In what appears to be a church counseling session gone wrong, New Hartford Police confirmed Lucas Leonard, 19, and his brother Christopher, 17, were beaten Sunday evening for hours. The New Hartford Police Department said Leonard was injured during an assault and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
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Family members took the teen, Lucas Leonard, by auto Monday afternoon to a hospital in nearby Utica.
Christopher was being treated in an area hospital for blunt force trauma to his body and extremities and was in serious condition. The teens parents have been charged with first-degree manslaughter, while the other participating parishioners were charged with second-degree assault.
Bruce Leonard, 65, and Deborah Leonard, 59, of Clayville, have been charged with first-degree manslaughter, said Lt. Timothy O’Neill of the New Hartford Police.
NPR’s Joel Rose tells our Newscast Unit that police say the beatings appear to have taken place during a meeting where the brothers were to ask forgiveness for their sins.
Eva Monaghan, who lives near the church, told the AP that members of the community had always been suspicious of the secretive congregation. They suffered injuries to the abdomen, genitals, back and thighs.
Leonard’s parents are being held on $100,000 bail each, however the other four are being held on $50,000 bail each.
Police have now arrested six assailants, but claim that more arrests will be made in the coming days. No motive has been disclosed. Oneida County Assistant District Attorney Mike Nolan said Deborah and Bruce Leonard have been charged with ‘very serious felonies of multiple victims’. All the defendants have pleaded not guilty, and a preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Friday.
“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. “Just the odd behavior”. They said the doors were always locked. As a result, police were unaware for a few time that Christopher had also been beaten. The brothers “weren’t allowed to do normal things, but they tried to be as normal as they could be”. Prior reports of a gun shot wound to the victim have been dispelled, according to officials there was no injuries associated with a gun, or any weapon found on the scene. Police were called to the hospital, and a police team swarmed the church. Eventually the authorities persuaded him to come down from the second floor of the church, a converted three-story schoolhouse. The children are now in the care of Oneida County Child Protective Services.
“He wasn’t in hiding, but he wasn’t making himself available, and the family members were not telling us where he was”, Inserra explained. Family members did not say where he was.
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The four other suspects – Joseph Irwin, 26, of Chadwicks, N.Y., David Morey, 26, of Utica, N.Y., Linda Morey, 54, also of Utica, and Sarah Ferguson, 33, of Clayville – were each ordered held of $50,000 bail.
