It should be hard to believe. The fact that conspiracy theorists have wheeled out a range of absurd claims purporting to reveal, or guess at, the cause of Dolly Parton’s death. But it’s not hard to believe. In fact it’s exactly what anybody who keeps an eye on cooked conspiracy theorists across the globe expected. It happens regularly when vaccine status can be confirmed, and rapidly and loudly when the individual is a celebrity.
In Dolly’s case she had donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center to assist with early research into Moderna’s mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. She also publicly had her shot in March 2021, and to the tune of “Jolene” sang “Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, I’m begging of you please don’t hesitate“. Clearly Dolly knew the stakes and the impact anti-vaxxers were having. At 75 she herself was in the age cohort for which being vaccinated against COVID can save lives and reduce hospitalisations. No doubt her focus that day, led to jabs and saved lives.
Yet far-right radio host Wayne Allyn Root argued on X:
She took the vax on TV. She changed the name of her hit song “Jolene, Jolene” to “Vaccine, Vaccine”. She encouraged fans to get it. Now she’s dead of cancer. This sounds like another case of turbo cancer. RIP Dolly.
There is no such thing as “turbo cancer”. On that, oncologists are unanimous. It’s a bogus term made up to evoke emotional responses, and fool individuals to make choices not related to science-based medicine. It was covered here in March last year. The Brownstone Institute was founded last year by close friend and ally of RFK Jr., Jeffrey Tucker. Toby Rogers who works with the Trump allied Institute, observed that Dolly thought she was doing the right thing backing the vaccine, “But it very well may have killed her”.
Let’s not forget Dolly the Sheep and the convoluted thinking that leads us to ponder if Dolly Parton may have actually been a clone. Originally shared with our poor planet in 2013 by UFO aficionado and conspiracy obsessive Max Spiers (now deceased). One learns that the sheep was named “Dolly” as a symbolic nod to Parton who was part of the “early mass-consumption cloning experiments”. Conspiracy theorist “Danielle knows a lot” has resurrected this particular nonsense.
Anti-science diva, Valerie Anne Smith is a raging anti-vaxxer with particular focus on COVID and HPV vaccines. In the absence of a public record, Smith could in no way know what vaccines Dolly Parton has recently had. Yet she manages seemingly straight-faced to post on X:
Dolly Parton Funded Moderna COVID Vaccine…
Soon after being injected she developed severe autoimmune, liver and kidney issues. Cause of death… CANCER.
Synthetic lipid nanoparticles and mRNA invaded her cells and produced toxic proteins… the intended design of mRNA shots. pic.twitter.com/vv9vOIUG9e
Apart from X there is plenty of the same on Facebook which happens to include the bizarre claim of Satanic ritual involving a section of video, and based on what Dolly is doing with her hands. In the video Dolly thanks Taylor Swift and her hubby Travis Kelce for their $2 million donation to her literacy charity, Imagination Library. Parton expresses her thanks and adds, “Now, it’s evident you two have made giving back a key part of your lives, so hey when you have your firstborn can I have it, because that is gonna be one special baby”. She is of course, joking.
Conspiracy fans contend that Parton made the “devil horns” symbol with satanic intent. In reality as she moves her hands her index and small finger do extend for around a second. It’s a non-event, and worth checking the short video to assess for yourself. In reality, the gesture is linked to warding off evil, heavy metal, insults and various cultural and regional meanings, depending on the part of the world. Not unexpectedly, this tale was retold by Red Pill USA whilst being linked to Dolly’s involvement with Moderna.
Nothing to see here, folks, just Dolly Parton – the same woman who dropped $1 million to help fund the Moderna COVID vaccine – flashing devil horns while casually demanding Taylor Swift’s and Trevor Kelce’s firstborn child. It’s a big Satanic club… and you ain’t in it.
Speak for yourself Red. Nonetheless, the sheer scale of claims on X that “turbo cancer” is the cause of Dolly Parton’s death as a direct result of a COVID vaccine she had 5 1/2 years ago, speaks volumes as to just how distorted Musk’s platform has become. In addition the fact that such claims have spread across social media remind us that conspiracy theories remain alarmingly persistent. No evidence is ever presented, no reputable sources are cited, yet these ridiculous fantasies continue to be furiously defended.
