Death of Lucas Leonard

Last updated

Death of Lucas Leonard
USA New York location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Death of Lucas Leonard (New York)
LocationWord of Life Christian Church, Chadwicks, New York
DateOctober 11, 2015 (2015-10-11)
October 12, 2015 (2015-10-12)
TargetThe Leonard brothers
Deaths1 (Lucas Leonard)
Injured1 (Christopher Leonard)
AssailantsWord of Life congregants, including family of Leonard
Convictions9
Charges Manslaughter, assault, unlawful imprisonment

In October 2015, 19-year-old Lucas Leonard died from injuries sustained during repeated and severe beatings at the Word of Life Christian Church in Chadwicks, New York. The beatings were part of "spiritual counseling" for Lucas and his 17-year old brother Christopher, who survived with severe injuries. The two were repeatedly assaulted by a group of parishioners, which included church leaders and the Leonard brothers' parents and older sister. [1]

Contents

Background

The Word of Life Christian Church was based in a former school in Chadwicks. [2] Starting out as an ordinary Pentecostal church, it became more cult-like after pastor Jerry Irwin retook control and began shaming and controlling other members.[ citation needed ] An uncle of the Leonard children said that after he decided not to join the church in the '90s, church leadership forbade the children from having contact with him [3]

One of Irwin's relatives accused Lucas of having been involved in witchcraft and voodoo, but the police said there was no evidence supporting that accusation. [4] [5] [6] Authorities have stated that the torture was prompted by Lucas' desire to leave the church. [3]

Incident

On the night of October 11, 2015, following a Sunday church meeting, Leonard was allegedly subject to an all-night counseling session in the church attended by about 30 parishioners, including his parents and older sister. The meeting was reportedly held after Leonard expressed a desire to leave the church. [7] Lucas and his 17-year-old brother, Christopher, were allegedly beaten continuously. [8] [9] According to witness testimony, the session lasted 14 hours and ended when the parishioners thought Lucas was dead. [7] Lucas died in hospital the next day. [7] Autopsy results revealed "multiple contusions from blunt-force trauma to the torso and extremities", including blows to the genital area. [7]

Indictments and investigation

A grand jury handed down indictments to Leonard's parents, Bruce and Deborah Leonard, for first-degree manslaughter; it also indicted four other church members, including Leonard's older sister, Sarah Ferguson. [8] [10] Animals subsequently rescued from Lucas' parents' house were found to have been living in neglect, and the house was foul-smelling and full of garbage. [11]

Neighbors described the church as isolated from the local community and as a cult, with one saying that "church members used to build fires on the roofs, and there was chanting and weird rituals", and that dogs howled all night inside the church but were never seen outside. [8] Cult expert Rick Ross said "This is an old-school group...It’s typical in many ways. They’re very isolated, they've cocooned their members and homeschooled the children. Besides a web site to sell pedigree yorkies, they were very isolated. That’s a common characteristic in cults to make sure they are the only ones influencing the member’s judgements." [8] A former member said that parents were routinely encouraged to beat their children as punishment for getting bad grades. [12]

Following the incident, the pastor of the unrelated Word Of Life Assembly of God Church in Baldwinsville, New York, began receiving threatening phone calls from people confusing his church with the one in Chadwicks. [13] The Chadwicks church, despite being Pentecostal, is not affiliated with Assembly of God or any other denomination, and is not overseen by any larger organization. [12]

The townspeople held a prayer vigil outside the church on October 20. The organizers of the prayer vigil also called for Word of Life to be shut down. [14]

Lucas's surviving brother, Christopher Leonard, began testifying in court starting on October 21. He said that during the beating, he was punched in the stomach, then struck on the genitals and other parts of his body with a 4 feet (1.2 m) [9] "whip" made from an electrical cord. Later on, he was forced to wear ear plugs and ear muffs, and to sit in a corner. He said the church's pastor, Tiffanie Irwin, was responsible for organizing the counseling session during which the beating took place. [15] [16] When he saw his brother lying motionless on the floor, Christopher attempted to give him CPR but stopped once he realized Lucas was dead. [9]

On October 23, a family court hearing was held to determine who should have custody of the Leonards' seven other underage children, aged between 2 and 15. [10]

Convictions

Bruce Leonard, the father, who whipped both boys during the session pleaded guilty to felony assault was sentenced to 10 years in state prison. He was paroled in 2024. [17]

Deborah Leonard, the mother, who whipped them during the session pleaded guilty to felony assault, and was sentenced to five years in state prison. She was paroled in 2020 and left the state. [17]

On September 1, 2016 half sister Sarah Ferguson was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being convicted in July 2016 of manslaughter and assault. [18]

Pastor Tiffanie Irwin, age 29, who called for the so-called counseling session and oversaw its organization was sentenced on Dec. 19, 2016 to 12 years in state prison for manslaughter.

