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Mother 'helpless' to stop fatal church beating of son

 

Deborah.L did not feel she could stand up to other members of the Word of Life Christian Church in NY State, said her lawyer. Her son, 19, died from the attack and his brother is in hospital. Police say they were beaten by Mrs L, her husband and five others to force them to confess their sins. All 6 people arrested, including the father and sister, have denied the charges. "It looks like she went along with it, and it spun out of control," said her lawyer describing the incident as an "intervention". "This woman is so meek and timid, she didn't have the temerity to stand up to them and say, 'You're not punishing my kid. You're not doing this. Some of the others arrested are maybe the cause of Death, he said. The boys were kicked and punched, multiple times on Sunday but it's not really clear why. Police described the beating as a "spiritual counselling session to urge to confess and seek forgiveness". Ms L's husband said it was a family meeting that had nothing to do with the church. The 19 years old boy died on Monday morning in hospital, where his parents took him the morning after the attack. His 17-year-old brother Christopher is still in the hospital in a serious condition. The parents have pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and the other four have pleaded not guilty to assault.

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