Word of Life Church trial: 11 things we learned this week (and a few lingering questions)
Syracuse.com/July 1, 2016
By Elizabeth Doran
Eight months ago, two teen-agers were beaten and whipped by their own parents and sister with an electrical cord in a brutal beating that lasted for hours inside a Utica-area church.
That beating, which ultimately killed 19-year-old Lucas Leonard and severely injured his brother, Christopher Leonard,17, took place in the Word of Life Christian Church in Chadwicks, near New Hartford.
The first trial started this week, with Sarah Ferguson, 33, the boys' half-sister, facing murder, assault and other charges. Nine people are accused of participating in the beatings including the boys' parents, Bruce and Deborah Leonard, who have both accepted plea deals.
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Here are 11 things we discovered from the trial:
1) Demons and exorcism. Sarah Ferguson testified she performed an exorcism on her brothers' rooms at one point. She said she believed there were "cowering demons" in her brothers' rooms. She testified that she believes in angels and demons as a scientific thing.
2) Locks to keep brothers out. Sarah Ferguson and her sister, Grace Leonard, 16, testified to placing padlocks on the doors of their attic apartment so the brothers could not molest Grace or Ferguson's four children. Ferguson also said she boarded up a side entrance.
4) Rape, sex abuse: True or fantasy? Sarah Ferguson testified the brothers used with a crowbar to get into the attic and rape one of her children while putting their hands over the mouths of the other three. As this occurred, Ferguson said she and her sister, Grace, were asleep nearby. The prosecutor questioned if that happened, why they didn't wake up.
Prosecutors appear to be suggesting Ferguson was lying or delusional about the abuse. A doctor they called to the stand testified Ferguson's children showed no signs of sexual abuse when examined. But the child Ferguson said was raped was the one child who refused to be examined, the doctor said.
5) Children inappropriately touched. Christopher Leonard did admit in court that he and Luke had inappropriately touched Sarah's children. He denied raping anyone.
6) No one stopped beatings or got help. Sarah Ferguson and her parents all testified that no one tried to stop the beatings that lasted over hours and no one immediately gave the brothers medical aid or called an ambulance. Lucas died the next day. A doctor testified he may have been dead 1-2 hours before his family brought him to the hospital.
7) Lucas could have lived. The medical examiner who testified said Lucas, who died from multiple blunt force trauma, would likely have lived if he got medical attention sooner. He also said Christopher would have died from kidney failure without treatment.
8) What is the defense strategy? The defense wants the judge to drop the murder charge. The lawyer argued that the depraved indifference/second-degree murder charge doesn't apply because Sarah Ferguson's state of mind can't be proven. Ferguson said she didn't believe her brothers needed medical attention because they seemed fine.
The judge questioned whether there are other cases where the defendant's mindset switches from intentional to depraved indifference midway through a crime. He has reserved judgment on the defense's request to drop the murder charge.
The prosecution argues the charge should stick because Ferguson had anger and revenge as her motive "and didn't care whether (her brothers) lived or died."
9) Brothers were brutally beaten. Their father, Bruce Ferguson, testified to whipping them scores of times. His daughter and wife admitted to whipping them too, with Sarah Ferguson saying
she focused on hitting their genitals. Medical testimony also described severe bruises all over their bodies, defensive wounds and a three-inch laceration to Lucas's penis.
10) Why a non-jury trial? Sarah Ferguson opted for a trial before Judge Michael A. Dwyer instead of a jury. Her lawyer and the prosecutor are under a gag order so it has not emerged why the defense decided not to go with a jury which some think might be swayed more than a judge by Sarah Ferguson's claims she beat them because she said they molested her children.
Some lawyers have said in the past that they choose bench trials when they believe the jury pool has been tainted by publicity The bizarre case has attracted local and national attention. It was featured in People magazine.
11) Sisterly love or hate? Sarah Ferguson, who took the unusual move to testify in her trial, admitted to whipping the boys with the cord, focusing on their genitals. But she also expressed her love for them. When asked if she disliked her brother Luke because of what she said he did her children, Ferguson lashed out: "I adore my brother..thank you very much for insinuating such things" she said to Assistant District Attorney Michael Coluzza.
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