(Fort McMurray, Alberta) The murder trial of a man accused of murdering a gay teenager he met on an Internet chat site began Monday in the northern Alberta city of Fort McMurray.

Chad Bath, 25, who is also gay, is accused of killing 19-year-old Richard Sneath last summer in a local cruising park.

Police say the two met on the chat service gay.com one night last July. Soon after that conversation, about 2 a.m., people living near a park area heard what sounded like fighting.

Police arrived to find Sneath dead, beaten with a rock. Bath was found nearby by a police dog. Investigators have not made a possible motive public.

A friend of the dead teen, Masey Whiteknife, said it's difficult for gay people to meet in Fort McMurray and often use the park as a rendezvous, rather than a public place.

Bath gave up his right to a jury trial. The case will be heard by a judge alone.