Fire investigator for defense: Liquid accelerant not used, juveniles cannot be ruled out WATCH THE VIDEO

 A fire investigator for the defense testified Thursday that a liquid accelerant was not used and that it cannot be ruled out that a juvenile fire-setter started the March 7 fire on Lafayette Street in Greenfield that killed Thomas and Stephen Coonrod. 

 Coonrod, 42, of Greenfield, was found guilty in October in Highland County Common Pleas Court on two counts of felony endangering children. He had faced aggravated murder charges with death penalty specifications stemming from a March fire in his apartment on Lafayette Street in Greenfield, during which his sons Thomas, 4, and Stephen, 3, were killed. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the aggravated murder charges, two charges of murder with lesser charges of manslaughter and reckless homicide, and aggravated arson. The state will not seek to retry him on the aggravated murder charges, so he is no longer facing the death penalty. The trial was moved to Pickaway County in so that a jury could be more easily seated than in Highland County.

 Kevin Keaton, a fire investigator from SEA Ltd., a company hired by the defense to test the cause of the Lafayette Street fire, testified Thursday that according to fire investigation guidelines, a "pour pattern" like the type observed in the Coonrod apartment, is not enough to prove that an accelerant was used. Keaton said guidelines stipulate that outside confirmation, such as laboratory tests, must be used to confirm a presence of an accelerant. 

 Earlier this week, a fire investigator hired by Nationwide Insurance, and Trace Lawless, a fire investigator with the Fire Marshal's Office of the state of Ohio, testified that the pattern showed a liquid accelerant with the introduction of a flame, such as a cigarette lighter, was the cause of the fire. 

 Hunter and Lawless classified the cause of the fire as "an intentional human act."

 Lawless testified that it is not uncommon for an accelerant to not be found, even if one is used, because it could have been washed away by fire crews, or it was completely consumed by the fire. 

 Keaton testified that the carpet, combined with the carpet padding underneath, was enough to sustain a fire once a flame was introduced. 

 There were two conclusions that could be reached as to the cause of the fire, Keaton said, which means the cause is "undetermined."

 Keaton said that the cause of the fire was a human act, but that he could not rule out a juvenile fire-setter. 

 Lawless had previously testified that he ruled out a juvenile fire-setter as a cause.

 The state alleges that charcoal lighter fluid was poured on the carpet and lit with a cigarette lighter. A can of lighter fluid was found outside the apartment, and a childproof, blue Bic cigarette lighter was found approximately seven feet inside the front door of the apartment. 

 Coonrod, according to Lawless, told investigators that he had a blue and a red cigarette lighter. 

 The red lighter was not recovered. 

 Keaton testified that the blue lighter could have ended up in the front hallway due to first responders making entry in the house to extinguish the flames. 

 The red lighter, he noted, was not found. Had a lighter been used to start the fire, Keaton testified, the plastic colored part would have burned away, leaving only the small metal ignition. 

 Chief of the Paint Creek Joint Fire and EMS District Bradley George also testified in the morning hours about securing the scene of the Lafayette Street fire, as well as his department's response to a February fire on Milburn Street where Coonrod lived with his children. 

 George said he had initially determined that the Milburn Street fire was a fire caused by an intentional human act, but he did not determine if it was a juvenile fire-setter or an adult. George said the origin of the fire was in a toybox, but that there were cigarette butts near the toy box and throughout the house. 

 Cigarette butts were also found in the Lafayette Street apartment. 

 George said that after conferring with the insurance company fire investigator on the Milburn Street fire, he concurred that the cause was most likely a cigarette. 

 The Highland County Prosecutor's Office will begin cross examination following the noon hour. The defense has potentially seven witnesses left to present. 

On cross examination, Assistant Highland County Prosecutor David Henry repeatedly brought up that Keaton's company was paid by the defense for their work and testimony. 

Henry questioned Keaton on testimony he gave regarding how the carpet and pad were enough of a fuel load to induce flames "five to six feet high."

Looking at pictures of the Coonrod apartment the defense had submitted into evidence, Henry asked why certain items, such as a coffee table, had not been consumed by flames five to six feet high. Keaton said that there were a lot of variables, such as ventilation.

"A lot of variables. Who's conducting it. Why they're conducting it," Henry said. 

"Why someone is conducting it shouldn't matter," Keaton said. 

Henry questioned Keaton on his opinion on how the fire started. 

"In my opinion, no ignitable liquid was used," Keaton said. 

