Accused murderer Richard Taylor testifies in court

Richard Taylor is accused of killing his mother and stepfather by setting their Dundas home on fire. Taylor took the stand today in his own defence.

When Taylor was asked by his lawyer what his relationship was like with his mother and stepfather back in 2018 he said, “they were happy they got along they made each other happy.”

On July 9th, 2018 at 3 a.m. the court was shown a video that appears to show a person lighting a match near Greening Court in Dundas. The person in the video is seen running away. Police believe the person in this video intentionally set the fire that killed Carla and Alan Rutherford in their home on Greening Court that morning.

The accused, Richard Taylor, Carla’s son, a father of two, and a former teacher at Hess elementary in Hamilton, denies this was him. The court heard Taylor could have potentially benefited financially from his mother’s death.

Today Taylor’s lawyer asked if it was him in the video, Taylor replied, “no, it’s not.” The lawyer then asked, “did you go over to your parent’s home and kill your mom and step-father?” Taylor answered, “no I did not.”

Richard Taylor was also asked by his lawyer if he ran into financial troubles back in 2017, if he had a gambling addiction, did drugs or was addicted to drugs, or had a girlfriend on the side. Taylor answered no to all of those questions.

The defence will continue with arguments when the court resumes tomorrow morning.