartbroken” in a fundraiser for her siblings.
“We have faced the brutal reality that those who were supposed to protect her did not,” she wrote. “We may never know the full extent of what transpired.”
She claimed that her estranged parents were members of a “fear-driven and controlling” religious extremist cult.
On Wednesday, the twelve individuals arrested on Tuesday are expected to appear in court. Later in July, Jason and Kerrie Struhs will return to court.