Joseph Irwin was sentenced on Dec. 19 to eight years in prison for gang assault. He was paroled in 2022 and left the state. [17]

David Morey was sentenced on Jan. 9, 2017 to five years in prison for assault. He was released in 2020. [17]

Linda Morey who pulled the power cord out of the closet was sentenced on Jan. 9 to five years in prison for assault. She was released in 2020. [17]

Traci Irwin, 50, and Daniel Irwin, 25, both pleaded guilty to unlawful imprisonment. Traci was sentenced to one year for each count, and Daniel received two years in jail. Both were set free on March 24, 2017 after serving one year and five months. [19] [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flagellation</span> Whipping as a punishment

Flagellation, flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed on an unwilling subject as a punishment; however, it can also be submitted to willingly and even done by oneself in sadomasochistic or religious contexts.

Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which the convicted criminal is to remain in prison for the rest of their natural life. Crimes that result in life imprisonment are considered extremely serious and usually violent. Examples of these crimes are murder, torture, terrorism, child abuse resulting in death, rape, espionage, treason, illegal drug trade, human trafficking, severe fraud and financial crimes, aggravated property damage, arson, hate crime, kidnapping, burglary, robbery, theft, piracy, aircraft hijacking, and genocide.

Pastor Gong Shengliang (龚圣亮) is the founder and leader of the South China Church, an evangelical house-church fellowship that claimed 50,000 members across several Chinese provinces including Hubei. In December 2001, he was convicted and sentenced to death under China's anti-cult legislation. Responding to international pressure, China commuted his sentence to life imprisonment for assault and rape charges. In 2006, his prison sentence was further reduced to 19 years. According to his relatives, Gong was tortured and beaten severely during his incarceration, also by fellow prisoners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patricia Krenwinkel</span> American mass murderer (born 1947)

Patricia Dianne Krenwinkel is an American convicted murderer and former member of the Manson Family. During her time with Manson's group, she was known by various aliases such as Big Patty, Yellow, Marnie Reeves and Mary Ann Scott, but to The Family, she was most commonly known as Katie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leslie Van Houten</span> American convicted murderer (born 1949)

Leslie Louise Van Houten is an American convicted murderer and former member of the Manson Family. During her time with Manson's group, she was known by aliases such as Louella Alexandria, Leslie Marie Sankston, Linda Sue Owens and Lulu.

A thrill killing is premeditated or random murder that is motivated by the sheer excitement of the act. While there have been attempts to categorize multiple murders, such as identifying "thrill killing" as a type of "hedonistic mass killing", actual details of events frequently overlap category definitions making attempts at such distinctions problematic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Reena Virk</span> 1997 murder of a teenager in Canada

Reena Virk was a 14-year-old Canadian girl who was beaten and killed by a group of teenagers in Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Her status as a victim of bullying prior to her murder attracted substantial media scrutiny in Canada. Six teenagers were tried and convicted for their participation in her death. The Globe and Mail commented at the time that her case was "elevated into a national tragedy". A pair of Canadian sociologists have described the case as a watershed moment for a "moral panic" over girl violence by the Canadian public in the late 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Synanon</span> 1958 California drug rehab program that turned into a 1970s cult

Synanon, originally known as Tender Loving Care, was a new religious movement founded in 1958 by Charles E. "Chuck" Dederich Sr. in Santa Monica, California, United States. Originally established as a drug rehabilitation program, Synanon developed into an alternative community centered on group truth-telling sessions that came to be known as the "Synanon Game", a form of attack therapy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Bruce Ross</span> American serial killer (1959–2005)

Michael Bruce Ross was an American serial killer who was executed by the state of Connecticut in 2005. He was the last person executed in Connecticut before the state ended capital punishment in 2012. The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled capital punishment unconstitutional in 2015, converting the sentences of the state's remaining death row inmates to life in prison without parole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clinton Correctional Facility</span> Maximum-security state prison for men in New York, US

Clinton Correctional Facility is a New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision maximum security state prison for men located in the Village of Dannemora, New York. The prison is sometimes colloquially referred to as Dannemora, although its name is derived from its location in Clinton County, New York. The southern perimeter wall of the prison borders New York State Route 374. Church of St. Dismas, the Good Thief, a church built by inmates, is located within the walls. The prison is sometimes referred to as New York's Little Siberia, due to the cold winters in Dannemora and the isolation of the upstate area. It is the largest maximum-security prison and the third-oldest prison in New York. The staff includes about 1,000 officers and supervisors.

William Kamm, also known as "The Little Pebble", is the founder and leader of a religious group in Australia called the "Order of St Charbel" named after the Maronite saint Charbel Makhlouf. The Order of St Charbel is considered as a Christian sect and a fringe religious grouping. His religious order claims to be part of the Roman Catholic Church, but the Maronite Church and the Holy See do not regard the group as being part of Roman Catholicism. He was released from prison after serving 9 years of a 10-year prison sentence/term for the rape and assault of a teenager.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death of Abdul Wali</span> Afghan man killed in United States custody in 2003

Abdul Wali was an Afghan farmer who died in United States custody on June 21, 2003, at the age of 28. At the time of his death, he had been held for three days at the US base 10 miles (16 km) south of Asadabad, in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, on suspicion of involvement in a rocket attack on the same base, after voluntarily handing himself in. The local governor, Said Akbar, had told Wali to turn himself in so he could clear his name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mule Creek State Prison</span> California State Prison for men

Mule Creek State Prison (MCSP) is a California State Prison for men. It was opened in June 1987, and covers 866 acres (350 ha) located in Ione, California. The prison has a staff of 1,242 and an annual operating budget of $157 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Providence (religious movement)</span> Christian new religious movement

Providence, better known as JMS, is a Christian new religious movement founded by Jung Myung-seok in 1980 and headquartered in Wol Myeong-dong, South Korea. Providence has been widely referred to by international media as a cult.

