UPDATED::Father accused in Word of Life case pleads guilty to assault, will testify against others | WSTM

UPDATE::  Cult member convicted of beating half brother to death appeals 25-year sentence

The boy's half-sister, Sarah Ferguson, was convicted of second-degree murder for her role in the attack. In New York's appellate court in Rochester on Wednesday, she argued her conviction and 25-year sentence are too harsh. 

"As soon as she saw the blood, she stopped the whipping, so I would argue the whipping was a reckless act (not intentional)," said her attorney, Peter DiGiorgio.

The case exposed the cult-like activities of the church. Ferguson was the only defendant to go to trial. Eight others, including the parents of the boys, pleaded guilty.

UPDATE::  Four defendants in Word of Life case fail to reach plea deal; judge sets one week deadline before new trial date set

The four remaining defendants in the Word of Life Church murder trial will have one more chance to accept a plea deal when they return to court next Friday, according to County Court Judge Michael L. Dwyer.

Otherwise, a new trial date will be set, the judge stated this morning.

Pastor Tiffanie Irwin, Joseph Irwin, Linda Morey and David Morey all made a surprise appearance in court this morning to possibly accept plea offers, but Dwyer said no agreements had been reached.

Dwyer said that all four defendants must accept the offer together or none at all.

He did not disclose the details of the offer.

Dwyer told them that if they did not reach a deal by next Friday then he would set a new trial date for all four of them.

Two other defendants, Traci Irwin and David Irwin, each accepted a plea deal of one year in county jail last Friday for pleading guilty to unlawful imprisonment.

The father accused of taking part in a beating at the Word of Life Church that left one of his sons dead and another injured has pleaded guilty to lesser charges and will not stand trial.

Bruce Leonard pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree and second-degree assault Wednesday morning, after appearing in Oneida County Court to consider a plea offer for the charges he faced in the death of his son Lucas Leonard and beating of his other son Christopher last fall. The plea was accepted by Judge Michael Dwyer.

The two charges carry a sentence of 15-16 years in state prison, which will be served concurrently according to Judge Dwyer. Leonard will also be required to state his role in the beatings and testify against the other defendants in the Word of Life case.

Father accused in Word of Life case pleads guilty to assault, will testify against others | WSTM

UPDATE::DA: "Clergy privilege" should not apply to pastor in Word of Life church beating case | News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News | WSTM

The pastor at the center of a brutal murder and assault case at Word of Life Church in October was in court today where the Oneida County District Attorney argued she should not have a right to "clergy privilege," according to WKTV in Utica.

Reports say District Attorney Scott McNamara argued the "counseling sessions" where 19-year-old Lucas Leonard and 17-year-old Christopher Leonard were brutally beaten should not be covered under her "clergy privilege." The DA explained the privilege should not be applied to the pastor for three reasons:

1. There was threatened physical abuse
2. No information was confided to her
3. A third person was present

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The six suspects were charged in the death and assault four days later on Oct. 16.
Days after she was charged, Christopher testified in court explaining what happened the day of the beatings.

DA: "Clergy privilege" should not apply to pastor in Word of Life church beating case | News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News | WSTM

H/T::  In the Name Of god - The Podcast

UPDATED::Christians Beat Son To Death In Church While Trying To Make Him ‘Confess’ To His ‘Sins’ (VIDEO) | If You Only News

UPDATE::  Additional motions filed in Word of Life church case

Among the points argued by attorney Rebecca Wittman on behalf of her client Sarah Ferguson — something that includes the reduction or dismissal of her charges and suppression of certain physical evidence due to inadequate probable cause — Wittman requested all documentation in custody of the Oneida County District Attorney’s Office to determine if any other witnesses exist.

“This request would also include any grand jury testimony or other notes or documents wherein (a child) made admissions to any sexual and/or other abuse inflicted by Lucas or Christopher Leonard,” she wrote.

She also requested documents from any other children regarding the same. Law enforcement officials have repeated that there is no information to back up allegations of sexual abuse by either teen.
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In his own motions, attorney William Roth also requested the dismissal or reduction of charges filed against his client Daniel Irwin as well as the suppression of all evidence obtained as a result of an “unreasonable” search and seizure.

