Two teenage brothers in the US were brutally beaten in church, killing one of them, in an effort by their parents, sister and other members to get them to confess their sins.
Police say spiritual "counselling" at the Word of Life church in upstate New York turned into an hours-long attack on Sunday night in which Lucas Leonard, 19, and his 17-year-old brother, Christopher, were pummelled with fists and kicked. They suffered injuries to the abdomen, genitals, back and thighs.
Eventually, Lucas stopped breathing and relatives took him early on Monday to a hospital, where he died, police said. Authorities went to the church and found his younger brother, who was hospitalised in serious condition.
"Both brothers were subjected to physical punishment over the course of several hours, in hopes that each would confess to prior sins and ask for forgiveness," police chief Michael Inserra said on Wednesday.
The brothers' parents, Bruce and Deborah Leonard, were charged with manslaughter in Lucas's death.
Four other adults were charged with assault in the younger brother's beating, including Sarah Ferguson, 33, the victims' sister.
The beatings took place at a red-brick former elementary school that serves as both a church and a home for several members of the congregation, including one of the suspects.
The church has existed for as many as 30 years in New Hartford, a once-thriving mill town of 22,000 people about 80 kilometres from Syracuse.
Tara Litz, who used to live next door to the church, said: "I never really had any ill problems with them, but I did see a lot of sketchy things regarding stuff in my backyard, weird hours of the night, weird chanting, humming."
All the suspects pleaded not guilty. Lawyers for the parents and the sister had no comment.
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