Pastor Tiffani Irwin – Religious Cults Info ~ Resources, Answers and Hope

Word of Life Defendants Plead to Avoid Trial

Admin — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 18:31:20 +0000

The death of a teen in a small town in New York a little over a year ago shocked the country. Those who read about it were confused how a teenager died during a church “counseling” session. One young man died, his brother was hospitalized with severe injuries. The local residents protested and held candlelight vigils. The stories of strange observations by neighbors; the reports of those who once were a part of the Word of Life Christian Church all pointed to dangerous and unsafe behaviors.

Lucas Leonard and his brother Christopher were held after church Sunday, October 11, 2015. The counseling session for them lasted about 14 hours. From this session, Lucas died of injuries inflicted with an electric cord along with receiving kicks and punches from those surrounding him. Christopher was found the next day by authorities in dire need of medical care with multiple bruises and kidney injuries. He spent several days in the local hospital under legal protection while the authorities sought to make sense of the circumstances surrounding his brother’s death.

The results of the investigation included indictments for nine members of the small church. Those indicted included the parents of the deceased, the half-sister, the pastor, her mom, her brothers and two additional members. Charges included murder, kidnapping and gang assault. Early in the proceedings, the mother, Mrs. Deborah Leonard, took a plea deal for her testimony in the case. She will receive no more than five years in state prison.

The father of the teens, Bruce Leonard, was the next to take a plea. His testimony was heart wrenching. He will receive 15 or 16 years in prison and have many years to consider the nagging question from District Attorney McNamara- “Why?”

The half-sister, Sarah Ferguson, chose to take her chances with a bench trial. We reported her plight earlier on this blog. She was convicted of first degree manslaughter, first degree assault and gang assault. She will serve 25 years in state prison. The most dramatic scene in her trial was the District Attorney holding up the pants of the deceased showing a large blood stain between the legs. She tried to convince the judge she did not realize the injuries were life threatening, he did not believe her.

October 21, 2016, news outlets reported the conclusion of the case as the last four defendants accepted plea deals presumably to avoid a murder trial and the requirement to explain their part in session. The list of results found here. A summary follows.

During October, Traci Irwin, who is 50, and son, Daniel Irwin, 25, mother and brother to the pastor, Tiffani Irwin, plead guilty to unlawful imprisonment. They will receive two years in prison.

Tiffani Irwin, pastor and presumed leader of the session, plead guilty to third-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault. She will receive a 12 sentence under the agreement.

Joseph Irwin, her 23-year-old brother, pleaded guilty to first-degree gang assault and second-degree assault. He is to receive eight years in prison.

David, 27, and Linda Morey, 55, long time members, both pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree assault, and will get five years in prison each.

Let’s consider certain things in this case. The defendants chose to admit guilt of serious crimes instead of defending their “religious freedoms” to pray, to exercise their religious practices and stand up for their rights! What could have kept them from risking their future and going to trial? Who knows, but it could have been to swift and precise nature of the investigation and prosecution of the case. They could have learned a lot after the guilty verdict for Sarah Ferguson.

Look at the charges that several defendants agreed to. Five agreed to admit guilt for charges other than murder or manslaughter. That was a “safe” alternative for them and under counsel from their attorney. Accept jail time rather than risk a longer or worse sentence.

Can we in North Carolina learn anything from these happenings? Does the gang assault charge apply to any cases involving Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) victims? We don’t know, yet. In my opinion, this charge and several others would be appropriate. In fairness, the tragedy in New York was more obvious for successful prosecution, there was a body. Hopefully, we in NC will not have to wait for a body to get swift, fair and accurate investigation charges involving crimes against ex-WOFF members.

Honestly, I continue to hold hope for Matthew Fenner to receive his day in court. Obviously, this case has been drawn out longer than expected. Will 2017 be the year when he will see the scale of justice weighing his case? Will other WOFF survivors face their fears and come forward? We shall see. When more survivors seek justice, it will get easier for others to go to the authorities for help. For many reasons, several not connected to the present public servants; the trust in our local legal system has been damaged. 2017 is the year our trust can return. That hope can keep us focused on seeking truth and helping those who need our help.

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Thank you, for taking time to visit and read this blog. Please, consume the information on this site responsibly. The author is not a licensed mental health professional and encourages those that need professional help to seek it. The intent of the material is to inform and be a resource. Be sure to tell every member that you know at WOFF about this blog. There are readers at WOFF. Jane told me and Josh confirmed it.

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Bruce Leonard Pleads Guilty to Assault in Death of His Son… NY

Admin — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 22:48:15 +0000

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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Guest posts reflect the opinions of the writers. Their opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of John Huddle or any other persons affiliated with this blog.

