Teen on life support after assault at children's home

[cmack]

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/2011 ... /312300010

Teen accused of group home killing may face new charge

2:43 PM, Dec. 29, 2011

Fairfield Township police said they plan to consult with the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office to bring new charges against a 17-year-old accused of beating another teen at a group home for troubled youths.

The injured 16-year-old died Wednesday night.

When the incident occurred last week, Fairfield Township Police Chief Richard St. John said a murder charge would not be likely if the teen died. On Thursday, however, he would not say that.

“We’re way, way, way ahead of ourselves,” he said. “We have to talk to the prosecutor’s office and see what all their thought processes are on this whole thing. It’s an extreme shame. It’s unbelievable. A 16-year-old who ends up dead because just basically an act of stupidity, what more can you say about it.”

The 17-year-old was being held on an aggravated assault charge at the Butler County Juvenile Detention Center. His pretrial hearing was set for Jan. 3.

Anthony Parker, 16, died Wednesday evening at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, where he had been placed on life support following an attack last week at the One Way Farm in Fairfield Township.

The 17-year-old, who is much bigger than Parker, slammed his head onto the floor and beat him Dec. 19, police said previously. The boys were fighting over which of them owned a flashlight.

At first, Anthony didn’t seem to be seriously hurt after staff members broke up the fight, police have said, but staff later found that Parker had lost consciousness and had vomited. He was taken to University Hospital and then was transferred to Children’s.

Jody Canupp, development director for One Way Farm, said Parker made a snack and ate a sandwich after the incident.

“The boy who was hurt was walking around and talking normally right after being struck. So we had no reason to believe that there was any serious injury,” she said Thursday.

“The other boy had no history of violence to our knowledge.”

One Way Farm, Canupp said, has cared for more than 9,000 children and troubled youths in its 34 years.

“We have a lot of controls in place to make sure our youth are safe. After all, most are here because they have been deeply wounded as children,” she said.

“Reasonable people, parents, know that this was an event that could have happened anywhere.”

One Way Farm is a state-certified, nonprofit facility that provides temporary or emergency housing for abused, abandoned, neglected or troubled children and teens, many in need of medication, according to its http://www.onewayfarm.org/" target="_new">website Many teens are sent by children services agencies and by the courts.

The organization also cares for youths with disabilities and developmental disabilities. It has been in operation more than 32 years and has served thousands of children. It has a capacity for about 25 juveniles.

One Way Farm is licensed by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, which is investigating the death.

Jennifer Edwards Baker contributed to this story

[wdtony]

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/2011 ... CFRONTPAGE


Teen accused of murder in fatal group home beating

6:03 PM, Dec. 29, 2011

FAIRFIELD TWP. -- Murder – that’s what a 17-year-old is accused of, following the death of a 16-year-old boy who was beaten at a group home, police announced Thursday afternoon.

Lance Tiernan, who was arrested on the night of the assault at the One Way Farm, was originally charged with assault but now will face a murder charge, police said.

The decision to upgrade the charge came after the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office determined that Anthony Parker’s death on Wednesday night happened “as a result of the injuries sustained in the assault,” a news release said.

Anthony was on life support until he died at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. His friends have created a Facebook page in his memory.

Lance was being held in the Butler County Juvenile Detention Center.

The 17-year-old, who is much bigger than Anthony, slammed his head onto the floor and beat him Dec. 19, police said previously.

At first, Anthony didn’t seem to be seriously hurt after staff members broke up the fight, police have said, but staff later found that Parker had lost consciousness and had vomited. He was taken to University Hospital and then was transferred to Children’s.

Jody Canupp, development director for One Way Farm, said Anthony made a snack and ate a sandwich after the incident.

“The boy who was hurt was walking around and talking normally right after being struck. So we had no reason to believe that there was any serious injury,” she said Thursday. “The other boy had no history of violence to our knowledge.”

One Way Farm, Canupp said, has cared for more than 9,000 children and troubled youths in its 34 years.

“We have a lot of controls in place to make sure our youth are safe. After all, most are here because they have been deeply wounded as children,” she said. “Reasonable people, parents, know that this was an event that could have happened anywhere.”