Dolly Parton died from cancer. She did not die from “turbo cancer”. There is no such thing.
When it comes to finding a substance that has a history in the East and is available over the counter being touted as a weight loss agent in the West, berberine – a chemical found in a number of plants – is likely to have its supporters. Yet that’s not the same as arguing it is an agent backed by peer reviewed evidence.
Yes, it’s popping up as “natures Ozempic” on social media. There’s a range of websites listing weight loss, lowering of blood sugar levels, reduced cholesterol whilst some cite varied research papers. Companies such as Swisse will sing its praises and even point to “healthy insulin levels” and papers discussing its role in cancer. Nonetheless, it depends where you land when discerning what praises will be sung and what conclusive advice will be published, regardless of findings. In fact the effects of berberine are not well documented or defined.
The most in depth research will stress the need for further research. Larger samples, wider scope within methodology, a focus on specific components of cardiovascular health and even agreed upon amounts and formulations to be studied upon population samples with rigidly controlled age-health profiles. Berberine has been studied far more in Asia than in Western nations, but regrettably the necessary controls are not applied. Various compounds and amounts of berberine applied to subjects with different illnesses and histories cannot provide the statistical certainty one expects, much less serious criteria for falsification and reproduction.
We would possibly have convoluted issues from an ethical standing also. Consider the range of side effects listed in this WebMD article. Even worse is the fact some consumers have fallen dramatically ill within hours of taking berberine purchased online. This is not the norm but these patients find themselves in hospital with pronounced GI purging, dehydration and other complications.
Frustratingly, most punters browsing online have no idea what an AUST L number is, who demands its presence and where to find it. Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) lists (L) unregistered medicines (vitamins or wellness products) by number, provided they won’t harm you. They don’t have to work, having not been pre-market evaluated by the TGA, but must have low risk ingredients. Nonetheless, it helps to be aware of how certain products are rated by the TGA, especially when they make grandiose claims. I would also urge you to do some research on the type of side effects and seriousness of prolonged use of berberine. This PDF is a succinct TGA berberine document.
In fact there is really no good science regarding berberine and weight loss. One study found that for individuals with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, subjects who took berberine for three months experienced weight loss. It’s important to note that it interacts with a number of drugs and/or supplements and side effects include nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. It reminds me somewhat of St. John’s Wort. Berberine can impact the P450 cytochrome in the liver and have quasi-impacts on other liver enzymes involved in breaking down drugs.
In order to escape the nasty side effect impact on the G.I. system that berberine has, individuals hoping to make a buck in the wellness industry came up with a new method of delivery. Users of social media, particularly Facebook in my case, might have noticed seemingly endless promotion of an amazing weight loss “patch” that “stopped belly fat… amazes experts… burns belly fat… [and] has science stunned”. In fact it was a clever marketing ploy, following an initial TV advertising gig I fortunately missed. Social media permitted rampant boasting about the impact of studies into oral berberine intake, to support offering it in transdermal patch form to avoid stomach acid destruction. This claim alone leaves one skeptical.
First came the ladies patch named “Purisaki”. It was red with a blue border. Amongst ample peacock terminology and reference to “an Australian startup” readers were treated to this compelling paragraph:
In the summer of 2025, a presentation at a major nutrition science conference turned heads. Jessica Taylor and Kate Morrison, the founders of the startup behind Purisaki, presented their revolutionary method for natural weight loss and detoxification.
Weightloss Mag Australia wanted to know all about Jess and Kate’s breakthrough that “is turning heads”. It all started with their own experience. For Jess and Kate is was all about the 8 part formula in their transdermal patch that encouraged detoxification and the burning of fat. They told the Mag:
So together with leading nutrition scientists, we developed a product that combines fat burning and detoxification – completely natural and with no side effects.
Not much later came the men’s patch called LifeGuage which mentioned that “science is stunned by berberine” thanks to Australian startup. This patch was less obvious, being a colour I might call “Anglo-Saxon pink”. We got to read this familiar-sounding paragraph:
In summer 2025, a presentation at a major sports nutrition conference caused a stir. Matt Berger and Tom Hartman, the founders of the start-up behind LifeGauge, presented their method for targeted fat reduction and metabolism activation – specifically designed for men whose bodies stop cooperating after 40.