Helge Arnold Fossmo is a Swedish Pentecostal pastor sentenced to life imprisonment for solicitation of the Knutby murder in Sweden in 2004.

Catholic sexual abuse cases in Australia, like Catholic Church sexual abuse cases elsewhere, have involved convictions, trials and ongoing investigations into allegations of sex crimes committed by Catholic priests, members of religious orders and other personnel which have come to light in recent decades, along with the growing awareness of sexual abuse within other religious and secular institutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Yayo</span> American rapper (born 1978)

Marvin Bernard, better known by his stage name Tony Yayo, is an American rapper. He is best known as a member of G-Unit, a hip hop group he formed with his childhood friends, 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks. Yayo released his debut studio album, Thoughts of a Predicate Felon, on August 30, 2005, which debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. After eighteen years of not releasing a sophomore follow-up, due to his association with G-Unit and later disbandment of the group in 2022, Yayo returned with The Loyal Mixtape, which released on February 10, 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheshire murders</span> 2007 triple-murder in Cheshire, Connecticut, US

On July 23, 2007, two home intruders entered the home of the Petit family in Cheshire, Connecticut, United States. The perpetrators, Linda Hayes and Joshua Andrew Komisarjevsky, initially planned only to burgle the house, but went on to murder Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, 17-year-old Hayley Petit and 11-year-old Michaela Petit. Their father, Dr. William Petit, managed to escape despite sustaining severe injuries.

This is a list of notable overturned convictions in Canada.

The Fall River murders were a series of three homicides that took place in Fall River, Massachusetts, from October 1979 to February 1980 allegedly by a satanic cult. It was the onset of a period in American history known as the Satanic panic.

References

  1. "Brother Who Survived Beating at New York Church is to Testify Against Relative". The New York Times. October 20, 2015. Archived from the original on October 25, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  2. Schneider, H. Rose (January 21, 2021). "Word of Life Church in Chadwicks NY where Lucas Leonard died for sale". Utica Observer Dispatch. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  3. 1 2 Carolyn Thompson (October 21, 2015). "'It hurt everywhere' Teen recounts deadly beating inside secretive church". Associated Press. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  4. Mary Esch (October 17, 2015). "Ex-members of church where teens were beaten talk of decline". Associated Press. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  5. Ken Sturtz (October 17, 2015). "Cops rebuff witchcraft, voodoo claims against New Hartford church beating victim". Syracuse.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  6. Laila Kearny (October 14, 2015). "New York teen dies after hours-long beating at church". Reuters.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Ray Sanchez; Lawrence Crook (October 17, 2015). "New Hartford Word of Life church assault wanted out". CNN.com. Archived from the original on June 13, 2023. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Christian Savoy (October 18, 2015). "Word of Life: Cult Accusations Arise After Teen's Horrific Beating Death". Inquisitr News. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023. Retrieved August 21, 2022.[ unreliable source? ]
  9. 1 2 3 Patrick Lohmann (October 21, 2015). "New Hartford church victim: Family beat me with 4-foot whip made of a cord". Syracuse.com. Archived from the original on August 21, 2022. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  10. 1 2 "Fate of Leonard children uncertain". CNY Central. October 23, 2015. Archived from the original on October 26, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  11. "Animals rescued from trash-strewn home of parents charged in church beating". CBS News. October 19, 2015. Archived from the original on October 20, 2015. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  12. 1 2 "Ex-Member: NY Church At Center Of Murder Probe Was "Complete Hell"". CBS News. November 5, 2015. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  13. "Baldwinsville pastor distances his church from Chadwicks Word of Life". LocalSYR.com. October 17, 2015. Archived from the original on October 19, 2015. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  14. Patrick Lohmann (October 20, 2015). "Mourners call for New Hartford church closure at prayer vigil". Syracuse.com. Archived from the original on October 22, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  15. "Teen Recounts Deadly Beating Inside Secretive Church". NBC News . Associated Press. October 21, 2015. Archived from the original on September 25, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  16. TG Branfalt Jr. (October 21, 2015). "Teenager describes fatal beating at upstate New York church". Reuters. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 Roth, Amy Neff (May 5, 2024). "Father of Word of Life Church in Chadwicks beating victim paroled". Utica Observer Dispatch. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  18. Elizabeth Doran (September 1, 2016). "Word of Life case: Sarah Ferguson sentenced to 25 years in state prison". Syracuse.com. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  19. Sean I. Mills (October 22, 2016). "Just over a year later, 9 members of Word of Life found guilty". Daily Sentinel. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  20. "Two involved in Word of Life church beatings released from jail". CNYCentral. March 24, 2017. Archived from the original on June 13, 2023. Retrieved August 21, 2022.