POLICE: BROTHERS WERE BEATEN IN CHURCH TO MAKE THEM CONFESS

[Capt. Obvious]

Two teenage brothers were brutally beaten in church - one of them fatally - in an effort by their parents, sister and other members of the congregation to force them to confess their sins and seek forgiveness, police said Wednesday.

Police Chief Michael Inserra said investigators are still looking into what the supposed sins were.

Lucas and Christopher Leonard, 19 and 17, were pounded with fists Sunday at the Word of Life Church when a "counseling session" meant to explore their spiritual state turned violent, Inserra said. They were beaten in the abdomen, genitals, back and thighs, authorities said.

Lucas died and his brother was hospitalized in serious condition. Six church members - including the brothers' parents and sister - have been arrested.

"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," Inserra said.

....

Associated Press

[hrmjustin]

1. There are no words.

Just horrific.

[elehhhhna]

2. Torture

Beating a 19 year old to death is not easy, btw.

[Cassiopeia]

3. Wow.

I think they need a more thorough examination of their Bible.

[Warpy]

6. Oh, they adore the OT

but the only part of the NT they ever read contains all the gory bits and none of the sissy philosophy.

I hope they throw the book at that old patriarch and his band of vicious cretins.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

30. The old patriarch is already dead, it sounds like.

His wife and daughters continued the church 'in his style'. And it sounds like the daughter who instigated the beatings, by proclaiming that one of the two young men was practicing witchcraft, is not among those charged.

[seaotter]

8. No, they need to burn that damn book and pull their collective head out of their collective ass.

Then spend a few years in jail.

[Historic NY]

4. I know a priest up there....

I'm going to have to get a WTF from him.

[SheilaT]

5. I'd like to go to that church

and ask the entire congregation, "Who exactly would Jesus beat?"

Times like this I think that the "do unto others" punishment should be put in place: they all get beaten for the same length of time and to the same severity.

[msongs]

7. sincerely held religious beliefs triumph over all right? that's what repub xtians believe nt

[Angry Dragon]

9. One of the many reasons I do not trust anyone claiming to be a christian

[cleanhippie]

10. I trust people that are believers, just not the ones that use their beliefs as bonafides.

Anyone that opens with "well, I'm a (insert religious belief here)..." Is usually not one to be trusted.

[Angry Dragon]

11. If one uses their christian bonafides are really a believer

I have trouble telling them apart

[RKP5637]

26. Same here! Someone tells me they've got religion and all the red flags go

up and they are on my do not trust list.

[struggle4progress]

12. ... Neighbors say they never saw much activity at the church and only heard dogs barking.

"The whole time I lived in this area, I thought it was abandoned," Stephanie Coffin, a neighbor, said. Many people say members kept to themselves and hardly ever spoke to outsiders. In fact, some neighbors went so far as to say they can not believe anyone was even inside the building ...
Brothers assaulted at Word of Life Church were being "punished"
BY CNY CENTRAL
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14TH 2015

[muriel_volestrangler]

13. Only charged with manslaughter, which mean they need to claim they were mentally disturbed

or emotionally disturbed, and that "a reasonable person" would experience that too, if this is correct:

Voluntary manslaughter is commonly defined as an intentional killing in which the offender had no prior intent to kill, such as a killing that occurs in the "heat of passion." The circumstances leading to the killing must be the kind that would cause a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed; otherwise, the killing may be charged as a first-degree or second-degree murder.

- See more at: http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/voluntary-manslaughter-overview.html#sthash.V1no4Vzu.dpuf

This isn't what their defence lawyer is trying to get away with; this is what they have been prosecuted with, so the authorities are saying this religion drives normal people so insane that they kill people.

[struggle4progress]

16. I think these are the actual charging options under NY law

S 125.10 Criminally negligent homicide.
A person is guilty of criminally negligent homicide when, with criminal negligence, he causes the death of another person.
Criminally negligent homicide is a class E felony ...

S 125.15 Manslaughter in the second degree.
A person is guilty of manslaughter in the second degree when:
1. He recklessly causes the death of another person; or ...
3. He intentionally causes or aids another person to commit suicide.
Manslaughter in the second degree is a class C felony ...

S 125.20 Manslaughter in the first degree.
A person is guilty of manslaughter in the first degree when:
1. With intent to cause serious physical injury to another person, he causes the death of such person or of a third person; or
2. With intent to cause the death of another person, he causes the death of such person or of a third person under circumstances which do not constitute murder because he acts under the influence of extreme emotional disturbance, as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section 125.25. The fact that homicide was committed under the influence of extreme emotional disturbance constitutes a mitigating circumstance reducing murder to manslaughter in the first degree and need not be proved in any prosecution initiated under this subdivision; ...
Manslaughter in the first degree is a class B felony ...

