Matriarch of secretive church sect gets two years in prison for beating teen to death and injuring his brother in 14 hour torture session
- Traci Irwin, 55, pleaded guilty to two counts of felony unlawful imprisonment and was sentenced by a judge to two years in prison on Monday
- Charges stem from October 2015 all-night beating attack where Lucas Leonard, 19, was killed and his brother Christopher, 17, was left injured
- Incident happened after brothers discussed leaving Word of Life Christian Church congregation
- Nine people total were charged in fatal incident, including boys' parents Deborah and Bruce Leonard, Pastor Tiffanie Irwin, Joseph Irwin, Daniel Irwin, Linda and David Morey and the boys' half sister Sarah Ferguson
The matriarch of a small New York church where two brothers were beaten for 14 hours during a counseling session has been sentenced to two years in jail.
Fifty-year-old Traci Irwin was sentenced Monday in Oneida County Court after pleading guilty to two counts of felony unlawful imprisonment.
The charges stemmed from the all-night beatings that killed 19-year-old Lucas Leonard and injured 17-year-old Christopher Leonard in October 2015 at the Word of Life Christian Church in New Hartford, near Utica.
Investigators said the brothers were beaten for talking about leaving the congregation.
Traci Irwin (above in court on Monday), the matriarch of a small New York church where two brothers were beaten for hours during a counseling session, has been sentenced to two years in jail
The Word of Life Christian Church defendant was sentenced for her role in the beatings that killed Lucas Leonard and left his brother, Christopher, injured in the October 2015 attack
During her sentencing, her attorney, Frank Policelli, said: 'I understand we have an agreed-upon sentence, but you're sentencing an innocent person,' the Observer-Dispatch reported.
However, Oneida County Court Judge Michael Dwyer refuted her lawyer's claim and said that she was in the best position to stop the beatings, as she had seniority in the church.
Policelli tried to counter and state that he believed his client would have been found not guilty with a fair trial and a fair judge.
He said that she'll likely be released in March as she has already been in jail without bail for roughly 15 months.
The matriarch did thank the court for allowing her to 'see the beauty of those who are broken' in 'heart, mind and soul.'
She also thanked the court for allowing her 'to partake in this suffering,' as she was adamant she had no knowledge of the horrific beating that happened a little over a year ago.
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Lucas Leonard, 19, (left) was killed and Christopher Leonard, 17, was injured in the attack
Traci Irwin (left) plead guilty to two counts of felony unlawful imprisonment, but contested that she had no knowledge of beatings. Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara (right) previously called the case 'a terrible tragedy'
'I had no knowledge. And if I had, things would have been very different if I had,' she told the court.
'Of all the tragedy that's happened to me in my life, if I had five minutes to redo something, I'd choose five minutes right there to save Luke because I loved him. I loved this family because it's who I am.
'And every single person you must have spoken to and the district attorney must have spoken to say the same thing.
'That's the truth. I had no knowledge. And that's all I have to say.'
In total nine people were charged in the deadly attack, as eight took plea deals, including the teens' parents, Deborah and Bruce Leonard, Word of Life Christian Church Pastor Tiffanie Irwin, her brothers Joseph Irwin and Daniel Irwin, their mother Traci Irwin, along with mother and son church members Linda Morey and David Morey.
The lone holdout, the boys' half sister Sarah Ferguson, was convicted in July of manslaughter and assault. She was sentenced to 25 years in prison for her role.
A file photo shows a sign hanging on a utility pole outside the Word of Life Christian Church in New Hartford, New York in 2015 where the horrific incident took place
Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara previously called the case 'a terrible tragedy.'
'I can only hope that Luke can rest in peace, Chris can get on with his life,' McNamara said.
Christopher Leonard testified at an earlier hearing that Tiffanie Irwin asked his family and some others to stay behind for a meeting after an eight-hour Sunday service last October.
Over the next 14 hours, he said, he and his brother were pummeled in their torsos and genitals with an electrical cord.
McNamara has said the brothers were ordered during the beating to repent for a variety of sins, including using a voodoo doll.
Police have said there was no evidence to support a claim by their half-sister, Sarah Ferguson, that they had molested her children.
Tiffanie Irwin, Joseph Irwin, Linda Morey and David Morey were the last of nine people charged to be convicted in the attack. Others charged include from top left, clockwise: The victims' father Bruce Leonard; his wife Deborah Leonard, Sarah Ferguson, the victims' half-sister, Joseph Irwin; Linda Morey; and David Morey
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