19-yo dead in church at parents' hands

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

the church was in a large old elementary school building. One article said there were about 35 church members.

from the article http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/14/us/new-yo ... ault-case/

Did they all live in the building?

No. The boys who were beat were form a nearby town with a population of 350. They were homeschooled, kept away from the media, kept mostly to themselves (though the boys tried to be normal, according to one article I read), etc.

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

That just makes it that much more disgusting! What is the matter with this family?

The sister has her own kids, but she lives in the attic of her parent's duplex. I dont think it's impossible that she did it because of fear of how her parents would react. However, if the stories are to be believed, the family shut themselves away from the world, so she really could have no grasp of how wrong this was. She was told to attack them, and she did. It's not the first time a fundie has been raised to blindly follow instructions of authority figures, even when they conflicted with the morals they were taught.

[xlurker]

I was wondering the same thing.

I'm new at this so I hope I am doing this right! I found on Word of Life Institute's FB page that they state they are not affiliated with the Word of Life Church. Either way, from what I have found in the last day or so, the Institute sounds to be fundie lite--no dresses required

[ViolaSebastian]

So, according to this New York Times article, the mother's attorney claims that the murdered young man and his hospitalized younger brother were molesting children at the Church they attended:

It had something to do with the boys maybe touching some of the other children in the church.

They were being confronted to confess their sins and to repent,†Garramone said. “What started as some mild flogging spun out of control into something much more violent.â€

The New Hartford Police Department has issued a statement saying that there is no evidence that this was the case and that the accusations of molestation are completely unfounded. In any case, this mother is truly one of the more despicable human being on the earth this week.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/16/nyreg ... -news&_r=0

[AmazonGrace]

What in the world?!?! A church beating?!

Didn't they know that the Biblical way to deal with disobedient children is to bring them to the gates and have every male in the city to stone them to death.

http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/dt/21.html#18

[apple1]

I am not sure, but is this church affiliated with the Word of Life Institute in Schroon Lake NY?

No.

[Jana814]

There is a very special place in Hell for people like this.

Yes their is!

[Jana814]

This is such a sad story. That poor kid.

[MamaJunebug]

(snip) .... The New Hartford Police Department has issued a statement saying that there is no evidence that this was the case and that the accusations of molestation are completely unfounded. In any case, this mother is truly one of the more despicable human being on the earth this week.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/16/nyreg ... -news&_r=0

Appreciate the link - most complete info yet. I'm curious why you point to the mother as one of the more despicable hb's on earth? Are you referring to the mother of the dead and mauled young men, or the widow of the original cult leader, who members call "Mother" in the church?

Asked in a spirit of sincerity.

[NotALoserLikeYou]

So when people (adults) confess sins at this church they're flogged? I've only heard about that happening in serious cults.

[ViolaSebastian]

Appreciate the link - most complete info yet. I'm curious why you point to the mother as one of the more despicable hb's on earth? Are you referring to the mother of the dead and mauled young men, or the widow of the original cult leader, who members call "Mother" in the church?

Asked in a spirit of sincerity.

Sorry, I was referring to Deborah Leonard, whom they refer to as "Mother." I apologize for the confusion, I'm getting over a virus.

[ladymissdiva]

Rick Ross (of the Cult Education Institute) posted the following comment on a Washington Post article:

The picture that is emerging concerning the Word of Life Church in Hartford, New York is that of a classic destructive cult dominated by an authoritarian leader. Reportedly Traci and Bruce Irwin ruled over their small flock like royalty. The group was isolated, largely sealed off from outsiders and free labor was used by the Irwins to renovate the large school building the group occupied and run a dog breeding business.

There are thousands of small groups like this one across the United States. But most feed off of the Web, utilize social media and communicate through podcasts and YouTube accounts to network their often disparate devotees. This is how thee new wave of destructive cults operates in the digital age.

Word of Life Church is quite literally "old school." That is, the leaders chose to turn an old school building in upstate New York into a virtual cult compound. Inside that cocooned world the Irwins reportedly controlled communication, home schooled the children and essentially created a small encapsulated bubble world that they dominated.

I researched the history of such small groups for the book "Cults Inside Out," which includes a history of destructive cults from Charles Manson to today. Sadly, we only pay attention to such groups when a tragedy occurs. Otherwise they may go unnoticed. The Irwin group apparently controlled, exploited and abused its members for many years before brutal beatings and death brought them media attention.

Here is the link to the post article: washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/10/14/the-cult-like-church-whose-members-are-accused-of-fatally-beating-a-teen/

[ladymissdiva]

The New York Times spoke to former Word of Life members, call it a cult:

nytimes.com/2015/10/23/nyregion/at-word-of-life-church-an-evolution-from-bible-study-group-to-secretive-sect.html

[SolomonFundy]

The church/cult was definitely living out of the mainstream, but they weren't isolated in the same fashion as say, the FLDS compounds. The Leonards were involved with events and people outside of the church, and made a good impression on many of the people they interacted with. One of my favorite fundies made a blog post about the impact of the event in her community, and she personally knew the boys and their mother. She is not affiliated with the cult in any way. Her interactions with the dead boy and his family all occurred at social events that were apparently secular in nature. She even laments that she failed to discuss religion and faith with Debi Leonard when they were together:

cultivatinghome.com/2015/10/the-death-of-lucas-leonard-and-evil.html

It doesn't change what happened. If anything, it makes the whole business even worse. The Leonard family were exposed to influences and ideas outside of their church culture, and they still chose to be complicit in the assault and death of Lucas.

[roddma]

They are BOTH despicable parents.

In any case, this mother is truly one of the more despicable human being on the earth this week.