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http://news.cincinnati.com/article/2012 ... y=nav|head

Teen accused of murder described as respectful, kind, shy
2:18 PM, Jul. 11, 2012

Written by
Paul McKibben

HAMILTON - Baby-faced Lance Tiernan, accused of murdering a fellow teenaged resident at Fairfield Township group home last December, told jurors Wednesday in Butler County Common Pleas Court that he did not want to take Anthony Parker’s life.

Tiernan said he did not suspect 16-year-old Anthony was severely injured after Tiernan beat him up on the evening of Dec. 19 at One Way Farm.

“I wasn’t trying to hurt him,” Tiernan testified on the witness stand, wearing a white dress shirt, brown pants and a tie.

Tiernan was 17at the time of the incident. Anthony died nine days later. Tiernan is charged with one count of murder and faces 15 years to life in prison if convicted. He is being tried as adult.

Tiernan said he felt terrible about what happened.

“I never wanted to take his life,” he said.

Tiernan admitted to hitting Anthony and said he saw a video of the incident for the first time on Tuesday when prosecutors played it during the trial.

Before the attack Anthony and another resident were arguing about a flashlight, Anthony was raising his voice and Tiernan got tired of the bantering, the defendant testified. Tiernan said Anthony said two expletive phrases with one about Tiernan’s mother. Tiernan said his mother his mother is a sensitive issue. She abandoned him when he was in the sixth grade.

“I can’t deny I didn’t hurt him,” he told Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser under cross examination.

Tiernan was the defense’s last witness on Wednesday.

Tiernan’s aunt and uncle in Mason took him to Warren County Children Services on Nov. 30 after he returned from running away. The relatives no longer wanted to care for Tiernan who was abandoned by his mother when he was in the sixth grade.

Tiernan was a student at Mason High School.

Earlier, the defense began its case by calling a former official from Warren County Children Services and three Mason High School teachers to the stand. One of three teachers testified via a video recorded last week.

The teachers described Tiernan as someone who was respectful, kind, shy, was a good student and worked hard/

“Lance is probably my favorite student of all time,” Jessica Krohn, an intervention specialist at Mason High School.

Krohn’s testimony was taped and played for the jury.

The prosecution rested Wednesday morning.

In the two-day trial prosecutors only called three witnesses with a Hamilton County deputy coroner, being the state’s final witness against 18-year-old Lance Tiernan.

Dr. Jennifer Schott, a forensic pathologist and deputy coroner, told jurors that 16-year-old Anthony Parker suffered from brain swelling and a fracture to part of his skull. She said Parker being slammed to the ground by Tiernan caused the fracture to that bone.

Prosecutors showed jurors graphic photos of Anthony’s head with all but one of them depicting a bloody skull.

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Updated: 9:13 p.m. Thursday, July 12, 2012 | Posted: 9:12 p.m. Thursday, July 12, 2012

Teen guilty of lesser charge in beating death
Verdict is involuntary manslaughter in group home fatality.



Photo: Samantha Grier
Defense attorney Charlie M. Rittgers pats Lance Tiernan on the back after Tiernan was convicted of involuntary manslaughter on Thursday in the death of Anthony Parker last December at One Way Farm. Tiernan, who was tried as an adult, faced 15 years to life in prison had he been convicted of murder. Staff photos by Samantha Grier

By Denise G. Callahan
Staff Writer

Lance Tiernan cried as the jury foreman read the verdict Thursday that he was not guilty of murder but guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the beating death of another teen at an area group home for children.

The jury deliberated for two hours in Butler County Common Pleas Court before deciding Tiernan, who turned 18 in May, was not guilty of murdering 16-year-old Anthony Parker.

Rather than facing 15 years to life in adult prison, he now could be sentenced to a maximum of 36 months, and his attorney says his punishment may be served in the juvenile system.

Judge Patricia Oney ordered a pre-sentence report and will impose sentence on Aug. 20.

Tiernan was the fifth juvenile to be tried for murder in the county during the past five years.

On Tuesday, the jury viewed a video of the incident that took place at the One Way Farm group home on Dec. 19, 2011. Tiernan lunged at Parker and punched him in the head.

When the teen, who was eight inches shorter than Tiernan, tried to scramble away, Tiernan bear hugged him from the back and threw him on his head.

The slow-motion view of the tape showed Parker’s head bouncing off the hard floor, and Tiernan delivered a final blow to the back of Parker’s head while he was lying on the floor.

During closing arguments on Thursday the jury learned they could choose between murder or two lesser offenses, namely involuntary manslaughter or reckless homicide.

Parker’s adoptive grandmother, Anita Smith, who has been critical of the group home for not seeking medical aid sooner, said the verdict brings closure. After the assault, Parker appeared fine. One Way Farm employees didn’t call medics or police until they found the teen unresponsive three or four hours later.

Smith said she was hoping the jury would convict Tiernan on the murder charge.

“It’s not what we wanted, but that’s what the jury decided, so we’ll have to learn to live with it. ... I feel we got some justice. At least he showed some remorse, which is the first time I’ve seen it.”

Tiernan took the stand in his own defense Wednesday and cried when he described the incident. He said he never meant to kill Parker and didn’t realize his actions could have led to this result.

Tiernan’s sister, Danielle Tiernan, said the verdict was a great relief.

“We’re happy with this outcome for him,” she said. “I was finally able to breathe.”

Prosecutor Mike Gmoser and Assistant Prosecutor Brad Burress left the courtroom without comment and could not be reached for their reaction.

