:Death of Lucas Leonard

The Word of Life Christian Church was based in a former school in Chadwicks.{{cite web | last=Schneider | first=H. Rose | title=Word of Life Church in Chadwicks NY where Lucas Leonard died for sale | website=Utica Observer Dispatch | date=2021-01-21 | url=https://www.uticaod.com/story/news/crime/2021/01/21/word-of-life-church-chadwicks-ny-where-lucas-leonard-died-for-sale/4230712001/ | access-date=2024-11-10}} Starting out as an ordinary Pentecostal church, it became more cult-like after pastor Jerry Irwin began manipulating other members.{{cite book |last1=Ashline |first1=Susan |title=Without a Prayer: The Death of Lucas Leonard and How One Church Became a Cult |date=August 6, 2019 |publisher=Pegasus Crime |isbn=978-1643130729 |access-date=26 February 2025}} An uncle of the Leonard children said that after he decided not to join the church in the '90s, church leadership forbade the children from having contact with him After Jerry Irwin died, his daughter, Tiffanie Irwin, assumed the primary leadership role.{{cite web |last1=Sinha |first1=Shivangi |title=Tiffanie Irwin: Where is the Former Word of Life Pastor Now? |url=https://moviedelic.com/tiffanie-irwin/ |website=moviedelic.com |access-date=26 February 2025 |date=February 25, 2025}}

Tiffanie Irwin accused Lucas of having been involved in witchcraft and voodoo, but the police said there was no evidence supporting that accusation.{{cite web | url = https://apnews.com/general-news-a489c23f4c0a4e169a44215c9b97569b | title = Ex-members of church where teens were beaten talk of decline | author = Mary Esch | website = Associated Press | date = October 17, 2015 | accessdate = August 21, 2022}}{{cite web | url = http://www.syracuse.com/crime/index.ssf/2015/10/police_rebuff_witchcraft_voodoo_claims_against_new_hartford_church_victims.html | title = Cops rebuff witchcraft, voodoo claims against New Hartford church beating victim | author = Ken Sturtz | website = Syracuse.com | date = October 17, 2015 | access-date = October 18, 2015 | archive-date = October 18, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151018144719/http://www.syracuse.com/crime/index.ssf/2015/10/police_rebuff_witchcraft_voodoo_claims_against_new_hartford_church_victims.html | url-status = live }}{{cite web | url = https://www.reuters.com/article/world/uk/new-york-teen-dies-after-hours-long-beating-at-church-idUSKCN0S82N9/ | title = New York teen dies after hours-long beating at church | author = Laila Kearny | website = Reuters | date = October 14, 2015}} Authorities have stated that the torture was prompted by Lucas' desire to leave the church.{{cite web | url = https://apnews.com/national-national-general-news-5e3f2445ff6f440f8bab5ad79fb30275 | title = 'It hurt everywhere' Teen recounts deadly beating inside secretive church | author = Carolyn Thompson | work = Associated Press | date = October 21, 2015 | access-date = November 10, 2024 }}

On the night of October 11, 2015, following a Sunday church meeting, Lucas Leonard was subject to an all-night church counseling session, led by Tiffanie Irwin and attended by about 30 parishioners, including Leonard's parents and older sister. The meeting was held after Leonard expressed a desire to leave the church.{{cite web | url = http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/16/us/new-york-church-assault-case/ | title = New Hartford Word of Life church assault wanted out | author1 = Ray Sanchez | author2 = Lawrence Crook | website = CNN.com | date = October 17, 2015 | accessdate = August 21, 2022 | archive-date = June 13, 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230613002256/https://www.cnn.com/2015/10/16/us/new-york-church-assault-case/ | url-status = live }} Lucas and his 17-year-old brother, Christopher, were beaten continuously.{{cite web | url = https://www.syracuse.com/crime/2015/10/christopher_leonard_family_beat_me_with_4-foot_whip_made_of_a_cord.html | title = New Hartford church victim: Family beat me with 4-foot whip made of a cord | author = Patrick Lohmann | website = Syracuse.com | date = October 21, 2015 | accessdate = August 21, 2022 | archive-date = August 21, 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220821192449/https://www.syracuse.com/crime/2015/10/christopher_leonard_family_beat_me_with_4-foot_whip_made_of_a_cord.html | url-status = live }} According to witness testimony, the session lasted 14 hours and ended when the parishioners thought Lucas was dead. Lucas died in hospital the next day. Autopsy results revealed "multiple contusions from blunt-force trauma to the torso and extremities", including blows to the genital area.