When pressed to say who ignited the fire, Keaton said it was "the hand of a human being."

Ron Thaman, a senior project chemist at SEA, Ltd., testified about performing tests on carpet samples from the Coonrod home. When asked by defense counsel William Mooney, Thaman said that his company was paid $350 an hour by the Ohio Public Defender's Office for his testimony. 

Thaman testified regarding tests he performed on the carpet samples, and that the results showed that the carpet, combined with the carpet pad, could cause "a lot of fire" when the carpet melted to the pad. He said that the carpet and pad themselves were a fuel load. 

He also said that he put a blowtorch to the carpet and it did not catch on fire, and that he also tested the flamability of the carpet using Tenactin spray. A can of the medicated spray was found in the closet with Thomas and Stephen. 

Lawless testified that he performed tests on the carpet using Tenactin, and that while the product would "flash" a fire, the carpet did not catch on fire. 

On cross examination, Assistant Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins questioned Thaman use of "the pill test" when a controlled combustible material is applied to samples during tests to see if a flame could be sustained. The combination of the Tenactin and pill caused a flame, he said. 

Keaton and Thaman said the pill test is used standardly in fire testing. 

The state referred to the pill as an accelerant throughout their questioning. 

Collins asked if he performed on carpet that was properly installed. Thaman said that he did not. Collins asked if the presence of oxygen between the carpet and pad would make a difference. 

"It makes no difference. The results are going to be the same," he said. 

"Oxygen makes no difference in a fire?" Collins asked. 

Thaman said oxygen makes a difference in a fire, but that the carpet and pad combination were still flammable. 

Dr. Abbott Spaulding, an ophthalmologist at the Tri-State Centers for Sight, testified regarding a degenerative eye disorder that Coonrod has had since childhood. Coonrod is treated by Spaulding's colleague Dr. Louis Schott. Due to retinal degeneration, as well as issue with cataracts, Coonrod is "legally blind and horribly handicapped," Spaulding said, particularly at night.

Court proceedings were briefly held up while attorneys tried to locate a defense witness who went back to Highland County before testifying. 

Family members of the defendant - including sisters Peggy Penwell and Kathy Jo Smith, brother Howard Coonrod, and brother-in-law Rusty Smith - testified Thursday afternoon about the type of father Coonrod is, how he reacted at the hospital when he learned his children had died, and how Thomas and Stephen often played with their father's cigarette lighter. 

Coonrod's sister, Penwell, through tears, testified that she was in the hospital room with Coonrod after his sons had been pronounced dead. 

"Both the boys was laying on a bed. He picked Thomas up and he kept saying, 'Please Tommy, please wake up.' But neither one of the boys woke up," she said. 

Coonrod sobbed as he listed to his sister's testimony. He broke down several more times as he heard testimony from his family members. 

Kathy Jo Smith said that she and several of her family members were smokers and that she had seen Thomas and Stephen play with cigarette lighters on several occasions. She also said that both boys would pick up cigarette butts up out of the yard and put them in their mouths, pretending to smoke. 

When the boys were caught with cigarette lighters, the family members, including Wesley Coonrod, would take the lighters away and "correct" the boys.

Rusty Smith testified that the boys "had a little bit of a fascination with lighters."

They each testified that Coonrod was a good father. 

"They were his life," Kathy Jo Smith said. "When he got them back, he really stepped up. He was mom, he was dad. He's everything to them. They were everything to him. They were daddy's boys."

Rusty and Kathy Jo Smith, Penwell and Howard Coonrod were questioned on cross examination regarding whether or not they were at the scene of the fire on March 7. They each said they were not. They were also asked if they smelled alcohol on Wesley Coonrod the night of the fire and they did not, he smelled of smoke, and was covered in soot.

The defense has two witnesses left to present, including Coonrod. 

The state may call one rebuttal witness regarding juvenile fire-setters. 

Coss told the jury on Thursday that testimony will be completed Friday morning. He asked them to report early so that all witnesses could testify. Closing arguments are expected to be presented before noon. Coss said the court will break for lunch, which will be following by jury instructions, and deliberations could begin between 1-2 p.m. 

The judge has said deliberations will continue "as long as they need to" and the court would keep them there until around 9 p.m., if deliberations were continuing. They would then have the choice of returning Saturday or Monday. Coss asked for a show of hands regarding a preferred day, and the majority of the jurors voted for Monday. Coss said the court has blocked off Monday and Tuesday for the trial.