Defense attorneys Charles M. Rittgers and Nick Graman hugged their client when the not guilty of murder verdict was read. Afterward, Rittgers said the jury picked the right option.

“This is a tragic case, it was tragic for Anthony’s family and also for Lance’s,” he said. “I think it’s a just outcome, and we’re happy with the verdict.”

At sentencing, there will most likely be a “reverse bind-over” to juvenile court, according to Rittgers. “The reason he was bound over to adult court was it was a mandatory bind-over for the murder charge,” he said. “Given he was convicted of something less, he has the opportunity to be heard in juvenile court to see if he is amenable for treatment there.”

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WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO

http://www.fox19.com/story/18987197/tri ... =printable

Video of fight that killed Butler County teen shown in court

Posted: Jul 10, 2012 5:23 AM EDT Updated: Jul 11, 2012 6:56 AM EDT
Posted by FOX19 Digital Media Staff - email
 
Lance Tiernan Lance Tiernan
HAMILTON, OH (FOX19) -

The trial for a teenager who is accused of killing a fellow resident of a Fairfield Township group home began Tuesday.

Jury selection and opening statements were held Tuesday in the trial of Lance Tiernan, 18, who is accused of killing Anthony Parker, 16, at the One Way Farm group home last December.

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 died on Dec. 28 after more than a week on life support at Children's Hospital.

"This defendant was aware of the facts and circumstances of what it is he did," said Butler County Assistant Prosecutor Brad Burress.

But the defense claims that's not true, and in his statement to police he was  "having a bad day, and Parker set him off" while arguing over a flashlight. The defense says Tiernan did not knowingly cause serious physical harm to Parker.

"It was not felonious assault and it's not murder. I trust that after you hear all the evidence you will agree," said Charlie Rittgers, Tiernan's attorney.

The trial is expected to last two to three days.

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54 days in jail? 'Oh my God. He murdered my son'
12:22 PM, Aug. 20, 2012  |  

http://cmsimg.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcsi ... ed-my-son-
LOCAL AUG. 20, 2012 Anthony Parker's adoptive grandmother, Anita Smith, holds a collage of photographs of Parker through the years. Parker, 16, was beaten to death by fellow One Way Farm group home resident Lance Tiernan on Dec. 19. / Sheila McLaughlin/The Enquirer

Written by
Sheila McLaughlin

http://cmsimg.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcsi ... ed-my-son-
Lance Tiernan gets 54 days in jail, probation and community service is the death of 16-year-old Anthony Parker at One Way Farm group home last December. / Enquirer file

HAMILTON — The man who considered himself Anthony Parker’s father burst from a Butler County courtroom Monday screaming “Oh my God. He murdered my son” after a judge gave the boy’s killer 54 days in jail, probation and community service.

“I will never forgive Mr. Tiernan. I will hate him for the rest of my life,” Frank Smith said before Judge Patricia Oney sentenced Lance Tiernan on a charge of involuntary manslaughter.

Smith, who never returned to the courtroom, has two teenage daughters with Parker’s mother from a previous relationship.

Jurors found Tiernan not guilty of murder in July, but they did convicted him of involuntary manslaughter in the Dec. 19 beating death of Parker, 16, at One Way Farm in Fairfield Township.

Tiernan was charged as an adult with murder but since the jury tossed that charge, the case will revert to the juvenile system for a second sentencing hearing on involuntary manslaughter.

By law, Tiernan’s case was automatically bound over to adult court because of his age – 17 at the time of the offense – and the seriousness of the charge. The case automatically is sent back to juvenile court for a sentencing hearing because Tiernan was not convicted of the murder charge.

Defense attorney Charles M. Rittgers said a Butler County juvenile judge will review the adult court’s sentence and is supposed to mirror it.

Tiernan could be held in a juvenile prison until he’s 21, but that’s unlikely, Rittgers said. As an adult he faced up to three years in prison. He has been in jail for 246 days awaiting trial.

Being sentenced as a juvenile means the conviction won’t follow him as an adult when he applies for jobs or college, Rittgers said.

The hearing in juvenile court has not been set.

Beside the 54-day jail sentence, Oney ordered Tiernan to spend one year on intensive probation and to be monitored for drug and alcohol use for four years. He will have to perform 500 hours of community service and either get his GED or finish high school. Tiernan was a student at Mason High School before being arrested.

(Page 2 of 2)

Tiernan told Oney Monday that he was sorry for what he did to Parker.

“Every day I ask God for forgiveness. I never wanted Andy to die. I never should have done what I did. It was stupid,” said Tiernan, who was placed at One Way Farm by children services because he had run away and none of his relatives would take him in.

Tiernan was 17 when he beat Parker in a violent attack at One Way Farm. Parker suffered a skull fracture and was later found unresponsive in his bedroom. He died nine days later when his adoptive grandmother, Anita Smith, removed him from life support.

Parker’s mother, Kathy Sulton, accepted the judge’s sentence.

“I guess he got what he wanted. I wanted more but … he got what the judge felt was right and I’m hoping he gets his life together and he meant what he said that he was remorseful. Only time will tell,” Sulton said.

She said she forgives Tiernan.

“The day that this happened in my heart I knew that he didn’t intentionally set out to kill Anthony. It’s just the grieving is very hard. Anthony was my first born and it’s just been a hard road,” she said.

Sulton said her 8-year-old son is in grief counseling and is having the toughest time dealing with his brother’s death. The boy has talked of wanting to kill himself so they could be together, Sulton said.

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