GUILTY NY - Lucas Leonard, 19, beaten to death, brother injured, New Hartford, 11 Oct 2015

[LietKynes]

www.cbsnews.com/news/former-member-...-church-speaks-out-about-culture-of-violence/
He says adults, including the aunt he lived with for a short time, were instructed to discipline their children if they misbehaved or did poorly on tests by whipping them.

"The year and a half I lived there, I went through complete hell," Ames said. "When I didn't pass a test or when I didn't get my homework done on time. Daily."

Ames equated the church to a cult.

Hmm... Wonder if they followed the "Pearl Method" of discipline ?
Nathan Ames and his family can be thankful they were kicked out, it may have saved the lives of himself and his siblings !
Imo.

 

[Fairy1]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime...new-york-church-beating/ar-BBnpkvA?li=BBnb7Kz

 

[shadowraiths]

13 count grand jury indictment (PDF) of Word of Life cult members in beating death of Lucas Leonard.

 

[Rayemonde]

As part of a plea agreement Wednesday, Deborah Leonard admitted taking part in group beatings that killed 19-year-old Lucas Leonard and injured 17-year-old Christopher Leonard after Lucas indicated he wanted to leave the church...

The mother faces up to five years in prison.
Deborah Leonard and her husband, Bruce Leonard, initially were charged with manslaughter following the October session inside the Word of Life Christian Church in New Hartford.
An Oneida County grand jury has since upgraded the charges against Bruce Leonard and several other church members to murder. All have pleaded not guilty.

http://wjhl.com/2015/12/02/mother-p...l&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.people.com/article/insid...-leonard-at-the-word-of-life-christian-church

Scott McNamara, who is Oneida County's District Attorney, tells PEOPLE he has offered plea deals to most of the accused; all but one of the defendants – the boys' 60-year-old mother, Deborah Leonard – rejected those offers.

Late last year, Deborah pleaded guilty to assault. A source close to the investigation claims she will serve as the prosecution's star witness during the upcoming trials.

According to McNamara, the eight remaining defendants in the case will go to trial next month and the trials will likely conclude before the end of this year.

 

[0101ABA]

The father of a 19-year-old beaten to death during a church counseling session pleaded guilty Wednesday to his role in the attack, describing how he whipped the teenager and a younger son with an electrical cord during a group assault that authorities have said went on for 14 hours over two days.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/father-of-new-york-teen-killed-in-church-beating-pleads-guilty/

Leonard is expected to be sentenced to 15 years.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.syracuse.com/crime/index.ssf/2016/06/witness_in_word_of_life_trial.html

Sarah Ferguson is accused of taking part in a mass beating that killed one of her half-brothers, 19-year-old Lucas Leonard, and severely injured another half-brother, Christopher, at the Word of Life Church in New Hartford Oct. 11, 2015.

Prosecutors say Ferguson, 33, beat both Christopher, 17, and Lucas Leonard, 19, in the groin area with the plug end of an electrical cord to cause as much as harm as she could.

http://www.wktv.com/news/Graphic_testimony_day_1_of_1st_Word_of_Life_murder_trial.html

A New Hartford police officer, two ER nurses and a hospital security guard took the witness stand Friday in the murder trial of Word of Life defendant Sarah Ferguson...

On the first day of witness testimony, a New Hartford police officer narrated graphic photos he took of deceased victim Lucas Leonard. The pictures, visible on a large courtroom monitor, show extensive bruising to Leonard's groin area, legs, back and arms...

Both nurses say those who brought severely-injured Lucas Leonard to the hospital were extremely uncooperative when the nurses asked what had happened to the teen. "No one gave us any information." said Briana Fleming.

 

[Margo/Mom]

Justice is slow, but sometimes effective: http://christiandaily.com/article/m...death-under-new-york-churchs-orders/53502.htm

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.twcnews.com/nys/central-...life-church-beating-trial-sarah-ferguson.html

After a week and a half of hearing from investigators, doctors, and even one of the victims, Friday was Sarah Ferguson's chance to share her side of the story in the first Word of Life Church trial. It was four hours of emotional testimony...

