An
AP report yesterday reviews developments this week in upstate New York in the beatings of two teens by their parents and other members of the Word of Life Christian Church:
Six church leaders and parishioners now face charges including manslaughter and assault for a brutal beating in the sanctuary last Sunday that left 19-year-old Lucas Leonard dead and his 17-year-old brother Christopher hospitalized. Church members Bruce and Deborah Leonard, parents of the victims, face the most serious charge, manslaughter. Deborah Leonard's daughter, Sarah Ferguson, and Joseph Irwin, both face assault charges.
Police say the beatings arose out of a "counseling session" that may have been related to Lucas Leonard wanting to leave the church.
Apparently over the years the Church, which now has only some 20 members, has changed, and the AP article traces this history.