At any time, Pastor Tiffanie Irwin could have stopped the beatings…

Admin — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 13:26:50 +0000

On Wednesday, December 2nd; Deborah Leonard was arraigned in Chadwicks, NY on a plea deal concerning the death of her son Lucas and the severe beating of her other son, Christopher. She entered a guilty plea to first-degree assault in the death of Lucas, for which she will serve five years. She also entered guilty plea to second-degree assault in the beating of Christopher for which she will serve an additional two years. In exchange, she agrees to testify truthfully in any of the trials for the other eight defendants charged with 13 counts including murder, felony assault and gang assault. The list of defendants includes her husband, Bruce Leonard and daughter, Sarah Ferguson, as well as the Pastor of the church, Tiffanie Irwin.

Two very important statements were made by Deborah Leonard which gives great insight into the dynamics inside the Word of Life Christian Church (WOLCC) where the beatings took place. These two statements tell us about the power structure within the group as well as the penalties for breaking the rules or going against the expected behavior norms. The similarities between the church in New York and Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) in Spindale, NC became more evident after Wednesday.

First, Mrs. Leonard said she was afraid and believed her son’s shift away from the church would get her in trouble with other members of the church, including the Pastor Tiffanie Irwin. Let’s examine this belief since it may seem out of order for those not familiar with groups such as WOLCC or WOFF. Mrs. Leonard said she may get in trouble for her son’s desire to leave. Just exactly what the “trouble” would have been was not made clear in reports on Wednesday. Allow me to explain how this occurs inside of WOFF and I believe the reactions would have been very similar.

From recent accounts conveyed to me, parents who have children who leave WOFF are openly encouraged to cut-off all contact with them and shun them completely. Recent reports coming out of WOFF tell of parents with children who have left – aggressively rebuking other parents who also have children who have left telling them our children have turned their back on God and we don’t talk to them, you must do the same! With Jane’s approval, members gang up on other members to pressure them to conform to the no contact policy. At that point, the victims of the aggression must make a choice; join their children and leave WOFF or stay inside the closed subculture which they may have been members of for many years. I believe this type of aggression and pressure would be similar inside of WOLCC.

The second fact which showed the absolute power of Pastor Irwin, with this statement- “Leonard said it was Irwin, whom she believed was a prophet due to statements Irwin made, who called the counseling session and was in charge of the proceedings.

District Attorney McNamara asked Mrs. Leonard this question,

“At any time if Pastor Tiffanie (Irwin) said stop, would this have stopped?” District Attorney Scott McNamara asked.

“Yes,” Leonard said.” (source Utica Observer Dispatch)

Deborah Leonard tells us what members of WOFF have lived for years. Pastor Tiffanie Irwin of WOLCC and Jane Whaley, leader of WOFF, both employ and enjoy the same absolute power over their members using the same fear-based dynamics to wield such power. Leonard tells the court that Pastor Irwin called the meeting on October 11th and she controlled the content and length of the meeting. In years past, Jane Whaley has called meetings and encounters to deal with straying members and she controlled each meeting either in person or via some form of communication with church leaders carrying out her bidding. It is critical to see the same level of power exists in each group. Yes, this is hard to fathom for those who have never lived through it, but it is real. Any perceived infraction of the intense loyalty required to Jane either by expressing a desire to leave or simply not obeying the “will of God” through her; brings the same level of abuse as has been testified to in accounts of survivors of WOLCC.

After reading the accounts of Deborah Leonard’s day in court, there is NO doubt in my mind that the intense fear-based controls used by Pastor Irwin could lead her members to beat a young man to death. The gang assault charges are fitting for this behavior. Once the young Leonard men were circled in the church sanctuary and their exit from the meeting hindered, their fate was sealed. They were subject to verbal, mental, emotional and physical abuse. Lucas lost his life in the same group which was supposed to love him. Christopher was severely beaten by those who in years past he loved and trusted. The sadness runs deep when considering these truths.

And so it is with some of the survivors of WOFF. Many have suffered verbal, mental, emotional and physical abuse. Who controls the levels of each abusive assault within WOFF? As with Pastor Irwin, so it is with Jane Whaley. Jane has absolute power and at any time, the emotional, verbal and physical beatings could be stopped by her. Selah.

In the Leonard case, each of the now nine defendants are being held with no bail. Several will reappear in court on December 7th. The sad story continues to unfold. The events playing out in New York merit watching for those in North Carolina.

Season of Changes is upon us. Will this be a cold winter in Spindale?

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Comments are invited from all readers, including present or former members. Polls are not scientific and no private information is gathered.

Guest posts reflect the opinions of the writers. Their opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of John Huddle or any other persons affiliated with this blog.