A grand jury handed down indictments to Leonard's parents, Bruce and Deborah Leonard, for first-degree manslaughter; it also indicted four other church members, including Leonard's older sister, Sarah Ferguson.{{cite web | url = http://cnycentral.com/news/local/fate-of-7-leonard-children-uncertain | title = Fate of Leonard children uncertain | website = CNY Central | date = October 23, 2015 | access-date = October 24, 2015 | archive-date = October 26, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151026004637/http://cnycentral.com/news/local/fate-of-7-leonard-children-uncertain | url-status = live }} Animals subsequently rescued from Lucas' parents' house were found to have been living in neglect, and the house was foul-smelling and full of garbage.{{cite web | url = http://www.cbsnews.com/news/animals-rescued-from-trash-strewn-home-of-parents-charged-in-church-beating/ | title = Animals rescued from trash-strewn home of parents charged in church beating | website = CBS News | date = October 19, 2015 | access-date = October 20, 2015 | archive-date = October 20, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151020124750/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/animals-rescued-from-trash-strewn-home-of-parents-charged-in-church-beating/ | url-status = live }}

Neighbors described the church as isolated from the local community and as a cult, with one saying that "church members used to build fires on the roofs, and there was chanting and weird rituals", and that dogs howled all night inside the church but were never seen outside.{{cite news |last1=Bult |first1=Laura |title=‘It’s a cult … I don’t care what they say’: Neighbors recall strange rituals at upstate N.Y. church where teen was beaten to death |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2015/10/17/its-a-cult-i-dont-care-what-they-say-neighbors-recall-strange-rituals-at-upstate-ny-church-where-teen-was-beaten-to-death/ |access-date=28 February 2025 |work=New York Daily News |date=April 9, 2018}} Cult expert Rick Alan Ross said "This is an old-school group...It’s typical in many ways. They’re very isolated, they've cocooned their members and homeschooled the children. Besides a web site to sell pedigree yorkies, they were very isolated. That’s a common characteristic in cults to make sure they are the only ones influencing the member’s judgements."{{cite web | url = https://www.inquisitr.com/2503378/word-of-life-church-cult-accusations-arise-after-teens-horrific-beating-death/ | title = Word of Life: Cult Accusations Arise After Teen's Horrific Beating Death | author = Christian Savoy | website = Inquisitr News | date = October 18, 2015 | accessdate = August 21, 2022 | archive-date = February 1, 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230201193649/https://www.inquisitr.com/2503378/word-of-life-church-cult-accusations-arise-after-teens-horrific-beating-death | url-status = live }}{{unreliable source?|date=November 2024}} A former member said that parents were routinely encouraged to beat their children as punishment for getting bad grades.{{cite web | url = https://www.cbsnews.com/news/former-member-of-world-of-life-christian-church-speaks-out-about-culture-of-violence/ | title = Ex-Member: NY Church At Center Of Murder Probe Was "Complete Hell" | work = CBS News | date = November 5, 2015 | accessdate = November 10, 2024}}

Following the incident, the pastor of the unrelated Word Of Life Assembly of God Church in Baldwinsville, New York, began receiving threatening phone calls from people confusing his church with the one in Chadwicks.{{cite web | url = https://www.localsyr.com/news/local-news/baldwinsville-pastor-distances-church-from-chadwicks-word-of-life | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20151019125701/https://www.localsyr.com/news/local-news/baldwinsville-pastor-distances-church-from-chadwicks-word-of-life | title = Baldwinsville pastor distances his church from Chadwicks Word of Life | website = LocalSYR.com | date = October 17, 2015 | archivedate = October 19, 2015 | accessdate = August 21, 2022}} The Chadwicks church, despite being Pentecostal, is not affiliated with Assembly of God or any other denomination, and is not overseen by any larger organization.

The townspeople held a prayer vigil outside the church on October 20. The organizers of the prayer vigil also called for Word of Life to be shut down.{{cite web | url = http://www.syracuse.com/crime/index.ssf/2015/10/mourners_call_for_new_hartford_church_closure_at_prayer_vigil.html | title = Mourners call for New Hartford church closure at prayer vigil | author = Patrick Lohmann | website = Syracuse.com | date = October 20, 2015 | access-date = October 21, 2015 | archive-date = October 22, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151022150305/http://www.syracuse.com/crime/index.ssf/2015/10/mourners_call_for_new_hartford_church_closure_at_prayer_vigil.html | url-status = live }}

