Wednesday, in an Oneida County courtroom, Bruce Leonard faced heart wrenching questions from District Attorney Scott D. McNamara. Questions surrounding the “counseling session” in which Leonard’s two sons, Lucas and Christopher, were beaten with an electric cord. Lucas did not survive the events which took “hours and hours” to unfold in October of 2015. He was pronounced dead the next morning at the local hospital. Christopher suffered severe injuries including damage to his kidneys and lungs, which required hospitalization.
The session was inside the Word of Life Christian Church in Chadwicks, NY. The nine defendants face various charges including first and second degree assault, murder and gang assault include the parents, Bruce and Deborah Leonard. Deborah pleaded guilty earlier in the year. The half-sister, Sarah Ferguson along with the church pastor, Tiffani Irwin, her mom, two brothers and two other church members have all pleaded not guilty.
Investigators learned the two young boys desired to leave the church. The session was set to address their “sins” which included accusations of witchcraft, pornography, voodoo and sexual molestation of children. No proof of molestation has been found during the investigation.
From our resource article- here
“Did it ever dawn on you that Luke was saying things that night because he didn’t want to be a member of this church anymore?” Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara asked.
Leonard, who testified that he didn’t know who introduced the cord used to whip the teens, said that occurred to him after the session.
“Did you ever think that night Luke was saying certain things because he wanted to hurt you people as you were hurting him physically and the only way he could hurt you was with his tongue?” McNamara asked.
Leonard, who began crying, said he didn’t know.
Later during the hearing:
“Bruce, do you regret what you did that night?” McNamara asked.
Leonard began crying. “You don’t know,” he said.
“I know I don’t, that’s why I’m asking,” McNamara said.
“You don’t know what it is to lose a child,” Leonard said. “You don’t know what it is to have anything at all to do with it, sir.”
McNamara asked Leonard what he would say to Lucas if he could say something to him now. Bruce ultimately said he would tell his son he was sorry.”
After gathering his strength several times, Bruce Leonard pleaded guilty to first and second degree assault. He will be required to testify in the trials of the seven other defendants and could serve at least 15 years. Though, Judge Dwyer did not promise the length of a sentence until after the other trials. Mr. Leonard is set for a September 9th sentencing.
Another defendant, Sarah Ferguson was in court today. She faces assault and murder charges. After her attorney waived her opening statement, the session was postponed one day and will resume Friday at 10:15AM.
Follow the trial on Twitter @OD_Parker for live tweets from the court room.
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