Roth moved in his motions to suppress all statements from use directly or indirectly against his trial, as they were “involuntarily obtained.”

UPDATE:: Word of Life Church pastor in court, case adjourned

Word of Life Christian Church Pastor Tiffanie Irwin was briefly in Oneida County Court Monday and had her case adjourned until mid-February.

Irwin, who is one of nine church members accused of taking part in an October counseling session that resulted in the death of 19-year-old Lucas Leonard and severe injury of his 17-year-old brother Christopher Leonard, was supposed to be in court for answer and argument— where prosecutors and public defender Kurt Schultz would discuss motions he made last week regarding the case.

It was adjourned until Feb. 22 because Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara was unable to attend the proceeding.

UPDATE::   Document: Pastor accused teens of sex abuse, witchcraft

Utilizing her authority within the church, something that includes congregants’ belief that she was a prophet, the document alleges that she accused the teens, who were barred from leaving of having sexually abused numerous minors, several of whom have family ties to the teens; having fantasized about engaging in sexual relations with the pastor; having practiced witchcraft and used a voodoo doll to harm people; and having planned and/or taken initial steps to kill their parents.

Prosecutors and law enforcement officials have stated on multiple occasions that there is no information to support the allegations of sexual abuse by the teens or witchcraft.

UPDATE:: Pastor Among 8 Indicted In Hours-Long Church Beating That Killed 19-Year-Old

The pastor of an insular New York church where a young man was beaten to death and his younger brother seriously injured was among seven people charged Tuesday with murder.

Pastor Tiffanie Irwin's mother, Traci Irwin, also was charged in a 13-count indictment, as were Irwin's two brothers, Joseph and Daniel Irwin, all of whom were leaders in the church. Also named were the victims' father, Bruce Leonard; their half-sister Sarah Ferguson; and two other church members — Linda Morey and her son, David Morey.

Authorities have said "spiritual counseling" spiraled into an all-night gang attack on Lucas and Christopher Leonard inside the Word of Life Christian Church, a red-brick former elementary school in New Hartford that serves as both a church and a home for the Irwins.

UPDATE::  Court Documents: Church Beatings May Have Been Recorded

But newly obtained court documents, given by the Oneida County District Attorney's Office, suggest some crucial evidence pertinent to the case was given to an assistant public defender by a potential defendant. The documents identify that individual as Word of Life Church's pastor, Tiffanie Irwin.

After reviewing several text message conversations between one of the six defendants and his mother, as well as with Irwin, court documents say District Attorney Scott McNamara became aware that there could be a recording of the lengthy and brutal beatings.

_____

“Don’t call it a church, because a church is a place that’s open and welcomes people. This did not do that.” 

 

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/progressivesecularhumanist/2015/10/church-counseling-session-leaves-one-teen-dead-another-seriously-injured/

Two New York parents are accused of literally trying to beat the word of God into their two sons. Unfortunately, in the case of one of the young men, the violence-based testimony worked too well, and one of Deborah and Bruce Leonard’s children got to meet Jesus well before his time.

According to New Hartford police, the parents and other adult members of the congregation had been trying to force the Leonards’ 19 and 17-year-old sons to confess their sins and beg God for forgiveness when the beatings became too much for their offspring.

“Both brothers were subjected to physical punishment over the course of several hours, in hopes that each would confess to prior sins and ask for forgiveness,” Police Chief Michael Inserra explained. The nature of the “sins” the Leonards were hoping to beat out of their children is unclear, but Inserra says that more arrests are expected.

From the NYTimes,

The authorities in New Hartford, a Utica suburb west of Albany, were trying to determine the exact organization, leadership and teachings of Word of Life, which had little presence online and has few public records.

Lt. Timothy O’Neill of the New Hartford Police Department said the authorities believed that the church was led by Traci Irwin, referred to as Mother by some members. Ms. Irwin’s husband, Jerry Irwin, was also involved in the church, and the current pastoral leader of the group was her daughter, Tiffanie, Lieutenant O’Neill said.

