Elizabeth Struhs’ father, Jason, told a coronial counsellor he “wouldn’t bury a bag of bones” and said he didn’t believe in funerals, after his eight-year-old daughter died, a Queensland court heard on Monday

Later, the father of one of the members of the Toowoomba religious group now on trial for the death of Elizabeth told the court he had warned his son he’d joined a “cult”

All 14 adult members of the religious sect, known as the “Saints”, are now on trial for the death of Elizabeth. The type 1 diabetic died on 7 January 2022, allegedly of diabetic ketoacidosis due to being denied insulin

Coronial counsellor Julie Baker called Jason and Zachary Struhs that month to tell them her body could be released to the family for a funeral and burial, she told the Brisbane supreme court

“He said to me he didn’t believe in funerals, Elizabeth was with God, and that he would not be burying a bag of bones,” she said. She then informed him the body would be dealt with by a government-appointed funeral director

Coronial prosecutor Caroline Marco also called three family members of defendants on Monday to testify about how defendants came to join the sect

Schoenfisch took every opportunity he could to warn his son about the group, which he called a “cult”. He recalled a specific meeting in 2021, where he said he told his son “this is going to end badly” and “you can always come home to our family”