The morning of Tracy Dean Lautenschlager’s death, Joshaua Back — the man police say is responsible for killing him — recalled swinging a knife at him, jurors heard Wednesday.

Back, 34, faces felony charges of second-degree murder and theft. His trial by jury began Monday.

On Wednesday, jurors were shown video tapes of Back’s interview with detectives. After several changes in his story, Back told detectives he was confronted outside by Lautenschlager and another, unidentified man “in the bushes” near a home where Back had gone to look for his belongings that he said had gone missing.

Once confronted, Back said he pulled a knife from his waistband, swung the weapon toward Lautenschlager and ran.

“I know I reacted because I was in a high-danger situation,” Back told detectives.

Joshaua Lee Back

In the early morning hours of May 25, 2015, police say Back stabbed 45-year-old Lautenschlager in the neck and fled in a stolen truck.

Lautenschlager was found bleeding in the parking lot of a McDonald’s restaurant at 1309 W. Sixth St. He was transported to Lawrence Memorial Hospital but declared dead soon after.

Back was arrested in Leavenworth County on May 27, 2015.

Back has not testified in the trial, but prosecuting attorneys showed jurors a nearly three-hour video containing excerpts of his interview with detectives.

Throughout the video, Back tells detectives about the events leading up to a confrontation with Lautenschlager. He details traveling back and forth between a home at 700 Arkansas St. and another home at 3009 Steven Drive, looking for his belongings.

Unable to find what he was searching for, Back said he eventually returned to the Arkansas Street home, intending to steal a truck to hold as collateral for money he was owed.

A knife matching Back’s description was not found during the investigation, police testified throughout the trial.

“I didn’t throw the knife because I didn’t think I killed nobody,” Back told detectives who asked him where the weapon might be.

After running, Back said he returned to the home, stole the truck and drove to Oskaloosa.

While Back told detectives he swung his knife because he felt threatened, prosecuting attorney Amy McGowan argued in her opening statement on Tuesday that Lautenschlager’s wound is more consistent with a penetration and slicing motion.

Jeremy McCarty — an acquaintance of Back’s — also testified Wednesday. He told jurors he spent time with Back the evening of May 24 into the morning of May 25, 2015. But he returned to his home in Oskaloosa before any confrontation took place.

Throughout the evening and morning, the mood between Back and all others present could have been characterized as calm, McCarty said, though Back was frustrated he couldn’t find his property, he added.

“Josh felt like he was getting the runaround,” McCarty said. “He felt like he was being deceived. He seemed very aggravated that he was being lied to.”

Throughout the evening and into the morning McCarty said he and others smoked methamphetamine.

After returning home to Oskaloosa, McCarty told jurors he heard news of Lautenschlager’s death and was gathered outside his home with two friends discussing the morning’s events when Back walked up to them.

Back also began to speak about the morning, McCarty said. He told the three he sliced someone’s throat, using his hands to demonstrate blood flowing from his neck.

“I took that as what happened in Lawrence, what he described,” McCarty said. “The whole mood changed. I became afraid for my family and their safety.”

One of McCarty’s friends then gave Back a ride away from the home, McCarty said.

The stolen truck was found near a Bio-Foods meat packing plant in Jefferson County on May 26, 2015. No evidence of blood or any knives were found inside the vehicle, police testified.

Back’s trial will continue Thursday at 9 a.m.

An address in this story has been changed to reflect the correct location of one home at 3009 Steven Drive.