Another child, Joseph Irwin, 26, was among those arrested and charged with assault, as were two other congregants: David Morey, 26, and Linda Morey, 54, both of Utica.

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The Leonards were apparently longtime members of the church, part of what Lieutenant O’Neill called an immersive religious environment. “This was a way of life,” he said. “Their church life, if you can call it that, was the center of their world.” Lucas and Christopher were home-schooled, said Ron Wheelock, the superintendent of the Sauquoit Valley Central School District.

Terry Windham, 38, a cousin of Lucas and Christopher who lives in Texas but visits the family several times a year, said the elder Mr. Leonard “was close to his kids.”

“None of this makes any sense,” Mr. Windham said. “He was good to his kids — they all got along. They were all real close, they were a close-knit family.”

He said the elder Mr. Leonard worked as a teacher’s aide and enjoyed doing projects with his children, but did not speak about the church or any religious beliefs at family functions he attended.

Of Lucas and Christopher, Mr. Windham said: “They were outgoing, they were friendly, they seemed fairly intelligent for their ages. They wore nice, decent clothes.”

The authorities believed the church had 40 to 50 members, with some living at the church, which sits along a busy road adjacent to a Catholic church.

Christians Beat Son To Death In Church While Trying To Make Him ‘Confess’ To His ‘Sins’ (VIDEO) | If You Only News

ADDENDUM::Did This Pastor Drive Her Flock to Beat Teen to Death? - The Daily Beast

Irwin goaded congregants—including the Leonards’ own parents—into beating the teens after hurling a string of accusations that also included watching pornography and sexually abusing children, court papers allege. (Police have said they found no evidence of sexual abuse or witchcraft.)

“Such allegations were brought by [Irwin] with the intent to enrage and infuriate” the teen’s parents, Bruce and Deborah Leonard, and Sarah Ferguson, their half-sister, the documents state, “or under circumstances that rendered such emotional responses a reasonable possibility.”

The court papers—reviewed by The Daily Beast—paint a horrific picture of how church members whipped, punched, and kicked the helpless brothers to the point of gruesome and lethal injury.

The district attorney alleges that “during the assault, Lucas Leonard's penis was lacerated. As a result of this injury ... he lost a significant about of blood that ultimately saturated the crotch area and left leg of the pants he was wearing.”

After the deranged worshippers beat Lucas within inches of his life, they left him to die, the court documents state.

“As a result of the totality of injuries inflicted upon Lucas Leonard ... and the failure of [Irwin] and co-defendants to provide and/or seek medical attention for Lucas Leonard, a vulnerable victim, such actions and inactions” caused his death, the document continues.

Christopher was also lashed with a power cord in the groin area. The DA charges that the church members “intentionally struck” him with “the intent to cause serious and protracted disfigurement ... or impairment of the function of any bodily organ.”

The documents, provided by the Oneida County district attorney’s office, indicate churchgoers believed Irwin was a prophet and had ultimate authority within the sect, which neighbors have long considered a cult. According to the court papers, “the Leonard family was forced to stay at the facility and engage in a counseling session conducted by” Pastor Irwin.

Did This Pastor Drive Her Flock to Beat Teen to Death? - The Daily Beast

ADDENDUM::Word of Life Reopens, Church Services to Continue - Story

There is some discrepancy as to the proper name of this cult as I have seen both World of Life Christian Church and Word of Life Church.

The Word of Life Church is open once again, less than a month after it was shut down by the town of New Hartford.

Norm Deep, the church's attorney, says not letting Word of Life members practice their religion is unconstitutional.

"Is it fair that this was done to the people who were not involved in this thing," Deep said. "The beatings are not part of their religion."

The town cited nuisance abatement law in closing the church last December. The law considers gang assault, criminal assault or disorderly conduct as public nuisance, but Deep says services will continue in the building.

"They'll be holding church services," Deep said. "They'll be conducting their religion in the same way they were before this incident occurred," he added.

Word of Life Reopens, Church Services to Continue - Story