In a statement released Thursday afternoon, the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office explained that Lance is charged under a section of law known as “felony murder,” and, in this instance, “causing the death of another resulting from a felonious assault.”

Anthony died from “blunt force trauma to the head,” the prosecutor’s office said.

Also, the prosecutor’s office said, “the injury and death resulted from an attack against Anthony Parker and not a fight between them.”

Police had earlier told reporters that the boys had fought over who had owned a flashlight.

One Way Farm is a state-certified, nonprofit facility that provides temporary or emergency housing for abused, abandoned, neglected or troubled children and teens, many in need of medication, according to its website. Many teens are sent by children services agencies and by the courts.

The organization also cares for youths with disabilities and developmental disabilities. It has been in operation more than 32 years and has served thousands of children. It has a capacity for about 25 juveniles.

One Way Farm is licensed by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, which is investigating the death.

[wdtony]

facebook page mentioned in article above:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/prayforanthonyparker/

[Pile of Dead Kids]

Looks like the term "One Way Home" just took on a new meaning.

[Ursus]

From the above article posted by wdtony:

Teen beaten at Butler Co. group home dies

11:17 PM, Dec. 28, 2011

The teen who was beaten at a Butler County group home for troubled youths has died, officials said, and a second teen could face upgraded charges as a result.

Anthony Parker, 16, died Wednesday evening at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, where he had been placed on life support following an attack last week at the One Way Farm in Fairfield Township...[/list][/size]
Well, this has, indeed, ended very badly. Actually, it has not ended yet; not by a long shot.

A week prior to the above noted publication date, there were a number of news reports that Anthony Parker, then not yet identified, had, in fact, died. Some of those reports were then subsequently retracted within a day or two.

At the time, I hoped against the odds, but it was clear that the injuries were quite extreme. To my knowledge, as the days went by, no articles reported any improvement in Parker's medical condition.

So sad.

[cmack]

We will likely never know, but it'd be interesting to learn why Anthony was there in the first place. I don't remember reading anything about him having a problematic past. In fact, the comments from an earlier article says: “Anthony had a huge capacity for love.” and Billy Smith, principal at Fairfield High School, said Anthony was a fan of sports, closely following the Cincinnati Bengals and Cincinnati Reds.

“In class, he really enjoyed participating; he was a pleasure to have in class and he was always willing to do anything he could to help others,” Smith said. “Anthony always smiled and seemed to be happiest when he was able to help others.”

We know he had a mother and family: Kathy Parker, mother of Anthony Parker, said Thursday via her Facebook page, “Thank you for everyone’s concern at this time of my loss and my family’s and thank you for the prayers as we grieve.”

Maybe he had gotten in some trouble or maybe there was trouble at home, but unfortunately someone made the decision to remove him from his home and we all know the tragic result of that.

[Reddit TroubledTeens]

Teen charged with murder has history with juvenile courts

By Kelsey Cano, Staff Writer 10:40 PM Friday, December 30, 2011

FAIRFIELD TWP. — The teenager charged this week in the beating death of another teen at One Way Farm Children’s Home has a record in the Warren County Juvenile Court system.

Lance Tiernan, 17, of Lebanon, was charged with chronic truancy on Sept. 26. He admitted to the charge, was placed on a GPS monitoring device and ordered to attend Lebanon City Schools with no absences, court records show.

On Nov. 23, his guardian filed an unruly charge on him and said he was a runaway and had been gone since Oct. 17.

Tiernan, who was charged Thursday with murder in connection with Anthony Parker’s death, had no apparent prior history of violence, according to Warren County Children Services, which placed the teen at One Way Farm in late November.

He will be tried as an adult, said Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser, who said Parker’s death was a result of a “brutal unjustified felony assault.”

Parker, a 16-year-old Fairfield High School student, died Wednesday night at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, where he had been on life support since the Dec. 19 assault.

An autopsy performed Thursday confirmed the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, Gmoser said.

The charges against Tiernan were upgraded Thursday. Originally charged with felony aggravated assault, he has been held in the Butler County Juvenile Detention Center since Dec. 19.

