The Saints
The Saints is an Australian true-crime podcast that investigates the tragic death of eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs, whose parents and their secretive religious group withheld life-saving medical treatment, relying on prayer instead. Hosted by award-winning journalist Pippa Bradshaw, the series explores one of the country's most shocking cases of religious extremism, featuring exclusive interviews, police interrogations, and expert analysis. It examines how blind faith turned fatal, who failed to intervene, and whether such a tragedy could happen again.
Episodes
7. Child Safety Failure
The cult is now locked behind bars, but is anyone else to blame for Elizabeth’s death? In this episode, host Pippa Bradshaw is joined by legal experts to examine allegations of multiple failures by the Child Safety Department and the many lingering questions in this case. Why were warnings from medical experts ignored? Why was Elizabeth's case closed? And why was Elizabeth left in the care o
6. Cult Control
Estranged loved ones of ‘The Saints’ share surreal and heartbreaking accounts of losing family to a cult. This episode reveals that The Saints isn't an outlier, but a textbook example of how cults take hold. Pippa Bradshaw is joined by forensic anthropologist and criminologist Dr. Xanthé Mallett to unpack the formation, impact and far-reaching consequences of fringe religious se
5. The Trial
The 14 cult members reject legal representation and let their police interviews do the talking in the Supreme Court of Australia. Court reporter Anna Rawlings takes us inside the unprecedented mass trial, where The Saints are confronted with testimony from medical experts, police officers and family members. After a nine-week trial, the Judge delivers a shocking verdict that will set legal pr
4. Saints to Sinners
Just weeks after her mother’s release from prison, and with her father now in the grip of the cult, Elizabeth is left vulnerable. Deprived of her insulin, she suffers a slow and painful death. After her parents are arrested, Pippa Bradshaw tracks down the cult in Toowoomba to find answers. Months later, 12 other adults are also charged and we hear them attempt to justify their actions, throu
3. Critical Warnings Ignored
Serious red flags loomed long before Elizabeth Struhs' tragic death. In 2019, she was rushed to the hospital on the brink of death. Court documents, police interrogations and expert medical testimony expose the events leading to Elizabeth’s diagnosis. Her case was so extreme, having been neglected to the point of critical illness, that her mother was jailed.See omnystudio.com/listener for pr
2. The Saints Unmasked
Who are the 14 cult members arrested over Elizabeth Struhs’ death? How did ordinary people, from teachers to police officers, become entangled in religious cult who called themselves The Saints? Estranged family members and friends break their silence for the first time. This episode breaks down the origins of this group, its members, and the shocking truth behind their decent into religious
1. Elizabeth
In January 2022, two parents were arrested on the front lawn of their Toowoomba home and charged over the death of their eight-year-old daughter, Elizabeth Struhs. In the months that followed a disturbing story unraveled of a religious cult with extreme beliefs, rejecting medical assistance and placing their complete trust in divine healing. In a rare and deeply personal interview, Elizabeth&rsquo
Introducing: The Saints
A little girl dead. A cult on trial. A tragedy that should have never happened. The Saints unravels the harrowing story of eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs, whose parents and their secretive religious group denied her life-saving medical care - choosing prayer over treatment, with fatal consequences. Award-winning journalist Pippa Bradshaw takes you inside one of Australia’s most confronting
