Three Black Youths Gun Down White Jogger "For Fun" / Hate Crime????

Three teens accused of murder of baseball player Chris Lane identified

• Aaron Langmaid, Samantha Landy
• Herald Sun
• August 20, 2013 2:00PM 

The Oklahoma teens who face first-degree murder charges have been named as Chancey Luna, James Edwards and Michael Jones.

But their parents yesterday protested their innocence.

Jennifer Luna, whose son is suspected of firing the fatal shot, claimed her son was at home saying: "My son is not that way. My son is a good kid."

Earlier today, former deputy prime minister Tim Fischer has urged Australian tourists to boycott the US in the wake of the shooting murder of the Melbourne baseball star.

Mr Fischer said he was deeply angered by the latest tragedy and said turning our backs on America would help send a stern message about the need for tighter gun control.

Christopher Lane, 22, was randomly gunned down while jogging through the town of Duncan in Oklahoma on Friday afternoon local time.

Mr Fischer, who led Australia's gun control reforms alongside former prime minister John Howard in 1996, said choosing not to travel to the US would help build pressure on the US Congress to finally act.

"Tourists thinking of going to the USA should think twice,'' Mr Fischer said.

"This is the bitter harvest and legacy of the policies of the NRA that even blocked background checks for people buying guns at gunshows.

"People should take this into account before going to the United States.

"I am deeply angry about this because of the callous attitude of the three teenagers (but) it's a sign of the proliferation of guns on the ground in the USA.

"There is a gun for almost every American.''

Meanwhile, Lane's American girlfriend today revealed her heartbreak at losing her "best friend", and parents of the accused protested their innocence.

Sarah Harper, 23, also told the Herald Sun that she didn't know what punishment would be appropriate of the three teenagers, aged 15, 16 and 17 years, accused of Lane's murder.

It comes as Duncan Police Chief Danny Ford said he had secured the confession of the 17-year-old who summoned investigators to his jail cell and claimed he and the younger boys were bored "so they decided to kill somebody".

"He said he was the driver of the car," Chief Ford said.

"They saw Christopher jog by the house they were at, they chose him to be the target, they got in the car, drove up behind him and shot him in the back.

"He said the 16-year-old fired the shot."

The three teenagers are being held in the Stephens County Jail in Duncan.

The trio were due to appear in a local court over the shooting at 1.30pm Monday (4.30am Tuesday AEST), but it has been pushed back a day.

A spokesperson for District Attorney Jason Hicks said the charges were still being reviewed.

The mother of the 16-year-old accused of firing the single bullet from a handgun into Lane's back said she didn't believe her son was involved.

The father of the 15-year-old admitted his son had been in trouble with the law, but described him as a good boy.
Lane, who grew up in Oak Park in Melbourne's north, had only been back in the US for three days after an eight-week break in Australia with Ms Harper.

"I don't want them to have any future that Chris wasn't able to have as well," Ms Harper said of the accused teenagers today.

"It's been pretty rough. It's been hard knowing he was taken so close to home, let alone taken in the way he was. To be pointed out like that …"

Ms Harper said she and Lane had joked about America's soft gun laws before he was shot.

"He wasn't a fan of guns," she said.

She fondly described Lane as a smart, kind and curious guy who would "do anything for anybody".

Ms Harper, also a talented sportswoman, said she and Lane just "meshed together" within weeks of meeting at college in Oklahoma in August 2009.

"It was more of a personality (we had in common), not so much interests. He was intellectual, into world news, and I found that quite boring," she said.

"He really wanted to travel more. He loved the idea of seeing the world."

Two of the accused teens' parents insist they were not involved in the killing.

"That's my baby boy," said the mother of the 16-year-old accused of firing the single bullet from a handgun into the back of Mr Lane.

She doesn't believe her son was involved in the shooting, saying today he was not a member of a gang and definitely not the one who pulled the trigger.

The father of the 15-year-old accused of being in the car admitted his son had been in some previous "kid stuff" trouble with the law, but described him as a good boy who also was not part of a gang.

"I don't think so," the father replied when asked if his son could have been part of the murder.

"Because he's not the type of person. He likes to wrestle. He's into sports."

The two teens have suffered tragic lives, their parents said. The 15-year-old's mother is in jail. The 16-year-old last year dealt with the death of his stepfather and brother.

The parents of the teens sent their condolences to Lane's family in Australia and Ms Harper.

"My prayers go out to them," the father said.

"I have lost several loved ones recently myself. I feel sorry for the individuals and family."
 If convicted of first-degree murder, the boys face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The boys can be tried as adults, but the spokesperson said because they are under the age of 18 they can't face a death sentence.
Ms Harper today said the accused "will be taken care of eventually".

Ms Harper said she wasn't thinking about the killers at the moment.

"I don't really care what happens to them,'' she told the Nine Network.

"I feel that if they don't get what they deserve now in the present they will eternally.

"They're evil people and they'll be taken care of eventually.''

It comes amid claims Lane was the victim of a gang-related drive-by shooting gone wrong.
Outside the court a woman told reporters the three accused teens had a falling out with a fellow gang member.

She told Channel Nine the teens were angry when they set out and wanted her brother dead.

"I guess he has hung out with gang-affiliated people. I don't know if he's really claimed it or tried to be like them so that might be a reason why they're after him," she said.

However Chief Ford yesterday said the accused "just wanted to kill someone".

Chief Ford said the three teens had no motive other than to ''make a name for themselves'' and were on their way to another house to murder a second, unrelated victim when they were arrested.

Lane had been in the US on a baseball sports scholarship with East Central University (ECU) as the team's catcher.
He was jogging through an area of "high dollar homes" after leaving Ms Harper's home, when he was followed and shot.

Witnesses saw him stumble across the road and then go down on his knees before struggling to a drainage area at the side of the road.
'I love you so much': girlfriend's moving tribute to baseball star

A woman who came from a nearby house tried CPR while another woman who was in a car stopped and called 911.
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