The jury trial process got underway Monday for a 34-year-old Oskaloosa man accused of killing a Lawrence man in 2015.

Joshua Lee Back faces felony charges of second-degree murder and theft. He is accused of stealing a pickup truck and stabbing another man, 45-year-old Tracy Dean Lautenschlager, in the neck on May, 25, 2015, according to arrest affidavits filed in Douglas County District Court.

Joshaua Lee Back

For most of Monday, prosecuting and defense attorneys interviewed a pool of 42 potential jurors, questioning them about their jobs, family members, personal histories and their opinions on issues like methamphetamine or police interrogation techniques.

After hours of questions, a total of 14 jurors, including two alternates, were chosen as the jury for Back’s trial.

Just after 6 a.m. on May 25, 2015, Lautenschlager was found bleeding heavily in the parking lot of a McDonald’s restaurant at 1309 West Sixth St., the affidavit says. He was transported to Lawrence Memorial Hospital, but died within the hour.

A blood trail led officers from the parking lot to a nearby home at 700 Arkansas St., where a pool of blood was found at the southeast door, the affidavit says. Police interviewed three witnesses inside the home who told them Lautenschlager and another man — Jeremy McCarty — smoked methamphetamine there the night before.

McCarty later told officers he heard Back speaking on May 25 about cutting a person’s throat and laughing about the amount of blood coming from the wound, the affidavit says.

A gray pickup truck was also stolen from the Arkansas Street home after the incident, the affidavit says.

The next day another man — Steven Radcliff — told police he also heard Back speaking about cutting a person’s throat the day before as the two drove a gray truck to a Bio-Foods plant, the affidavit says. Radcliff said he forced Back to get out of the truck after he made the comment.

A gray pickup truck matching the description of the stolen vehicle was found at a Jefferson County Bio-Foods meat packing plant on May 26, the affidavit says.

Back was arrested in Leavenworth County on May 27 after leading police on a chase in both Jefferson and Leavenworth counties.

Back remains an inmate in the Douglas County Jail in lieu of $750,000 bond. He is scheduled to be back in court at 9 a.m. Tuesday, when attorneys will present their opening statements.