The leader of a church group described as a "cult" has questioned a witness at his murder trial over a confrontation they had over her teenage daughter's membership.
Eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs died at the family home in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, on January 7, 2022, after her parents and 12 others allegedly withheld her diabetes insulin medication for six days.
Brendan Luke Stevens, the 62-year-old leader of the Christian group calling itself "The Saints", is on trial for murder along with the girl's father, Jason Richard Struhs, 52, in the Brisbane Supreme Court.
Elizabeth's mother, Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, 49, and the other 11 members of the congregation are charged with manslaughter.
All 14 defendants are self-represented and have refused to enter pleas with Stevens telling the court they had reasonable belief God would cure Elizabeth's type-1 diabetes.
Danielle Martin told the judge-only trial on Monday that in 2018 she had become "enraged" by The Saints' influence over her then 17-year-old daughter and twice went to confront Stevens
Danielle Martin's daughter, Keita Courtney Martin, 22, is one of the 11 accused of manslaughter.
The witness said she took a friend to go to Stevens' house in August 2018 after "things escalated".
"I love my daughter Keita and I went to fight for her ... I wanted to be very clear to [Stevens] that I did not want him to contact her or have her in the house," Danielle Martin said.
Questioned by crown prosecutor Caroline Marco, she said Stevens did not listen to anything she said and talked over her.
"He called us filthy, evil, loudmouth women. He wished we would be struck down on the way home," she said.
Stevens cross-examined her and asked if her friend arrived on the property with an intention of provoking a public scene.
"As she came in the gate she had her telephone already on video and started yelling towards the neighbours making allegations before anything was said to me ... is that not the case?" Stevens said.
"When you started waving your finger at us is when she started making noise," Danielle Martin said.
She is one of multiple witnesses cross-examined by their own close relatives after they criticised The Saints or referred to it as a "cult".
Keita Martin asked her mother if she lacked understanding of someone who sacrificed to follow God.
"I was happy for you to be a Christian. I was not happy with you going to the Stevens household," Danielle Martin said.
Elizabeth's sister, Jayde Struhs, told Justice Burns The Saints' core belief was to reject all man-made medical treatment.
"That was the big one. God created us, He could heal us. You must be all-natural and pray to God," Jayde Struhs said.
Jayde Struhs said she never went to a doctor or dentist as a child but was vaccinated at her father's insistence.
Jayde Struhs, 26, said she left the group and moved out of home at age 16 after Kerrie Struhs and Stevens refused to accept she was homosexual.
She said her father in 2019 intended to push back against Kerrie Struhs, who had brought the family into The Saints.
"Dad wasn't really a religious man. He didn't join in. He was not a fan of it," Jayde Struhs said.
She said her father was willing to give Elizabeth the constant glucose monitoring and multiple daily insulin shots she needed.
"He wanted to protect her. He wanted a lot of things to change when he got home as he nearly lost her," Jayde Struhs said.
She said the group met in private homes to listen to Stevens read scripture from the King James Bible and an important part of membership was "receiving the Holy Spirit" via baptism and speaking in tongues.
Marco has previously told Justice Martin that Jason Struhs later relented to pressure from The Saints and was baptised in August 2021 before deciding to stop Elizabeth's insulin doses in January 2022.
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2024-07-15 11:08:30Z
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