Beaten for Their Sins: Police Say Church Member's Fatal Beating Was Part of "Counseling Session"

By Alissa Scott
Observer-Dispatch
October 14, 2015

http://www.uticaod.com/article/20151014/NEWS/151019688

Clockwise from top left: Bruce Leonard and Deborah Leonard of Clayville, both charged with first-degree manslaugther; Joseph Irwin, 26, of Chadwicks; Sarah Ferguson, 33, of Clayville; Linda Morey, 54, of Utica; and David Morey, 26, of Utica, all charged with second-degree assault.

They call it a counseling session. And it takes place in what usually is a sacred space — the sanctuary of a church.

Members of the Word of Life Christian Church conducted one of these sessions Sunday night for brothers Lucas and Christopher Leonard.

This one turned deadly.

“It was explained to us that a counseling session is when a pastor sits down with a member of the church to discuss their spiritual state,” New Hartford Police Chief Michael Inserra said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. “Both brothers were continuously subjected to physical punishment over several hours in hopes that each would confess their prior sins and ask for forgiveness.”

During that session, at least six members of the church — two of them the brothers’ parents — beat the teens for hours, police said. It ended in the death of 19-year-old Lucas and in serious injuries to Christopher, 17.

The boys’ parents, Bruce and Deborah Leonard of Clayville, are both charged with first-degree manslaughter in Lucas’ death.

Four other members of the church — Joseph Irwin, 26, of Chadwicks; David Morey, 26, and Linda Morey, 54, both of Utica; and Sarah Ferguson, 33 of Clayville — are charged with second-degree assault for alleged crimes against Christopher. He is in serious condition in a hospital.

All six pleaded not guilty at their arraignments Tuesday in New Hartford Town Court. A felony exam is scheduled for Friday.

Police said it wasn’t until late Monday morning that members of the church realized Lucas wasn’t breathing and took him to the hospital.

Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara said Bruce and Deborah Leonard, as well as the church’s pastor, Tiffany Irwin, and her mother, Traci Irwin, took Lucas to the hospital. The pastor, who is defendant Joseph Irwin’s sister, has not been charged.

An autopsy conducted by the Onondaga County Medical Examiner’s Office found multiple contusions of the torso and extremities. Both teenagers had injuries to their stomachs, backs, genitals and thighs, police said.

“It was determined that the combination of injuries and the duration of the assault contributed to (Lucas’) death,” Inserra said.

Police began questioning the relatives — whom he said were reluctant to share information — after Lucas Leonard was brought to the hospital, but it was hours later before they discovered Christopher Leonard could be in danger at one of two potential crime scenes.

Inserra said the teen, suffering from blunt force trauma, was on the second floor of the church, separate from the empty sanctuary.

Christopher was taken to the hospital and seven other children ranging in age from 2 to 15 — four of whom belong to Sarah Ferguson, the Leonards’ daughter — also were removed from the church and taken to Child Protective Services.

They call it a counseling session. And it takes place in what usually is a sacred space — the sanctuary of a church.

Members of the Word of Life Christian Church conducted one of these sessions Sunday night for brothers Lucas and Christopher Leonard.

This one turned deadly.

“It was explained to us that a counseling session is when a pastor sits down with a member of the church to discuss their spiritual state,” New Hartford Police Chief Michael Inserra said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. “Both brothers were continuously subjected to physical punishment over several hours in hopes that each would confess their prior sins and ask for forgiveness.”

During that session, at least six members of the church — two of them the brothers’ parents — beat the teens for hours, police said. It ended in the death of 19-year-old Lucas and in serious injuries to Christopher, 17.

The boys’ parents, Bruce and Deborah Leonard of Clayville, are both charged with first-degree manslaughter in Lucas’ death.

Four other members of the church — Joseph Irwin, 26, of Chadwicks; David Morey, 26, and Linda Morey, 54, both of Utica; and Sarah Ferguson, 33 of Clayville — are charged with second-degree assault for alleged crimes against Christopher. He is in serious condition in a hospital.

All six pleaded not guilty at their arraignments Tuesday in New Hartford Town Court. A felony exam is scheduled for Friday.

Police said it wasn’t until late Monday morning that members of the church realized Lucas wasn’t breathing and took him to the hospital.

Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara said Bruce and Deborah Leonard, as well as the church’s pastor, Tiffany Irwin, and her mother, Traci Irwin, took Lucas to the hospital. The pastor, who is defendant Joseph Irwin’s sister, has not been charged.

An autopsy conducted by the Onondaga County Medical Examiner’s Office found multiple contusions of the torso and extremities. Both teenagers had injuries to their stomachs, backs, genitals and thighs, police said.

“It was determined that the combination of injuries and the duration of the assault contributed to (Lucas’) death,” Inserra said.

Police began questioning the relatives — whom he said were reluctant to share information — after Lucas Leonard was brought to the hospital, but it was hours later before they discovered Christopher Leonard could be in danger at one of two potential crime scenes.

Inserra said the teen, suffering from blunt force trauma, was on the second floor of the church, separate from the empty sanctuary.

Christopher was taken to the hospital and seven other children ranging in age from 2 to 15 — four of whom belong to Sarah Ferguson, the Leonards’ daughter — also were removed from the church and taken to Child Protective Services.