Prosecutor: 'Simple Greed' Motive in Fire That Killed Firefighter

BY ANNA QUENNEVILLE

Miami University Journalism Student

HAMILTON -- Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser told jurors that a Hamilton man and his nephew conspired together for "pure greed" to set the fire that killed a Hamilton firefighter two years ago.

In his opening statements to the jury Tuesday, Gmoser outlined in meticulous detail how Lester Parker, 67, enlisted the help of his nephew, William "Billy" Tucker, 50, to set the fire in order to collect $250,000 in insurance on his Pater Avenue home on Dec. 28, 2015.

Parker's payment for setting the blaze was pills, the prosecutor said.

Parker and Tucker are each charged with aggravated arson and murder in the fire and death of Patrick Wolterman, the 28-year-old firefighter who fell through the first floor of the home as he stormed in thinking there was someone trapped inside.

"This was just supposed to be a simple insurance job,'' Gmoser told the jury of five women and seven men during his hour-long opening statement in Butler County Common Pleas Judge Greg Stephens courtroom. "Nobody was supposed to get killed ... they just didn't give it any thought."

Prosecutors called eight witnesses Tuesday in the first day of testimony that started with jurors visiting Pater's home. Some of the most gripping testimony came from the fire lieutenant who found Wolterman, a fire investigator and the doctor who performed the autopsy.

Gmoser told jurors the uncle and nephew “hatched” the plan to collect insurance money because Parker was “under water” financially and was behind in his mortgage payments.

Both men have pleaded not guilty in the case. Their lawyers told the jury that the evidence will prove that their clients did not set the fire.

"That was a remarkable story told by the prosecutor,'' said David Washington, who is Parker's lawyer. "Lester Parker had nothing to do with" setting the fire at his home."

Items moved from home before fire

The day before the fire, Parker and his wife left for a vacation to Las Vegas he could not afford to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary. But Parker didn't leave before moving sentimental items from the home to the garage. Gmoser said Parker even went so far to take photographs -- which Gmoser called his most highly prized possessions -- from the home, put them in a duffle bag and took them with him to Nevada on the trip.

Parker’s nephew, Michael Ivy, testified Tuesday that he made a log cabin decoration for his uncle that he said was kept inside his home in the dining room. But that log cabin was found in the garage next to the home after the fire.

Parker's lawyer David Washington said that this is not unusual to store personal items in the garage, since Parker used the garage as an office area sometimes.

Tucker in Hamilton night of fire

The night of the fire, Tucker was frantic to find a ride from his home in Richmond, Kentucky and finally found a ride with an old girlfriend and her friend, the prosecutor told the jury. That car's driver agreed to help in exchange for pills and they drove to Hamilton that night, Gmoser said. A police license plate reader and other evidence will put that woman's car near Parker's home that night.

The women waited in the car near Pater and Grand Boulevard and a short time later saw Tucker coming from the direction of his uncle's home. He had a small gas can in his hand and a bag of pills.

Gmoser told jurors Parker went into the home's basement and set the fire. Firefighters found the cellar doors to the basement wide open when they arrived.

"He splashed gas on the stuff (in the basement) and lit it and high-tailed it down the street and into the car at 12:52 a.m." Gmoser said.

But Parker's lawyer, Tamara Sack, said her client went to another home in the area and got pills there.

She told jurors that the series of events was a series of coincidences.

Fire Lieutenant: 'I knew something went wrong'

In the most emotional part of the day, Hamilton Fire Lt. Ben Adams described seeing Wolterman and another firefighter enter the home when he drove up to the blaze.

"I saw the lieutenant engulfed in flames and that's when I knew something went wrong'' Adams testified.

What he didn't know then was that Wolterman had gone inside the home ahead of that lieutenant and had fallen through the floor to the basement.

Adams said he found Wolterman in the smoke-filled basement lying on his stomach in the basement with his helmet and oxygen mask off. When he and two other firefighters turned him on his back, they noticed one of his boots had been knocked off in the fall.

James Swinehart, the forensic pathologist who performed Wolterman's autopsy, said 50 percent of his body was covered in burns and he found soot in his nose, trachea and larynx.

"If this fire is an arson fire, the manner of death is homicide,'' Swinehart testified.

Wolterman's friends and family packed the courtroom and many cried during Adams' testimony.

Unlocked back door?

It was also a piece of Lt. Adams' testimony that was later called into question by Washington.

Adams testified that the back door of the home was unlocked when he went around to the back of the home looking for a way to get inside. The door was not breached, Adams testified.

However, Hamilton Fire Investigator Trevor Snider testified that Adams told him that the back door "had to be forced open."

Washington repeatedly questioned Snider about that statement,

"Wouldn't you defer to Lt. Adams' testimony?'' Washington asked Snider.

"He told me his company breeched it,'' Snider later answered.

Washington again: "Do you believe (Adams) was telling the truth today?"

Snider deflected the question.

Washington; "Yes or no. It's a yes or no question."

Snider: "I was told they breeched the door."

State Fire Marshal Investigator Robert Dunn testified that the fire was started in the basement with ignitable liquids.

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Dunn said the fire was set with gasoline and ethanol. Jurors were showed his a series of his pictures and samples of fire debris.

The trial is set to resume Wednesday and testimony could end as early as Monday, Gmoser said.

Photo: Prosecutor Michael Gmoser provides the jury his opening statement. By Chris Graves