Weightloss Mag Australia wanted to know all about Matt and Tom’s science-stunning breakthrough. Ironically, it all started with their own experience. For Matt and Tom it was all about the 8 part formula delivered via their transdermal patch. They told the Mag:
Together with nutritional scientists, we developed a method that delivers berberine and other natural active ingredients directly through the skin – bypassing the stomach, straight into the bloodstream.
Now for a product that’s “stunning science” one has a right to expect to see said product being subject to proper scientific studies. And yes, LifeGuage has kindly offered some research into related compounds used in their product. Remember, their transdermal patch is claimed to be extra-effective because delivery bypasses the gut, where other pills or supplements and indeed berberine, are “destroyed in the stomach before they can even work”.
So, one has the right to be disappointed to discover the LifeGuage scientific research page provides no research into transdermal patch application of the Australian startup-driven-science-stunning-weight-zapping-sticker. That’s because there is absolutely no evidence that application of these compounds via this method will improve health, energy, make you feel younger or have a positive impact on weight loss. Indeed, the research presented by LifeGuage all relates to human oral trials, animal studies or in vitro research. So, to repeat, there’s no evidence to support the claims made regarding this transdermal patch technology.
Berberine research looks into berberine itself and how it impacts type 2 diabetes, heart disease, atherosclerosis, cholesterol and the extent of its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. A great deal more research is needed into all of these and other suggested areas, and we must keep in mind that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the TGA and other medicine regulators do not promote its use for management of disease.
The LifeGuage and Purisaki transdermal patch ingredients are identical. Yet the impact is described slightly different for men and women. Remember, men over 40 get a fat gut and feel lethargic. Women just get more unsightly fat and tend to need antioxidant effects. The patches contain berberine, Green Tea extract, African Mango Seed extract, Fucoxanthin extract, punicic acid and vitamins. Promotors claim without linking to any evidence:
Berberine Extract – Kickstarts fat metabolism, keeps blood sugar stable and stops cravings – so the body burns fat instead of storing it. In women: Naturally promotes metabolic function and supports healthy blood sugar levels to curb appetite, stop cravings and reduce fat storage.
Fucoxanthin Extract – Boosts fat burning and specifically targets the stubborn belly fat typical in men over 40. In women: Promotes fat oxidation and energy metabolism and can reduce the accumulation of visceral fat.
Pomegranate Oil (Punicic Acid Extract) – Protects cells, reduces inflammation and improves circulation – for more vitality and a better sense of wellbeing, in men. In women: Eases inflammation through antioxidant protection and improves fat metabolism so more fat is burned.
African Mango Extract – Delivers a genuine feeling of fullness, curbs appetite and prevents the body from building new fat reserves, in men. In women: Regulates leptin levels for a better sense of fullness, curbs appetite and helps reduce the formation of new fat cells.
Vitamin C, B1, B3 – Drive fat metabolism and support L-carnitine production – the substance that converts fat in the muscles into energy. The result: more fat burning, more energy, more performance in everyday life and during exercise, for men. In women: Support fat, protein and carbohydrate metabolism and the production of L-carnitine, which is essential for transporting fatty acids into muscle cells for energy, thereby boosting fat burning.
This isn’t a fad – it’s targeted support for men who want to get their body back in shape. If you want to lose the belly fat and feel fitter again, LifeGauge is the way to go (for men).
This isn’t a fad – this is science for effective fat burning. Those who want real results choose Purisaki. The rest can keep hoping for miracles (for women).
A little further down each promotional page we read:
This website is an advertisement and not a news article.
Results may vary. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or health condition. Weight loss occurs as part of a healthy, calorie-reduced diet and exercise programme.
MARKETING DISCLOSURE: This website is a marketplace. As such, you should know that the owner has a financial connection to the products and services advertised on the website. The owner receives payment when a qualified lead is referred, but that is all.
ADVERTISING DISCLOSURE: This website and the products and services referred to on the website are advertising marketplaces. This website is an advertisement and not a news publication. All photos of persons used on this website are models. The owner of this website and of the products and services referred to on this website only provides a service through which consumers can obtain and compare information.
It’s enough to make one wonder exactly what side effects may eventuate if the product was misused.
Just over a year ago I posted that 12 charges had been brought by the Director of Public Prosecutions against Belinda Gae Harris over the supply and advertising of black salve products. This followed an investigation by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), which confirmed alleged criminal offences under the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 (the Act), against Harris.
