Twelve members of a religious group have been arrested today in Australia in connection with the death of an eight-year-old girl.

Elizabeth Struhs suffered from diabetes and died at a home in south Brisbane on 7 January this year. Authorities believe that the girl was deprived of insulin for about a week.

Earlier this year, his family was accused of murder, torture and inability to meet the demands of life.

Police said they will blame 12 more people aged between 19 and 64 for the girl’s death.

Queensland State Police said in a statement that the group was aware of Elizabeth’s deteriorating condition but did not seek medical attention.

According to local media, his parents, Jason and Kerrie Struhs, are members of a small, isolated religious group in the town of Toowoomba that is not affiliated with any traditional church.

Police allege that the couple and others in the group prayed for Elizabeth’s recovery when she fell seriously ill.

Authorities were not contacted until one day after the child’s death.

Police Inspector Garry Watts said authorities were surprised by what they found.

“I have never encountered anything like this in my 40 years as a police officer,” he said. “And I am not aware of any similar event in Queensland or Australia.”

Elizabeth’s older sister, Jayde Struhs, blames her family and religious group for her death.

At a fundraiser to support Elizabeth’s siblings, Jayde said her family was “totally devastated and heartbroken”.

“We are faced with a grim reality: The people who were supposed to protect it didn’t, and we may never know exactly what happened,” he wrote.

He said his family, with whom he was fighting, was part of a cult that took religion to extremes and used fear to control its members.

The 12 people taken into custody will be sent to the courthouse tomorrow. Jason and Kerrie Struhs will return to court at the end of July.

– Text originally published at https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional-62053316