Hamilton homeowner, nephew take stand in firefighter murder trial
Parker, 68, and Tucker, 46, of
Both men denied any involvement in the deadly fire.
Prosecutors say Parker was "under water" financially in the fall of 2015 and hatched a plan to set the house on fire for insurance money. Tucker agreed to light the fire in exchange for pain pills, according to prosecutors.
Parker and his wife, Bertha, left
Before leaving, Parker removed items he held dear from the house to the garage in anticipation of the fire, according to prosecutors. During trial, Parker's daughter,
Parker, on Monday, said his daughter as well as her husband lied.
"Probably because you told him to, like you told everyone else to," Parker said to
Parker said he was using the garage as an office in
The actions had nothing to do with anticipation of the fire, he said.
When defense attorney
Washington asked Parker if he set fire to his house
"No," he answered.
Did you hire someone else to set fire to your house?" Washington asked Parker.
"Absolutely not," was Parker's answer.
Parker said he was never told what caused the fire at 1310 Pater.
"It could have been anything," Parker said.
When Gmoser pointed to calls Parker placed from
"Well, I was going to get him to come secure the house for me after it caught fire," Parker said.
Tucker also took the stand telling the jury he came to
On that cold night, Tucker said he was going to meet with Lainhart-Jones, who he said has been "playing" investigators for months, get the pills then spend a few days with Brooks selling the pills in
"It was arranged, Melissa said it had to be after midnight." Tucker said. "I was to walk up Allstatter (Avenue) and she would come out and meet me."
Tucker said he did not go to the
He said
Tucker said he didn't have much luck selling the pills in
Weeks later when
"It was a big mistake," Tucker said. "I am telling the truth now."
Then Gmoser pointed out Tucker didn't tell his defense attorney about the last alibi of meeting up with Lainhart-Jones until this year.
The prosecutor also questioned Tucker's ability to tell the truth, noting several lies he told to both girlfriends both through phone calls and social media messages.
"It's not against the law to lie to a woman," Tucker said.
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