On Dec. 19, One Way Farm staff called for an ambulance around 11:30 p.m. when Parker was found in his room unresponsive and on the floor during a bed check, according to Fairfield Twp. police. The call came three hours after he was assaulted.

Between 7:30 and 8 p.m., Tiernan, who at 6 feet, 5 inches and 215 pounds was 70 pounds heavier and 8 inches taller than Parker, allegedly slammed Parker to the ground. Fairfield Twp. Police Chief Richard St. John said Parker landed on his head, and that Tiernan then allegedly repeatedly struck the younger teen in his head. The chief said the incident may have been sparked over a dispute over a flashlight each teen claimed was his.

Canupp said an ambulance wasn’t called sooner because Parker did not seem in need of medical attention and had even made a sandwich after the incident.

“The boy who was hit was walking around and talking normally right after being struck, so we had no reason to believe there was any serious injury involved,” she said. “I am proud of how our staff responded. They did not observe anything from their angle that would have suggested serious injury occurred.”

One Way Farm is a nonprofit organization licensed to provide residential care 365 days a year, 24 hours a day to 10 male children between the ages of 6 and 17, or if handicapped, up to age 21, through its Sunrise home at 6141 River Road. It also has a capacity of 10 female children, ages 6 to 17, or up to 21 for handicapped clients, through its New Dawn home at 6145 River Road on its campus, documents show. The agency has full certification through Dec. 29, 2012.

Staff Writer Hannah Poturalski contributed to this report.

[Ursus]

From the just above article, with link to source added, and emphasis added:

Teen charged with murder has history with juvenile courts[/list]

By Kelsey Cano, Staff Writer 10:40 PM Friday, December 30, 2011

FAIRFIELD TWP. — The teenager charged this week in the beating death of another teen at One Way Farm Children's Home has a record in the Warren County Juvenile Court system.

Lance Tiernan, 17, of Lebanon, was

charged with chronic truancy on Sept. 26. He admitted to the charge, was placed on a GPS monitoring device and ordered to attend Lebanon City Schools with no absences, court records show.

On Nov. 23, his guardian filed an unruly charge on him and said he was a runaway and had been gone since Oct. 17.

Tiernan, who was charged Thursday with murder in connection with Anthony Parker’s death, had no apparent prior history of violence, according to Warren County Children Services, which placed the teen at One Way Farm in late November...[/list][/size]
Something really doesn't add up here. Truancy and running away are considered status offenses, namely, they are actions that would not be considered against the law were they committed by an adult.

Teenage status offenses are essentially non-violent; typical examples include consumption of alcohol, tobacco smoking, truancy, and running away from home.  In fact, their inherent nature could easily be described as being actions of avoidance and/or rebellion. Even chronic status offenders don't usually progress to the kind of violence which results in murder charges, let alone via an altercation over the ownership of a flashlight.

There may be some information missing here with regard to Lance Tiernan's recent history. Why was he always running away? Did he witness violence in his family and home life growing up? Did someone recently try to commit or actually succeed in committing some act of violence against him? Did Warren County Children Services try to "correct" Tiernan's seemingly non-compliant nature via a recently introduced medication regimen? Or, was he on meds previously, and recently taken off of them by One Way Farm or others?

[wdtony]

From the just above article, with link to source added, and emphasis added:

Teen charged with murder has history with juvenile courts[/list]

By Kelsey Cano, Staff Writer 10:40 PM Friday, December 30, 2011

FAIRFIELD TWP. — The teenager charged this week in the beating death of another teen at One Way Farm Children's Home has a record in the Warren County Juvenile Court system.

Lance Tiernan, 17, of Lebanon, was

charged with chronic truancy on Sept. 26. He admitted to the charge, was placed on a GPS monitoring device and ordered to attend Lebanon City Schools with no absences, court records show.

On Nov. 23, his guardian filed an unruly charge on him and said he was a runaway and had been gone since Oct. 17.

Tiernan, who was charged Thursday with murder in connection with Anthony Parker’s death, had no apparent prior history of violence, according to Warren County Children Services, which placed the teen at One Way Farm in late November...[/list][/size]
Something really doesn't add up here. Truancy and running away are considered status offenses, namely, they are actions that would not be considered against the law were they committed by an adult.

