Chancey Luna, in an orange prison jumpsuit and handcuffs locked on his wrists, was the first teenager to walk through the door at the rear of the Duncan, Oklahoma courtroom.
Luna, 16, is a good-looking kid, quiet in nature and known around this rural city of 23,000 as Baby Drake because friends say he bears a resemblance to the Canadian rapper Drake.
Next in court was the oldest, but shortest, of the trio, 18-year-old Michael Jones.
Jones, also in orange and handcuffs, is known among friends as Tugboat, because of his short, chunky stature.
James Edwards, the biggest, most charismatic, but youngest of the trio of accused murderers, was expected to be the final inmate to enter the court.
He didn't appear.
Edwards is a junior wrestling champion known as Bug, who posed with guns and flashed gang signs in Twitter, Vine and Facebook posts and had a reputation around town for knocking out foes.
"You'll soon see," Stephens County District Attorney Jason Hicks smiled when a reporter asked where Edwards was.
Luna, Jones and Edwards have been charged with the first degree murder of 22-year-old Australian baseballer Chris Lane, who was gunned down and left to die on August 16 while jogging on a Duncan street.
The trio was scheduled to appear together in the Duncan courtroom on Tuesday for a preliminary hearing to determine if there was enough evidence for them to stand trial.
The first witness was called, painter Richard Rhoades who heard the gun shot and performed CPR on Mr Lane.
Edwards still wasn't in the courtroom.
After Mr Rhoades left the witness box Mr Hicks made the stunning announcement.
He was calling Edwards, who was 15 at the time of Mr Lane's death but turned 16 in September, as the prosecution's second witness.
The packed courtroom stirred.
When Edwards, who was also in an orange prison uniform, appeared a gallery member whistled, raising the ire of Judge Herberger and the sheriffs deputies scattered around the courtroom.
The court heard how Edwards, the only member of the trio not to have gun residue on his hands after police swabs, was willing to testify for the prosecution in the hope of having his murder charge reduced to an accessory after the fact count.
Instead of facing a life prison sentence, he could avoid a jail sentence altogether.
Edwards told how he had three meetings with prosecutors, with the last a five hour sit down on Monday evening.
"I'm just really mad," Luna's mother, Jennifer, told reporters later in the day.
She feared Edwards would walk free, while her son would spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Luna's two-man legal team, cousins James and Howard Berry, thought otherwise after Edwards' testimony, saying Edwards, a prosecution witness, had shot down the prosecution's case.
Edwards told how Luna and Jones picked him up just before 3pm with the plan to smoke marijuana, but there was no mention of killing anyone and he was not aware Luna, who was sitting in the back seat, had a gun.
Edwards said as they approached Mr Lane jogging along the road Jones' Ford Focus unexpectedly veered sharply, then Luna's .22 revolver fired.
Edwards also testified he later heard Luna say he thought there were blanks, not bullets in the gun, and Jones then apologised for the mix up.
The Berrys told reporters it proved Mr Lane's killing was not premeditated, so it was not first degree murder.
Prosecutors are yet to decide on whether to do a deal with Edwards.
Chief investigator Justin Scott told AAP that his position "is that all the defendants in this case spend lengthy time in prison" and "that justice for Christopher Lane is served".
If Edwards does remain a prosecution witness and testifies at Luna's and Jones' trials, it is not clear if a jury will believe his story.
After Luna fired the shot that killed Mr Lane, Edwards testified that he, Luna and Jones did not make a single comment about the shooting as they sped away.
If the gun went off accidentally and hit a jogger, would that be normal behaviour of three teenagers?
What are the chances of a car suddenly swerving, a gun that was supposed to have blanks fire a bullet that hits a lone jogger in the middle of the back on a quiet street?
Edwards also admitted to making coded telephone calls from prison in an attempt to make sure the .22 hand gun had been disposed.
Edwards also told the court he and Luna communicated in jail via secret messages, known as kites, and Jones came up with a plan shortly after the shooting to protect Edwards if they were arrested.
"If we get into trouble, Bug, you weren't here," Edwards alleged Jones said.
Luna, Edwards said, also told him "if everything goes south" Luna would plead guilty.
Judge Herberger will decide on March 12 if Luna and Jones will stand trial for first degree murder.
Prosecutors are yet to say what they will do with Edwards.