Ferguson says she found out about a peep hole in the bathroom. Christopher admitted to using it. This then prompted her to ask much more serious questions...

Ferguson says she doesn't remember much about the meeting, other than being handed an electrical cord and violently beating her brothers with it. She said she specifically aimed for their groin area... She says she immediately left the sanctuary, wrapped herself in a blanket and fell asleep.

 

[0101ABA]

A judge has convicted a Word of Life member of manslaughter in connection with the beating death of Lucas Leonard. He also declined to convict Sarah Ferguson on a second-degree murder charge.

The judge convicted Sarah Ferguson of:

• 2 counts of first degree gang assault
• First-degree manslaughter
• First-degree assault

Ferguson will be sentenced on Sept. 1.
Each crime is punishable by up to 25 years prison.

http://www.localsyr.com/news/judge-word-of-life-murder-trial-verdict-coming-this-afternoon

 

[Curious Me]

I haven't been following this closely enough. It says one of the defendants accepted a plea deal. Which one? I guess this article is about the father of the boys, Bruce Leonard, going on trial soon. Is that correct? Very strict gag orders went in place Friday.

Until the trial begins on June 24 any attorneys involved in the case will not be able to discuss the matter until they are in open court, according to a gag order Dwyer imposed Friday.
“As of today’s date attorneys will not be able to speak to the media regarding any aspect of the trial,” Dwyer said. “Any questions the media has can be directed to my office. The attorneys are prohibited from talking about anything - that includes what witnesses are scheduled for the next day, what’s the subject of their testimony, anything.”

Dwyer said he made it “very clear” to all involved parties what will happen if they violate his order.

.http://www.uticaod.com/news/2016060...case-defendants-in-court-regarding-june-trial
[h=3][/h]

 

[OkieGranny]

From last month:

http://www.insideedition.com/headli...to-death-and-his-brother-hospitalized-gets-12

The pastor of an Upstate New York church was sentenced to 12 years behind bars after allegedly calling a counseling session during which two brothers were savagely beaten...

Tiffanie Irwin, the 30-year-old pastor of the Word of Life Christian Church in Chadwicks, had entered an Alford plea to first-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault...

Irwin's brother, Joseph Irwin, was also sentenced Monday to eight years in prison on charges of first-degree gang assault and second-degree assault...

Irwin’s mother, Traci Irwin, earlier this month pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful imprisonment in the first degree and was sentenced to one year for each count...

Her other brother, Daniel Irwin, pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful imprisonment. He was sentenced on Friday to two years in jail.

The victims’ mother, Deborah Leonard, last year pleaded guilty to assault charges and will spend five years in state prison. Their father, Bruce Leonard, pleaded guilty to assault charges earlier this year and faces 15-16 years in prison.

The victims’ half-sister, Sarah Ferguson, was convicted of manslaughter and was sentenced in October to 25 years in prison.

http://www.cnyhomepage.com/news/mother-son-duo-sentenced-in-church-beating-case/637792029

Linda Morey, and her son David Morey were sentenced to 5 years in state prison for their involvement in the beating of Christopher Leonard and death of Lucas Leonard...

The two last defendants to close the case are Bruce and Deborah Leonard. They are due for sentencing February 6th.

 

[0101ABA]

Parents of teen fatally beaten by church group sentenced

Bruce Leonard was sentenced to 10 years in prison and his wife, Deborah, received a five-year sentence Monday in Oneida County Court.

The Leonards were among nine people charged in the October 2015 attack that killed 19-year-old Lucas Leonard and severely injured his brother, Christopher, who was 17. They pleaded guilty previously to assault.

 

[Curious Me]

Parents Sentenced in Beating Death of Son at Word of Life Church
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime...-at-word-of-life-church/ar-AAmHS5s?li=BBnbcA1

"Bruce Leonard, 66, was sentenced to 10 years, according to court records. He faced a potential 15-year sentence after accepting a plea bargain last year. He agreed to testify against others accused in the beatings at the Word of Life Christian Church in Chadwicks, a small hamlet located just six miles outside of Utica, New York."

"Deborah Leonard, 60, was sentenced to five years. She, too, agreed to a plea deal contingent on her testimony."