Sincere Standtrue, the eldest of 11 siblings, passed away in Christchurch Hospital in November 2018. His sister, Rose Standtrue, has testified at an inquest into his death. Sincere was found unresponsive in a paint shop in Gloriavale, a Christian community, 10 days before his death. The inquest is investigating whether his death was an accident or self-inflicted.
Rose last saw her brother on the day he was found unresponsive. She received a call later that day informing her something had happened to Sincere. She found him lying on the ground with a group of men performing CPR on him. He started breathing again shortly after.
Rose testified that a senior Gloriavale leader told her family that he did not want WorkSafe, a workplace health and safety regulator, involved. According to Rose, the community generally avoided involvement with WorkSafe to avoid fines. She also mentioned other instances of injuries at Gloriavale, but was unsure if they had been reported to WorkSafe.
At Sincere’s funeral, the family was not allowed to say he was in heaven. The same community leader told them he was in hell, which angered Rose. She felt the funeral focused more on opinions about Sincere’s afterlife rather than remembering him.
Rose also mentioned that her brother had been subjected to beatings, bullying, and isolation in the community. The inquest is set to continue. Rose was one of six women who won a 2023 Employment Court case, which ruled they were employees, not volunteers, at Gloriavale due to the amount of work they did in the kitchen and laundry.