Harris insisted on her blog she was “helping people” and had written on Facebook about using the dangerous corrosive to “suck out” snake bite poison and COVID-19 vaccines from the injection site. The TGA reported at the time she faced up to “a maximum penalty of 12 months’ imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $222,000 for each charge”. Harris, who traded under ‘Tickety Boo Herbal’, was manifestly spared the maximum sentence. Found guilty of 10 charges on 30 October 2025 in Deniliquin Local Court, the TGA reported on 16 January 2026, that Harris had been:
[S]entenced today to 7 months imprisonment, a community corrections order, and fines of $20,000 for unlawfully advertising and supplying black salve and bloodroot capsules, and for advertising other unapproved therapeutic goods to treat serious conditions such as anxiety.
And that:
Ms Harris was released on recognizance of $2,000 and on condition of good behaviour for a period of 3 years with 6 months supervision. Ms Harris is prohibited from making restricted and prohibited representations about therapeutic goods by any means, including on social media. The term of imprisonment can be imposed if the conditions of the good behaviour bond are breached.
Ms Harris is also subject to a community corrections order with a supervision period of 3 years.
The prohibitions regarding publication about therapeutic goods, particularly on social media, and the threat of prison linked to the good behaviour bond, are certainly welcome. Let’s revisit some of Harris’ response to the charges last January:
I’m just going to keep doing it, because I’m helping people and I’m saving lives. My angels managed to keep this at bay until 2025… This matrix is bullshit. Bullshit lies. They’re allowed to administer carcinogenic chemotherapy to people and fry the fuck out of them with their radiation.
But I’m not allowed to do a simple herbal remedy that I have tested over and over again… I’ll see you in court government… You can’t shut me up. If you put me in jail I’ll just be educating everybody around me. Okay. Namaste. Loving you. Ben Abou.
Okay. Namaste it is.
Her Honour, Magistrate Humphreys, said “the offending was deliberate and planned”. She added:
The Court has an obligation to deter similar offending as it is of a kind that could cause great harm…
…The existence of a community of persons interested in the use of potentially dangerous alternative treatments for serious illnesses such as cancer adds weight to the need for general deterrence. Others involved in such communities must be dissuaded from engaging in similar conduct
In a welcome addition the magistrate also noted the indirect harm Harris’ actions had caused, in that there was, “a real potential for users of the product to delay seeking or obtaining conventional treatment”. This is an important point and often overlooked. Regardless of potential harm, any treatment that interferes with evidence-based medicine or leads to patients withholding information from specialists, can prove disastrous.
Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and head of the TGA, Professor Anthony Lawler said he was pleased with the outcome. He continued:
This significant penalty sends a clear message to anyone seeking to profit from the unlawful supply and advertising of therapeutic goods. The TGA’s highest priority is protecting the health and safety of the Australian public, and products like black salve have the potential to cause serious harm to people.
We will continue to take strong and decisive action against those who disregard their legal obligations under the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 by advertising and supplying unapproved therapeutic goods.
Sanguinarine, a primary corrosive agent in black salve, is listed as a Schedule 10 substance in the Poisons Standard. These are described as substances “so dangerous to health that they are prohibited from sale, supply and use in Australia”.
Black Salve is a substance that helps nobody. Don’t be fooled by high-risk, untested so-called “alternatives”.
“Turbo cancer” does not exist. Oncologists reject the notion entirely. Aside from the ridiculous name, there is no evidence to support it. Bold claims promoting it as fact, are not merely invalid, but scientifically incompetent. Proponents offer no clear definition, other than insist DNA can be damaged by COVID-19 vaccines, leading to aggressive cancers. As the “died suddenly” trend begins to die out, “turbo cancer” is in top gear.
