Police: Teen dead, brother hurt after church beating by parents, members

Melanie Eversley | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Couple accused of beating sons, one to death, in church Bruce and Deborah Leonard have been charged with first-degree manslaughter in the death of 19-year-old Lucas Leonard. Four other members of the Word of Life Church are also charged in connection with the man's death. (Oct. 14)

A Central New York couple and four other members of a church police described as mysterious are in custody after the couple's teen son turned up dead Monday with a possible gunshot wound and beating injuries.

An autopsy on the body of Lucas Leonard, 19, will be conducted by the Onondaga County medical examiner in Syracuse.

The teen's brother, 17-year-old Christopher Leonard, is in serious condition at a Central New York hospital, also with signs of a severe beating, Lt. Timothy O'Neill of the New Hartford, N.Y., Police Department told USA TODAY. Police believe both teens received their injuries at the Word of Life Church in Chadwicks, N.Y. The community is in the Utica area.

Both brothers suffered severe injuries to the lower abdomen, groin, genitals, buttocks, back and shoulders, the lieutenant said.

The teens' parents - Bruce Leonard, 65, and Deborah Leonard, 59, both of Clayville, N.Y. -- were arrested and charged with first-degree manslaughter, police said. Also arrested on assault charges were church members Joseph Irwin, 26, Chadwicks, David Morey, 26, Utica, Linda Morey, 54, Utica, and the teens' half sister, Sarah Ferguson, 33, Clayville. The six were in jail Wednesday night in Oriskany, N.Y., the parents under $100,000 bail and the others under $50,000 bail, he said.

The two teens were subject to an overnight "counseling session" of many hours from Sunday into Monday called for after the church service by Tiffany Irwin, the church's pastor, he said.

"This started as I guess you might call one of their practices within the church to have these counseling sessions to deal with people who have been believed to sin or confess to a sin," O'Neill said. "We don't have a lot of insight into this group, but we do know that the pastor called the counseling session and these two boys were subject to extreme beatings over many, many hours."

A telephone number or contact for the church could not be located online.

The police visit to the hospital led to the start of an ongoing investigation and a search of several hours for Lucas' brother, Christopher, who police believed might also have been hurt.

When police showed up at the church late Monday night in search of Christopher, they found several people inside, including Sarah Ferguson, half sister to the two teens, Linda Morey, four of Ferguson's children and three other children. Ferguson took part in the beatings of both teens, O'Neill said.

The children found inside the church building were turned over to Oneida County Child Protective Services.

Several people who had been inside the church invoked their right to remain silent when police attempted to question them, O'Neill said.

The building was once the Chadwicks Union Free School. But after the students folded into a neighboring school district, the large brick building stood empty until it was bought in 1987 by Traci Irwin, the spiritual leader and "mother" of the church, O'Neill said. Irwin, her daughter, Tiffany Irwin, 29, the pastor, and Traci Irwin's sons, Joseph and Daniel Irwin, all live in the school building.

Not much is known about the church. Back in June, a person who posted anonymously to a Topix.com discussion page regarding the church wrote: "Stay far far away...."

One neighbor told the CNYCentral.com website that he never saw any activity at the church building.

"The whole time I lived in this area, I thought it was abandoned," Stephanie Coffin told the news organization.

Lisa Brown's parents live across the street from the church. She told the Utica Observer-Dispatch that over the years, the congregation has become more shadowy.

"When they first took over the building, they would post Mass schedules so people would know when there were services," Brown told the news organization. "Now, it's not like just anyone could go to church there. ... It's kind of been the running joke that there's a cult there."