Inside the small New York town rocked by a 'Church cult killing'

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People would see the church members, but they never spoke.

They would see lights on in the large brick building that once housed the school, but they heard little noise. And in this small town where “everyone says hello at the post office”, people whispered and wondered about what was going on there, but it was never more than gossip.

And then last Monday, the residents of the sedate Oneida Street were hastily evacuated as armed officers and SWAT teams stormed the church and detained six of its members. The next day, police announced they were charging the members over the death of one young man and the injuring of his younger brother.

As the increasingly incredible details continued to spill out, police said the boys’ parents were among those being charged and they believed the pair had both been severely beaten as part of an “intervention” against as yet unspecified “sins”.

“I’ve lived here 59 years and yet I’ve never spoken to those people,” said Ray Toukalty, who lives opposite the church. His wife, Lorraine, added: “We would say hello to them, but they never answered.”

The drama that has played out in recent days and the endless talk of a “cult”, has sent reverberations through this small town 80 miles from Albany, and beyond. And it has sparked people to question just how a group could form and operate under everyone’s noses, without people asking more pressing questions.

“I’ve been here three years and I’ve seen them once. That was when they were mowing the grass, and that was young kid,” said Louis Esper, whose brother Abraham, is pastor at the Catholic St Patrick St Anthony church that is located next to the church.

“This week my brother got a call from someone at the church, asking if they could come and hold a Mass here for what happened to the two boys.”

At a press conference on Wednesday, police announced they were charging six members of the so-called Word of Life Church over the fatal beating of 19-year-old Lucas Leonard, and the assault on his 17-year-old brother, Christopher, who remains hospitalised.

A post-mortem examination of Lucas Leonard showed he had suffered blows to his sustaining blows to his abdomen, back, genitals and thighs and torso.

Police said the boy’s parents, Bruce Leonard, 65, and Deborah Leonard, 59, from nearby Clayville, had been charged with manslaughter.

Meanwhile, four other church members - David Morey, 26, Linda Morey, 54, Sarah Ferguson, 33, and Joseph Irwin, 26, - were charged with assault. Ms Ferguson is the sister of the two victims, while Mr Irwin is the brother of the church’s pastor, Tiffany Irwin. Ms Irwin and her mother, Traci, said to be a founder of the church, have not been charged.

New Hartford Police Chief Michael Inserra told reporters that following a church service on Sunday, Lucas Leonard and Christopher Leonard, were forced to sit through what parishioners called a “counselling session” that turned violent. For hours, the teens were physically punished “in hopes that each would confess to prior sins and ask for forgiveness,” he said.

Asked about claims that the church was a cult, Mr Inserra said: “I’ve heard that term on the street and I’ve even read it in the news.” But, he said, a police investigation hadn’t yet shown it to be true.

Mr Inserra told the Associated Press that members of the church were devoted to Traci Irwin, its spiritual leader, and her daughter, and would often often “wait to be told what to do.” He said that after the attack, the beating victims’ relatives wouldn’t tell officers where to find the injured Christopher Leonard, who ultimately was located on the church’s second floor.

Ms Irwin and her daughter are both believed to still be living inside the church, which is surrounded by fences and has large gates that obscure the view. When The Independent visited a light was on in an upstairs room, but no one responded. The rear of the church’s property is covered by trees and more fencing.

A lawyer for Deborah Leonard, the mother of the victims, said he did not believe she should be charged with manslaughter. Devin Garramone said he had met Ms Leonard and that she was too “meek and mild” to have done such a thing. A lawyer for her husband did not respond to inquiries.

“I’m not saying she was not there or did not play some part in this flogging,” he said. “But I think other individuals were responsible for the injuries that caused the death of her son.”

He said he had heard reports that the “intervention” may have taken place after one of the boys said he wished to leave the church.

“I don’t think this sort of intervention is normal. It’s not something that happened in the past,” he said. “So she may have agreed to the intervention, but the more serious injuries were caused by others.”

Asked if he believed the church was a cult, he said: “To be honest, I can’t speak to that.”

On Thursday evening, Aaron Rondt, was sitting drinking coffee outside the small industrial unit close to the church, where he has worked for 20 years. He appeared shocked by the developments of recent days.

“It’s small town,” he said, his words tinged with disbelief. “But nobody knew.”