S 125.25 Murder in the second degree.
A person is guilty of murder in the second degree when:
1. With intent to cause the death of another person, he causes the death of such person or of a third person; except that in any prosecution under this subdivision, it is an affirmative defense that:
(a) The defendant acted under the influence of extreme emotional disturbance for which there was a reasonable explanation or excuse, the reasonableness of which is to be determined from the viewpoint of a person in the defendant's situation under the circumstances as the defendant believed them to be. Nothing contained in this paragraph shall constitute a defense to a prosecution for, or preclude a conviction of, manslaughter in the first degree or any other crime; or
(b) The defendant's conduct consisted of causing or aiding, without the use of duress or deception, another person to commit suicide.
Nothing contained in this paragraph shall constitute a defense to a prosecution for, or preclude a conviction of, manslaughter in the second degree or any other crime; or
2. Under circumstances evincing a depraved indifference to human life, he recklessly engages in conduct which creates a grave risk of death to another person, and thereby causes the death of another person; or
3. Acting either alone or with one or more other persons, he commits or attempts to commit robbery, burglary, kidnapping, arson, rape in the first degree, criminal sexual act in the first degree, sexual abuse in the first degree, aggravated sexual abuse, escape in the first degree, or escape in the second degree, and, in the course of and in furtherance of such crime or of immediate flight therefrom, he, or another participant, if there be any, causes the death of a person other than one of the participants; except that in any prosecution under this subdivision, in which the defendant was not the only participant in the underlying crime, it is an affirmative defense that the defendant:
(a) Did not commit the homicidal act or in any way solicit, request, command, importune, cause or aid the commission thereof; and
(b) Was not armed with a deadly weapon, or any instrument, article or substance readily capable of causing death or serious physical injury and of a sort not ordinarily carried in public places by law-abiding persons; and
(c) Had no reasonable ground to believe that any other participant was armed with such a weapon, instrument, article or substance; and
(d) Had no reasonable ground to believe that any other participant intended to engage in conduct likely to result in death or serious physical injury; or
4. Under circumstances evincing a depraved indifference to human life, and being eighteen years old or more the defendant recklessly engages in conduct which creates a grave risk of serious physical injury or death to another person less than eleven years old and thereby causes the death of such person; or
5. Being eighteen years old or more, while in the course of committing rape in the first, second or third degree, criminal sexual act in the first, second or third degree, sexual abuse in the first degree, aggravated sexual abuse in the first, second, third or fourth degree, or incest in the first, second or third degree, against a person less than fourteen years old, he or she intentionally causes the death of such person.
Murder in the second degree is a class A-I felony.

http://ypdcrime.com/penal.law/article125.htm

[muriel_volestrangler]

17. I guess this is "With intent to cause serious physical injury to another person", then

I'm surprised that's defined as manslaughter in New York. It seems strange that killing someone during a burglary, in which there was no prior intent to harm anyone, counts as murder, while killing someone during a pre-meditated serious assault is only manslaughter. You'd think the intention to harm people rather than property crime would be worse.

[struggle4progress]

21. I largely concur

[struggle4progress]

14. ... Neighbors said Tuesday the church has come across as mysterious and suspicious for many years,

though they'd never been inside. One woman said she most often only sees church members at night, sometimes at 3 a.m., and she hears chants emanating from the building. She also said she .. rarely sees women. Men in the church wear what she described as "long, black trenchcoats" but said other members she saw wore "normal" clothing. The neighbor had lived in the area for more than 10 years, and she remembers church members buying her groceries and inviting her to the church ... "They would always be trying to get us to join the church, but then we said no and then they completely stopped talking," she said ...
Neighbors describe odd happenings at New Hartford Church where teen fatally assaulted
By Patrick Lohmann
on October 13, 2015 at 5:55 PM
updated October 14, 2015 at 10:56 AM

[struggle4progress]

15. ... The church is a three-story former school building that eventually closed

after the Sauqouit and Chadwicks districts merged. To the left, the building is shrouded by tall, dense trees. To the right, there’s a gate that neighbors say they’ve never seen open. “When they first took over the building, they would post Mass schedules so people knew when there were services,” Brown said. “Now, it’s not like just anyone could go to church there. … It’s kind of been the running joke that there’s a cult there” ...
Neighbors skeptical about Word of Life church
By Alissa Scott
Posted Oct. 14, 2015 at 12:01 AM
Updated at 8:01 AM

[beam me up scottie]

18. Has anyone claimed this has nothing to do with religion yet?

It isn't easy to beat someone to death, makes me wish there was a hell.