Lucas's surviving brother, Christopher Leonard, began testifying in court starting on October 21. He said that during the beating, he was punched in the stomach, then struck on the genitals and other parts of his body with a {{convert|4|ft}} "whip" made from an electrical cord. Later on, he was forced to wear ear plugs and ear muffs, and to sit in a corner. He said the church's pastor, Tiffanie Irwin, was responsible for organizing the counseling session during which the beating took place.{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/teen-recounts-deadly-beating-inside-secretive-church-n448746|title=Teen Recounts Deadly Beating Inside Secretive Church|agency=Associated Press|date=21 October 2015|work=NBC News|access-date=7 October 2019|archive-date=25 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925001040/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/teen-recounts-deadly-beating-inside-secretive-church-n448746|url-status=live}}{{cite web | url = https://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-york-church-idUSKCN0SF18J20151021 | title = Teenager describes fatal beating at upstate New York church | author = TG Branfalt Jr. | website = Reuters | date = October 21, 2015 | access-date = July 5, 2021 | archive-date = May 17, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210517065338/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-york-church-idUSKCN0SF18J20151021 | url-status = live }} When he saw his brother lying motionless on the floor, Christopher attempted to give him CPR but stopped once he realized Lucas was dead.

On October 23, a family court hearing was held to determine who should have custody of the Leonards' seven other underage children, aged between 2 and 15.

Bruce Leonard, the father, who whipped both boys during the session pleaded guilty to felony assault was sentenced to 10 years in state prison. He was paroled in 2024.{{cite web | last=Roth | first=Amy Neff | title=Father of Word of Life Church in Chadwicks beating victim paroled | website=Utica Observer Dispatch | date=2024-05-05 | url=https://www.uticaod.com/story/news/2024/05/05/father-of-word-of-life-church-in-chadwicks-beating-victim-paroled/73558998007/ | access-date=2024-11-10}}

Deborah Leonard, the mother, who whipped them during the session pleaded guilty to felony assault, and was sentenced to five years in state prison. She was paroled in 2020 and left the state.

On September 1, 2016 half sister Sarah Ferguson was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being convicted in July 2016 of manslaughter and assault.{{cite web | url = https://www.syracuse.com/crime/index.ssf/2016/09/word_of_life_case_sarah_ferguson_sentenced_to.html | title = Word of Life case: Sarah Ferguson sentenced to 25 years in state prison | author = Elizabeth Doran | website = Syracuse.com | date = September 1, 2016 | accessdate = August 21, 2022}}

Pastor Tiffanie Irwin, age 29, who called for the so-called counseling session and oversaw its organization was sentenced on Dec. 19, 2016 to 12 years in state prison for manslaughter.

Joseph Irwin was sentenced on Dec. 19 to eight years in prison for gang assault. He was paroled in 2022 and left the state.

David Morey was sentenced on Jan. 9, 2017 to five years in prison for assault. He was released in 2020.

Linda Morey who pulled the power cord out of the closet was sentenced on Jan. 9 to five years in prison for assault. She was released in 2020.

Traci Irwin, 50, and Daniel Irwin, 25, both pleaded guilty to unlawful imprisonment.

Traci was sentenced to one year for each count, and Daniel received two years in jail. Both were set free on March 24, 2017 after serving one year and five months.{{cite web | url = http://romesentinel.com/public-safety/just-over-a-year-later-9-members-of-word-of-life-found-guilty/QBqpjv!16JMv2u6Q3hCSJgUhOkzw | title = Just over a year later, 9 members of Word of Life found guilty | author = Sean I. Mills | publisher = Daily Sentinel | date = October 22, 2016 | accessdate = August 21, 2022 | archive-date = December 21, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161221070445/http://romesentinel.com/public-safety/just-over-a-year-later-9-members-of-word-of-life-found-guilty/QBqpjv!16JMv2u6Q3hCSJgUhOkzw/ | url-status = live }}{{cite web | url = https://cnycentral.com/news/local/two-involved-in-word-of-life-church-beatings-released-from-jail | title = Two involved in Word of Life church beatings released from jail | website = CNYCentral | date = 24 March 2017 | accessdate = August 21, 2022 | archive-date = 13 June 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230613002254/https://cnycentral.com/news/local/two-involved-in-word-of-life-church-beatings-released-from-jail | url-status = live }}

{{reflist|30em}}

• Ashline, Susan. [https://books.google.com/books/about/Without_a_Prayer.html?id=DveiDwAAQBAJ Without a Prayer: The Death of Lucas Leonard and How One Church Became a Cult], Simon and Schuster, Aug 6, 2019, 400 pages.
• Mueller, Benjamin. [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/23/nyregion/at-word-of-life-church-an-evolution-from-bible-study-group-to-secretive-sect.html?_r=0 Word of Life Church’s Path From Bible Group to Lethal Sect], New York Times, 22 October 2015.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonard, Lucas}}

Category:2015 deaths

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Category:October 2015 crimes in the United States

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