The trial for an 18-year-old accused of killing a juvenile at an area group home when he was a juvenile begins today in Butler County Common Pleas Court.

Lance Tiernan, who turned 18 on May 5, will be the fifth juvenile in five years to be tried as an adult for murder in Butler County. He was bound over to adult court in February and indicted on one count of murder in March.

He is accused of killing another resident, 16-year-old Anthony Parker, at the One Way Farm group home in Fairfield Twp. last December.

A videotape of the incident will be shown to jurors during the trial. According to prosecutors and police, Parker and another boy were arguing over ownership of a flashlight when Tiernan apparently became tired of the bickering. Tiernan allegedly struck Parker in the head, then picked him up and slammed his head into the floor.

Three hours later, staff at the group home found Parker unresponsive during a routine bed check.

Parker, a Fairfield High School student, died Dec. 28 after more than a week on life support at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

The trial is expected to last two to three days, according to defense attorney Charlie M. Rittgers, and Judge Patricia Oney has reserved judgment on all but a few of the motions he and co-counsel Nick Graman have filed.

The defense team wanted autopsy photos suppressed because they said it would “inflame” the jury and are unnecessary because their client is not contesting his involvement in Parker’s death.

“These pictures show Mr. Parker unconscious in a hospital bed surrounded by medical instruments,” the motion reads. “They are gruesome and, in light of the fact that defendant is not contesting Mr. Parker’s death, unduly prejudicial.”

Oney ruled the photos will be shown to the jury. She has yet to rule on a motion to exclude Tiernan’s Facebook and Myspace pages, and several motions for jury instructions, including reckless homicide, among others.

“Defense counsel anticipates that the state will try to use Lance’s ‘liking’ of the movies Fight Club and of various songs, including a Johnny Cash song, to argue that he was predisposed to commit this alleged crime or that he has a violent tendency,” the defense team wrote.

“The Myspace and Facebook content, however, does not make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of this case more probable or less probable.”

The prosecutors want Oney to instruct the jury that a person acts “knowingly” regardless of their purpose.

Parker’s adoptive grandmother has blamed the group home for the incident and has said she may file a lawsuit after the trial is over. The state licensing agency that regulates these homes found the home did not violate medical emergency protocols.

Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4525 or dcallahan@coxohio.com.