Lucas Leonard - a teen beaten to death by his "Christian" parents in New York State

Lucas Leonard, age 19, of Clayville, New York, died on October 12, 2015, at a hospital in Utica, New York.

Lucas was a member of the Word of Life Christian Church in New Hartford. The church, which began in 1984, has only about 35 members, including children. 

Top Row: Deborah Leonard, Bruce Leonard, Linda Morey
Bottom Row: Joseph Irwin, Sarah Ferguson, David Morey

On October 11, 2015, Lucas Leonard and his brother, Christopher Leonard, age 17, were called to a meeting at the Church for a counseling session to confess their sins. 

Lucas Leonard

The session had to do with the matter of Lucas wanting to leave the church and the "spiritual state" of the two brothers. Lucas was also accused by his family and other church members of molesting children.

Children in this Church were subsequently interviewed and medically examined by the authorities and there is no evidence of any sexual abuse perpetuated by Lucas Leonard. 

Several church members were present at this session including the boys' parents, Bruce Leonard, age 65, and Deborah Leonard, age 59, as well as Joseph Irwin (age 26), David Morey (age 26), Linda Morey (age 54) and Sarah Ferguson (the boys half-sister, age 33).

The teenagers were beaten, over a period of 10 hours, to the point of death. Lucas was taken by family members to a hospital in Utica. Emergency Room medical staff, after seeing wounds to his genital area, thought that Lucas must have been shot with a gun.

Tragically, Lucas succumbed to his injuries.

Christopher Leonard, the 17 year old, was hospitalized in serious condition but will survive.

The parents, Bruce and Deborah Leonard, have been charged with first-degree manslaughter. The four other church members have been charged with second-degree assault. 

Bruce Leonard has been employed since 2007 by the Utica School District as a teaching assistant for disabled students. He is described as hard-working and compassionate. 

The lawyer for Bruce Leonard has entered a not-guilty plea on behalf of his client. The lawyer does not believe that there was any "intent" on the part of Bruce Leonard to cause serious bodily injury. 

So, we are led to believe, that beating this kid to death happened by accident. 

Jesus, pray for Lucas, who was
betrayed by his family.

Neighbors describe Lucas as a nice and polite kid. However, they describe the Leonard family home as filthy and stinking. The children in the house were not even allowed to watch television. 

All of the accused, mentioned above, are innocent unless proven guilty. 

However, Lucas did not beat himself to death. Someone is guilty of manslaughter, if not murder. 

This is an example of the creepy and nasty side of organized religion in which sociopaths and psychopaths create cult-like churches or join these churches in order to cloak their anti-social and brutal behavior under the guise of religion.  

Then they justify their criminality by saying "It's all in the Scriptures". 

Pray that Lucas Leonard is in Heaven. Pray that he is at peace and is with God. Amen. 

Pray for the physical and mental recovery of Christopher Leonard. 

Pray for justice for Lucas. 

God save us from the religious psychopaths. They are killing us, Father. Amen.