[Yorktown]

20. Of course religion is not to blame

I mean, religion is good by essence. That's why people believe in it anyway.

That and Hell.

[Yorktown]

19. There must be parts of the Old Testament that justify their acts

The Torah/Old Testament is such a violent book with some losely worded passages it's likely one can find in it one sentence or another to justify about anything.

[struggle4progress]

22. Killing at church is described

Carolyn Thompson, Associated Press
Posted: Sunday, October 18, 2015, 3:01 AM

... The witness, church deacon Daniel Irwin, said he occasionally looked in on the session that started Sunday night and continued for more than 12 hours in the Word of Life Christian Church sanctuary, and he saw one of the teens, 19-year-old Lucas Leonard, bleeding and in distress.

"Lucas was rolling himself back and forth on the floor and making a sustained monotone moaning," recalled Irwin, who said he didn't stay for long ...

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/20151018_Killing_at_church_is_described.html

[struggle4progress]

23. Church a mystery to residents

Word of Life, where victim died in counseling session, thought by locals to be a cult
By Robert Gavin
Updated 8:54 pm, Saturday, October 17, 2015

... the story keeps changing.

On Saturday, town police issued a news release to dispel an allegation put forward in a sworn statement to them by church deacon Daniel Irwin, a cooperating witness in the case, that Lucas was suspected of practicing witchcraft or voodoo magic ...

On Friday, New Hartford Police Chief Michael Inserra had to tell reporters there was nothing to substantiate a claim by Bruce Leonard that Lucas Leonard was beaten after he had been suspected of sexually abusing children in the church. The children were all examined, Inserra said, and none showed any signs of abuse ...'

'Police officials believe the church's pastor, Tiffanie Irwin, put forth the misinformation. They say the motive is that Lucas and his brother were beaten for wanting to defect ...

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Church-a-mystery-to-residents-6575910.php

[struggle4progress]

24. Once-vibrant New York church became place of fear

By The Associated Press
POSTED: 10/18/2015 12:01:00 AM MDT

NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. — Former members of the upstate New York church where two teens were viciously beaten paint a picture of a once-vibrant and joyous house of worship that had declined into a place of fear and intimidation under new leadership.

"When I first arrived, it was warm and welcoming. It was encouraging. It was helpful," said Chadwick Handville, a massage therapist in Phoenix who left the Word of Life Christian Church in June 2000 after 10 years that included a stint as a worship leader and trustee. Things went downhill after founder Jerry Irwin returned from some time away and reclaimed his position as pastor, Handville said ...

Since Irwin's fatal stroke several years ago, his wife, Traci, and their children — Tiffanie, Daniel and Joseph — have been in charge. Ames said they continued in the style of the founder ...

http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_28985393/once-vibrant-church-became-place-fear

[struggle4progress]

25. "Church closed during our time of mourning"

By Rebecca Landcastle
Posted Oct. 18, 2015 at 12:49 PM
Updated at 1:04 PM

A small group of protesters gathered Sunday outside Word of Life Church.

Jeff Parry of Bridgewater said he was told by his mother, a member of Word of Life, that services could be resuming Sunday.

A hand-written sign on a fence outside the building, however, said “Church closed during our time of mourning” ...

The three are protesting with the intent to close down the church, they said ...

http://www.uticaod.com/article/20151018/NEWS/151019430

[RKP5637]

27. Christian Terrorists - Domestic Terrorists - Christian Taliban - ISIS.

All the same to me.

[Thinkingabout]

28. A complete overboard action which outside of reasonable mind operates. This is probably not the

Situation which exists. These two young men did not have outside outlets in which to report abuse, just captive to their family and church without regulation.

[longship]

29. Word of Death Church! nt

[struggle4progress]

31. Neglected pets found

October 18th, 2015
by Associated Press

... two members of the Word of Life Christian Church now under arrest — the teenagers' parents — kept four neglected dogs, three birds and several cats ... Feces and urine were everywhere ... "I don't see how human beings could live in this house, because it was just so unhealthy. And the smell of urine made my eyes smart" ...

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/breakingnews/story/2015/oct/18/neglected-pets-found-home-new-york-couple-charged-sons-death/331232/