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Homicide

Church matriarch gets jail for beating that killed teen boy

Associated Press
Published | Updated
traci irwin

Traci Irwin (FoxNews)

UTICA, N.Y. – 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.

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.

Nine people were charged, including the teens' parents and Irwin's son. Eight have accepted plea deals. The lone holdout, the boys' half sister Sarah Ferguson, was convicted in July of manslaughter and assault.