Teenage status offenses are essentially non-violent; typical examples include consumption of alcohol, tobacco smoking, truancy, and running away from home.  In fact, their inherent nature could easily be described as being actions of avoidance and/or rebellion. Even chronic status offenders don't usually progress to the kind of violence which results in murder charges, let alone via an altercation over the ownership of a flashlight.

There may be some information missing here with regard to Lance Tiernan's recent history. Why was he always running away? Did he witness violence in his family and home life growing up? Did someone recently try to commit or actually succeed in committing some act of violence against him? Did Warren County Children Services try to "correct" Tiernan's seemingly non-compliant nature via a recently introduced medication regimen? Or, was he on meds previously, and recently taken off of them by One Way Farm or others?

That is what always bothers me, the lack of important details. This reminds me of my friend from KHK who is in prison for murder. The media reports all about his life with exception to the genesis of his mental illness that started within the walls of KHK. His name is Sean Noakes and you can google him. He killed woman in Florence, KY a couple years ago.

[cmack]

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/day ... 06544.html

Teen to be arraigned in fatal beating at One Way Farm
Lance Tiernan, 17, will go before a judge today.

By Hannah Poturalski, Staff Writer 8:24 PM Sunday, January 1, 2012

HAMILTON — A 17-year-old will be arraigned today on a murder charge in the death of 16-year-old Anthony Parker following a beating at the One Way Farm Children’s Home in Fairfield Twp.

Lance Tiernan, 17, a former Lebanon High School student, is accused of assaulting Parker on the evening of Dec. 19 at the group home where both teens were residents.

Parker died from his injuries Wednesday night after more than a week on life support at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. A Dec. 29 autopsy determined his cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, according to Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser.

Tiernan has been held in the Butler County Juvenile Detention Center since his Dec. 19 arrest on a felony aggravated assault charge.

After today’s arraignment and pretrial conference, Gmoser said a probable cause hearing will be set for about 10 days later. At the next hearing, Gmoser said Juvenile Judge Ronald R. Craft will decide if there’s enough evidence for an automatic bindover to Butler County Common Pleas Court.

“We have a lot of eyes looking at these things as it moves through,” Gmoser said.

Gmoser said if convicted, a felony murder charge carries a mandatory 15 years to life in prison with a $15,000 fine.

Gmoser said while it’s not rare, it is unusual for teens to be charged with murder.

The last case in Butler County was in 2008, when Amber Rodriguez was sentenced to 31 years in prison for her conviction on an aggravated murder charge for a homicide at a West Chester Twp. motel. She was 16 at the time of the crime.

Tiernan had been placed at One Way From by Warren County Children Services in late November, said Patricia Jacobs, director of Warren County Children Services. Tiernan had no prior criminal history of violence, but had been found delinquent due to chronic truancy in September and his family filed an unruly charge against him in October because he allegedly was a runaway, gone since Oct. 15, according to Warren County Juvenile Court records.

The beating victim was a Fairfield High School student who never regained consciousness after he was found unresponsive on the floor during a routine bed check more than three hours after the assault, police said.

[cmack]

http://communitypress.cincinnati.com/ar ... munities|s

Teen murder suspect in court today
Lance Tiernan, 17, accused of killing another resident at group home

HAMILTON- A 17-year-old accused of murdering a 16-year-old boy at a group home for trouble teenagers will make his first appearance on the case before a Butler County juvenile judge Tuesday.

Lance Tiernan is scheduled for a 2 p.m. arraignment at the Butler County Juvenile Detention Center in Hamilton.

Tiernan was arrested on the night of the Dec. 19 assault at the One Way Farm in Fairfield Township and has been held at the detention center ever since.

Now he faces the upgraded murder charge after the victim, Anthony Parker, died last week. Due to the seriousness of that offense, he is expected to eventually be tried as an adult.

Tiernan, who is much bigger than Parker, slammed Parker's head onto the floor and beat him during a fight over a flashlight, Fairfield Township police have said.

