Parents, 4 others charged in fatal beating of teen at church
The parents of a 19-year-old man who was fatally injured during a prolonged Sunday-night beating at upstate New York church have been charged with manslaughter, because police do not believe they intended the so-called “counseling session” to kill their son, authorities say.
In addition to the manslaughter charges faced by Bruce Leonard, 65, and Deborah Leonard, 59, four other members of the Word of Life Christian Church in New Hartford were charged with felony assault. Lucas Leonard died the day after the attack and his younger brother, Christopher, 17, was hospitalized in serious condition, according to CNN.
“Both brothers were continually subjected to physical punishment over the course of several hours in the hopes that each would confess to prior sins and ask for forgiveness,” said New Hartford’s police chief, Michael Inserra.
It isn’t clear what “prior sins” the two teens, who were reportedly home-schooled, had supposedly committed.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled Friday.
Attorney Don Gerace represents Bruce Leonard, who has pleaded not guilty and has no criminal history. Attorney Devin Garramone, who represents Deborah Leonard, said she has a heart condition.
“I cannot imagine my client had anything to do with these injuries, especially in the condition she is in,” Garramone said.
An investigation is continuing and more arrests are expected, CBS News reports.
The New York Times (reg. req.), Syracuse.com and the Washington Post (reg. req.) also have stories.
