Bruce (65) and Deborah Leonard (59) are on trial for beating their 19-year-old son to death with an electrical cord and what appeared to be a belt during a church counselling session. The parents are accused of the first-degree manslaughter of their son Lucas, who died at the Word of Life Christian Church in New Hartford, New York.
During the court hearing church deacon Daniel Irwin said he peered through a window during Lucas’s 12-hour ordeal to see him bleeding and in pain. Mr Irwin described the teenager “rolling himself back and forth on the floor and making a sustained, monotone moaning”.
Lucas died of the injuries he sustained from his brutal beating. The vicious attack was carried out by his parents, sister and other family members during the spiritual counselling session. The strict and cult like church feared Lucas wanted to leave the church and perhaps join the army, the court heard. Four other members of the church have been charged with assault, including 33-year-old sister Sarah Ferguson.
Lucas’s younger brother Christopher, 17, was also beaten and is in a serious condition in hospital, according to Police Chief Michael Inserra. Lucas and Christopher suffered injuries to their abdomens, genitals, backs and thighs. All involved have denied the charges and their hearings will be held later in the year.