We’re told residual DNA in vaccines is responsible. Or, the vaccines enter the cell nucleus. Or, it’s not a vaccine – it’s gene therapy. Or, simian virus 40 (SV40) is the cancer-causing agent in mRNA vaccines. This last claim has origins reaching back to the 1950s and 1960s when discovery of SV40 present in oral polio vaccine was responsible for safety concerns and later cancer fear-mongering. Mechanisms of infection were verified as possible but rare, and allegations of a surge in cancers decades later, are unverified. SV40 was one of the first oncogenic viruses discovered. These viruses cause cancers in experimental animals and in some cases humans. However, not in this case. When it comes to COVID-19 vaccines, some mRNA preparations may contain SV40 fragments, which aren’t the same as the virus and are not carcinogenic. In fact there is no evidence of this ever having occurred. The fragments occur because part of SV40’s DNA sequence is used in the beginning of mRNA vaccine development.
As for so-called “turbo cancer” [Wikipedia] the term has its origins at least as far back as November 2020, according to the indefatigable Orac, who identified it in a smarmy comment to a forum post about Moderna’s request for clearance of its mRNA vaccine. By November 2022, use of the term had spiked online. It was being promoted and amplified by a number of anti-vaccine activists on social media. One such group was RFK Jr.’s Children’s Health Defense (CHD) which had emerged as a major distributer of COVID disinformation during the pandemic. In January 2023 AFP fact-checked a November 2022 Rumble video produced by CHD, featuring disgraced Canadian doctors Charles Hoffe and Stephen Malthouse. AFP reported that oncologists had informed them the claims were baseless, and added:
“There is no evidence in Canada or globally that vaccination leads to any forms of cancer or that Covid vaccines lead to rapid advancement in cancers,” British Columbia’s Ministry of Health said in a statement emailed January 11. “There is also no evidence to support Covid vaccines leading to harm to the immune system; on the contrary evidence strongly supports that Covid vaccines produce strong, effective immune responses that protect from serious illness from SARS CoV-2.”
January has ushered in some interesting developments for skeptics in Australia as dodgy practices seemingly jostle for attention. Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has published welcome updates and warnings, a QLD influencer sank to a new low, our most insistent anti-vaccine fantasist copped yet another fact-check from the Australian Associated Press (AAP) and 14 members of a faith healing cult have been found guilty of manslaughter.
Black Salve
Black Salve has been a long term problem for the TGA as it remains a dangerously reckless alternative cancer treatment, linked to the unwarranted belief it offers a cure. A company and its director were convicted in 2022 for advertising alternatives to medicine not on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods. A significant seizure of black salve also took place in late 2023. On 6 January this year, the therapeutic watchdog published information that following an investigation in conjunction with the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, an individual faced 12 charges for alleged criminal offences under the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989.
The alleged offences relate to the advertising and supply of black salve, bloodroot capsules and other unapproved therapeutic goods. It is alleged that the individual made claims about the products’ ability to treat serious health conditions, including anxiety and cancer.
The defendant faces a maximum penalty of 12 months’ imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $222,000 for each charge.
Sanguinarine, a primary corrosive agent in black salve, is listed as a Schedule 10 substance in the Poisons Standard. These are described as substances “so dangerous to health that they are prohibited from sale, supply and use in Australia”. Whilst the TGA has not named the individual, a certain Belinda Gae Harris (pictured) who operates Tickety Boo Herbal, had prior to Christmas, revealed via video on Rumble that she had been charged in the exact manner later outlined by the TGA.
Harris remains adamant she is being charged for “helping people” and wrote, “I have been persecuted for being a healer for many lifetimes”. In her video Harris announced she has spent her life finding solutions for the damage [the TGA] have done with mRNA vaccines and “allopathic treatments”. On the topic of mRNA vaccination, Harris wrote last month on social media she used black salve and, “sucked the jab out of people straight after that poison injection”. She continued on her Rumble channel:
I’m just going to keep doing it, because I’m helping people and I’m saving lives. My angels managed to keep this at bay until 2025… I need to have a stack of evidence saying these are all the people whose lives I have saved… Oh my God, Oh my God. It just never ends with this world. This matrix is bullshit. Bullshit lies. They’re allowed to administer carcinogenic chemotherapy to people and fry the fuck out of them with their radiation. But I’m not allowed to do a simple herbal remedy that I have tested over and over again… I’ll see you in court government – who always seem to be loving watching me. I bet you’ve got the hots for me. You probably do, just like the trolls… You can’t shut me up. If you put me in jail I’ll just be educating everybody around me. Okay. Namaste. Loving you. Ben Abou.
Harris was scheduled to appear before Deniliquin local court on 4 January for Commonwealth and Police criminal mentions. One awaits updates on the matter, which aren’t presently coming from the Tickety Boo Facebook page.