At first, Parker didn’t seem to be seriously hurt once staff members broke up the fight, according to police.

But staff later found that Parker had lost consciousness in his room and had vomited.

He was taken to University Hospital and then was transferred to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Parker was on life support until he died Dec. 28 of blunt force trauma to his head.

One Way Farm has cared for more than 9,000 troubled teens and youth in its 34 years.

The state-certified, nonprofit facility provides temporary or emergency housing for abused, abandoned, neglected or troubled children and teens, many in need of medication, according to its website.

Many teens are sent by children services agencies and by the courts.

The organization also cares for youths with disabilities and developmental disabilities. It has been in operation more than 32 years and has served thousands of children. It has a capacity for about 25 juveniles.

One Way Farm is licensed by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, which is investigating the death.

[wdtony]

http://communitypress.cincinnati.com/ar ... nav%7Chead



Prosecutors seek adult court trial for teen suspect

5:06 PM, Jan. 3, 2012


HAMILTON — Butler County prosecutors want to try Lance Tiernan as an adult in the beating death of a fellow resident at the One Way Farm group home in Fairfield Township.

Lance, 17, made his first appearance in Butler County Juvenile Court Tuesday on an upgraded charge of murder in the death of Anthony Parker.

Prosecutor Michael Gmoser elevated an aggravated assault charge to murder last week after Anthony, a 16-year-old former Fairfield High School sophomore, was taken off life support at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and died.

Tiernan, a tall and lanky teen, sat shackled with his hands placed palm-down on the table in front of him as his attorney, Dawn Garrett, waived arraignment on the murder charge. The waiver essentially means that he has pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The aggravated assault charge was dropped Tuesday.

If convicted in adult court, Tiernan faces 15 years to life in prison.

A probable cause hearing — the first step in sending the case to a grand jury for adult prosecution — is set for Feb. 9. Prosecutors will present evidence to support the murder charge.

If Juvenile Judge Ronald Craft rules it exists, the case by law will be automatically sent to adult court because of the severity of the charge, Gmoser said.

Anthony died on Dec. 28, nine days after authorities said Lance attacked him and threw him on his head. Officials at One Way Farm said previously that Anthony did not show any signs of being hurt but that they later found him unconscious.

Anthony died of blunt force trauma to the head, according to Gmoser.

The incident is under investigation by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services which licenses One Way Farm.

The 34-year-old nonprofit facility provides temporary or emergency housing for abused, abandoned, neglected or troubled children and teens. Many teens are sent by children services agencies and by the courts.

[cmack]

Possible online personal sites for murder suspect Lance Tiernan.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/biglanceT

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Lance-Tiernan/1493792698

Formspring: http://www.formspring.me/LanceTiernan

The suspect Lance Tiernan was placed at One Way Farm at the end of November. The last twitter post was on November 21, and both the Twitter and Facebook page make reference to Cincinnati. He also identifies himself as BiglanceT on the Twitter page. This information is suggestive, but not conclusive proof that this is indeed the suspect, but I don't want to associate the wrong person with this horrible crime so I would appreciate others opinions as to whether I should remove the above links.

[wdtony]

I don't think it would hurt to leave it up for now.

[Reddit TroubledTeens]

This article has a lot of interesting comments, I'll put them in a separate post.

http://www.local12.com/mostpopular/stor ... fo2xQ.cspx

Teen Dies From Injuries in Assault at Group Home

Published: 12/21/2011 3:25 pm
Updated: 12/28/2011 10:18 pm

A teen has died from his injuries received in an assault at a Fairfield group home.

About 11:30 p.m. December 19th, medics with the city of Fairfield were called to One Way Farm, a group home there. They were responding to a report of a juvenile male that had been assaulted.

Initially, it did not appear the victim, Anthony Parker, was very seriously injured. But later he was found to be unresponsive. Parker had since been at Children's Hospital where he passed away Wednesday night.

Fairfield Police say 17-year old Lance Tiernan has been arrested. He's accused of throwing the victim to the ground, laying on top of him and punching him repeatedly in the head. He has been charged with aggravated assault. No word yet from police on any new charges.

Stay with Local12 as we update this story.