Bail was set at $100,000 each for the parents and $50,000 for the others allegedly involved, Oneida County District Attorney Scott D. McNamara said.
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Lucas, 19, died from a blunt force trauma after the ordeal in the “sanctuary room” at the Word of Life Church in New York.
Through interviews with church members, police said they learned that Leonard’s 17-year-old brother, Christopher, had also been severely beaten during the counseling session.
Deborah Leonard’s lawyer, Devin Garramone, declined to comment.
The victim’s parents, Bruce Leonard, 65, and Deborah Leonard, 59, were arraigned on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty. Lucas was pronounced dead a local hospital on Monday. He was on the second floor and was not making himself known. According to the Police, four other church members have been charged with assault.
“We are not alleging that they meant to kill their son”.
Cops said both siblings were beaten on their genitals, stomachs, backs and thighs at the church. The police said it also was not clear whether weapons were used.
The beatings took place at a red-brick former elementary school that serves as both a church and a home for several members of the congregation, including one of the suspects. “This did not do that”. Oprah Winfrey is hoping people will find common ground, no matter what or who they believe in, with her new documentary series “Belief”, about how religion is viewed across the globe.
In addition to the Leonards, police arrested David Morey, 26, of Utica; Linda Morey, 54, of Utica; Sarah Ferguson, 33, who lives at the same address as the Leonards; and Joseph Irwin, 26, who lives in the church building. “Then, they took the women out”. Police were originally called to the hospital and told that Leonard had been shot, but authorities said later a gunshot wound had not been confirmed. The brothers “weren’t allowed to do normal things, but they tried to be as normal as they could be”.
Police launched an investigation after being notified about the suspicious death. Police said more arrests are possible.
Investigators disclosed little about the Word of Life Church, which describes itself simply as a Christian church. The boy was in a diaper and a shirt.
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“There were younger kids always playing on their bikes in the road”, he recalled.