Melanotan tanning products
On 24 January the TGA published a warning about the risks of using tanning products containing melanotan. Illegally sold and advertised online they consist of nasal sprays and injectable and indigestible tanning products. Unapproved for sale in Australia, they may contain toxic or counterfeit ingredients. Melanotans are synthetic peptides that increase melanin production in the skin. The risk of serious side effects mean melanotans should only be used under medical supervision. However they are being illegally promoted as safe, including by social media influencers. Vulnerable young Australians struggling with body image issues are at significant risk. The TGA write:
While the most common side effects include headache, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and facial redness, the most concerning one is the risk of serious skin cancers. With melanotan-II, there have been reports of increased moles and freckles, kidney dysfunction and swelling of the brain.
Melanotan is not approved for sale or use as a tanning agent in Australia. These tanning agents haven’t been assessed for their quality or safety. Since these tanning products are not approved for sale or use in Australia, you also have no way of knowing what’s in them, no matter what’s written on the label. They could be made with toxic, poor quality or counterfeit ingredients.
The TGA also warn about advertising such products and leave little to the imagination by reminding readers that “all media types visible to the public” are included and liable as breaches under the TGA Advertising Code. More so, they have “a dedicated workforce to investigate the inappropriate and unlawful manufacturing, distribution, sale, import and advertising of therapeutic goods”. Let’s hope the warning is heeded.
Meryl Dorey
Regularly warned, reminded, debunked, corrected and revealed to have a striking aversion to the truth is one Meryl Dorey, founder of The Australian Vaccination-risks Network and owner of a Very Big Tag (VBT) on this website. Meryl has been fact checked by AAP in the past for cultivating notions about child suicides, and claiming later the same year that vaccinated people are more likely to die from COVID. The latest very, very old chestnut wheeled out by Meryl during an interview on YouTube [relevant section here] with Australian Liberal MP and vaccine cynic, Russell Broadbent, is the baseless claim that medical students spend a mere few hours discussing vaccines during their entire time at medical school. This is a decades old lie and serves to support the preposterous assertion that anti-vaccine activists know more than medical professionals. Dorey told a gullible Broadbent:
When doctors study vaccination, and we had the curriculum for the New South Wales school of medicine at UNSW – University of New South Wales – and it was out of four years of medical school there was one morning where vaccinations were discussed. […]
I think that any parent who’s done a modicum of research will be able to know more about this issue than the average doctor.
Ah yes, doing your own research. Busted by AAP, Dorey replied to their queries saying the curriculum was from “many years ago” and she had spoken to “probably thousands” of doctors about vaccines. Doctors apparently supporting her version of vaccine risks. Both replies should be regarded as monumentally dubious. I recommend reading the AAP piece to appreciate medical training around immunisation, population health and the use of vaccines. However, one paragraph stood out for me. A spokesperson for the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners observed:
When it comes to vaccines, as with other health issues, GPs are trained to consider the patient’s history and relevant risk factors, discuss the options available to the patient and any risks associated, and enable the patient to determine the most appropriate decisions about their own health care.
This isn’t the post to dig into this point, but bear in mind that anti-vaccine activist Judy Wilyman was awarded a PhD for a meandering literature review that made much of so-called “undone science” and unverified claims that vaccination programmes pose serious risks because they do not accomodate the genetic diversity and unique health needs of individuals. The above quote should serve as yet another reminder that the decision by the University of Wollongong to award that PhD, was and is demonstrably flawed.
Influencer charged with poisoning
The ABC joined the world’s media reporting on a 34 year old QLD mother and social media influencer, who has been charged with torture and giving her baby unauthorised medications, with the aim of attracting donations. It was a simple, if repulsive tactic; inform followers of your child’s illness, then create and exacerbate symptoms filmed to elicit sympathy. Police allege up to $60,000 was raised this way. The crowdfunding platform, GoFundMe, is presently refunding donors. It was also reported that after hospital staff improved the child’s health, the woman filled additional prescriptions and recommenced the abuse. The drug, carbamazepine, had been stopped by treating doctors due to fears it was causing seizures. Last week the woman was charged with 11 offences.
