An accident or murder? Prosecutors say fire set intentionally
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The trial, which began Wednesday afternoon, is being heard by an 11-man, three-woman jury, of which 12 members will decide the case once two alternates are randomly eliminated at the end of the trial.
Lance is charged with killing Lee Neal, 21, by burning his small trailer in the pre-dawn hours of July 1, 2000. The trailer was located behind Neal’s parents’ residence on Bill Webb Road. Lance is charged with premeditated murder, felony murder and aggravated arson for the crime and has been held under bond since his arrest in 2000.
During opening arguments Wednesday, District Attorney General Dale Potter said the state intends to prove only Lance could have started the fatal fire.
Potter pointed out Lance, who had been friends with Neal since they were in grade school, was spending the night at the Neal residence and both were seen walking to the trailer around 2 a.m.
The victim’s mother said she looked outside and everything seemed fine when she went to bed around 2:30 a.m. Lance reportedly came into the house an hour later and told the victim’s parents the trailer was on fire and he could not find Neal. Lance reportedly later told investigators he left the trailer, with Neal still awake, around 2:30 a.m. to get some cigarettes out of one of the vehicles. Lance, who had been drinking and smoking pot with Neal, said he fell asleep in the car and was awakened by the fire.
In his opening, Potter pointed out the only people who knew Neal was in the trailer were the victim’s parents and Lance. Although longtime friends, Potter said prosecutors intend to produce a witness who will testify he overheard Lance threaten to kill Neal shortly before the fatal fire. Potter also said Lance told another person, “The fire was no accident.”
Potter said traces of accelerant, namely kerosene, were found by a accelerant sniffing dog during the investigation and that traces of kerosene were also found on Lance’s clothing. Potter also said it was curious the trailer door was found locked when family members said he never locked the door when he was inside.
For the defense, Michael Galligan contended investigators jumped to conclusions in their need to find a villain. Galligan said investigators overlooked possible accidental causes of the fire inside the 25-year-old trailer which was electrically powered by a wire running from the trailer of Neal’s parents.
“There’s not a villain for every tragedy,” Galligan told jurors. “They jumped to conclusions.”
Galligan pointed out the state has no motive and no eye-witnesses, questioning why Lance would want to kill his best friend. Galligan also pointed out Lance had a habit of falling asleep in cars when he was drinking, and therefore his actions the night in question were not unusual. It was later revealed Lance was not allowed to sleep inside the Neal residence due to his history of bed wetting.
As for the kerosene traces, Galligan maintained some of the samples could have existed outside the trailer long before the fire, noting some of the traces amounted to very little kerosene. Galligan pointed out his client had used some kerosene days before while working on a car and the amount found on his shirt amounted to about one drop of kerosene. Galligan added kerosene can remain in traces even after clothes have been washed. Galligan also added the defense intends to disprove the testimony of the witness who said he overheard a threat on Neal’s life.
Testimony in the case is expected to run through today. Court will be held Saturday if the case is not concluded tonight.