Their parents are charged with manslaughter.
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“We have not determined what this punishment was for at this point”, Inserra said.
His brother, Christopher, 17, was found hours later on the second floor of the church with serious injuries and remains in a hospital.
Police responded to the hospital and began questioning the Leonard family and members of the church.
Lucas Leonard, age 19, died from his injuries.
“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.
“An autopsy was conducted by the Onondaga County Medical Examiners office, multiple contusions of the torso and extremities were noted”.
Police interviewed several Word of Life Church members and turned over “several children” from the congregation to child protection workers.
New Hartford Police Chief Michael Inserra said Wednesday they discovered 17-year-old Christopher Leonard was also injured during a counseling session that turned violent at the World of Life Church. Christopher is in serious condition but is able to speak according to Inserra.
Police held a news conference today to discuss their investigation into the death of 19-year old Lucas Leonard, who was allegedly beaten inside a church by his parents. Four other members of the church in New Hartford also have been charged with assault in connection with the man’s death.
They were arraigned Tuesday afternoon in New Hartford Town Court. The Leonards were each ordered held on $100,000 bail at arraignment Wednesday. The New Hartford Police Department say 65-year-old Bruce Leonard and 59-year-old Deborah Leonard of Clayville are charged with first-degree manslaughter in the death of their son Lucas.
Don Gerace, attorney for Bruce Leonard, has entered a not guilty plea on behalf of his client, whom he said has no criminal history and has lived in the community more than two decades.
Furthermore, Word of Life Fellowship does not agree with the actions taken by the members of the church in Chadwicks, New York.
It was not immediately clear what “sins” parents Bruce and Deborah Leonard were hoping the teens would confess. “Why are there no kids out playing?” she said. Police said he suffered with his injuries overnight until church members noticed that he was no longer breathing on Monday. She told the Utica Observer-Dispatch that over the years, the congregation has become more shadowy. The sister lives in the attic with her own children, a neighbor said.
“The whole time I lived in this area, I thought it was abandoned”, Stephanie Coffin told the news organization.
“We were very shocked to learn the news”, said Falchi, adding that he was not aware of previous complaints or disciplinary action against Leonard.
A neighbor of Christopher and Lucas Leonard has spoken out about the family, saying they were not allowed to do “normal” kid things growing up.
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But the ex-member denied reports the church is a cult.