5 counts of administering poison with intent to harm
3 counts of preparation to commit crimes with dangerous things
Torture
Making Child Exploitation Material
Fraud
On 28 January a Brisbane Magistrates Court heard the woman allegedly hid her then 12 month old daughter under a blanket prior to administering unprescribed substances via a nasal tube. The child, now 18 months, was born with tuberous sclerosis, a genetic disorder which caused benign tumours in organs and can lead to epileptic seizures. Doctors believe the illegal medication administration caused further seizures in this child. The woman was caught on CCTV fiddling with her daughter’s nasogastric tube and handling a syringe, which was unrelated to her daughter’s medication. In the timeframe observed, the child went from being alert and awake to unconscious – a symptom not related to her condition.
The ABC reported on 29 January that the seizures, unexplained loss of consciousness and a cardiac arrest between August to October 2024, led the baby’s medical team to carry out high risk surgeries on intra-cranial tumours caused by the child’s genetic condition, believing them to be the causal factor. However, after the surgery the woman’s conduct was discovered. Drug screening revealed “the presence of carbamazepine and other non-prescribed medications in the baby’s system”. Bail was granted on condition the woman have no contact with her daughter other than via supervised audiovisual visits.
This will prove an interesting case with respect to the woman’s defence or indeed the reasons behind her behaviour. No doubt Factitious disorder imposed on another (FDIA), originally Münchausen syndrome by proxy, is an explanation that provides answers. But in the age of social media speckled with complex reasons driving individuals to behave antisocially, illegally or in pursuit of their own malignancies, might this be too simple an answer? Critical thinking and rationality are frequently jettisoned by influencers. Perhaps we should be seeking to understand how social media influences certain users, as much as we seek to grasp how they use it to influence others.
Religious cult guilty of manslaughter
Fourteen members of a religious cult that believed God would heal an 8 year old insulin dependent type 1 diabetic and later raise her from the dead, have been found guilty of manslaughter in a judge only trial in the Brisbane Supreme Court, report the ABC. Elizabeth Struhs was denied her insulin, became critically unwell over several days and died in Toowoomba 3 years ago this month. As she suffered, the cult “prayed and sang” rather than contact emergency services. After Elizabeth died, they waited for more than 24 hours before contacting police. The Court heard the group rejected modern medicine “and put their full trust in the healing power of God”.
Being questioned by police the child’s mother, Kerrie Struhs, told police she hadn’t lost faith in God, who could raise her daughter up regardless of where she was. In a classic example of biblical fundamentalist literacy, she rejected a funeral for her daughter because, “the bible says let the dead bury the dead”. Elizabeth’s father Jason Struhs was originally charged with murder, and also told police that he expected his daughter to rise from death. The deceased’s brother Zachary, told police:
We saw the healing and we know that she was healed from the diabetes. The sickness of her natural death could have been anything that comes up on anyone — that’s not for me to know, I’m not God.
Another member, Therese Stevens, sounded quite chuffed as she explained that Elizabeth will rise again and because of their beliefs they are not “as stressed out and freaked out and emotionally damaged as you would be if you knew you’d never see that person again”. In a ruling that should prove controversial, Justice Martin could not find the child’s father guilty of murder unless he had a full realisation his daughter would die from withdrawal of her insulin. The ABC reported:
Justice Burns said he was not satisfied of this beyond a reasonable doubt, stating there was a possibility in the “cloistered atmosphere of the church which enveloped [him] and which only intensified once he made the decision to cease the administration of insulin, he was so consumed by the particular belief in the healing power of God … that he never came to the full realisation Elizabeth would probably die”.
For a similar reason he did not find cult leader Brendan Stevens guilty of murder, but found his claim that he did not influence Jason Struhs to be “arrant nonsense”. Justice Martin also found all other members influenced Jason to withhold insulin and medical care and thus, “counselled and aided in the unlawful killing of Elizabeth”. Of the 14 members, 8 were from the Stevens family, 3 from the Struhs family, there was one couple and one individual. Elizabeth’s sister Jayde who had not been on trial spoke outside the court. Whilst happy with the outcome of the trial she said the “system failed to protect Elizabeth in the first place”. In a revealing comment Jayde added:
We are only here today because more wasn’t done sooner to protect her or remove her from an incredibly unsafe situation in her own home.
Losing In The Lucky Country 