‘I thought everything was fine.’ Richard Taylor’s ex-wife testifies in court

Richard Taylor has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his mother Carla, and stepfather Alan Rutherford. They both died as a result of a 2018 fire at their Dundas home, which fire investigators at the time said was arson.

Taylor’s ex-wife Evangelia Taylor testified today that she thought everything was fine with their finances when they were married and thought it was a scam when debt collectors began calling her.

“I thought everything was fine.” Evangelia testified today. going on to say Evangelia thought they had over $100,000 in the bank and says it’s what she saw on bank statements that Richard would hand her.

The Crown is trying to prove he killed his parents because he was facing financial ruin.

Evangelia is now separated from Richard Taylor after 13 years of marriage. Evangelia testified today that Richard was an excellent father and husband because she worked late often, and he took care of dinners, activities, and their finances.

The court heard that the mortgage on their Oakville home was in default, and they were thousands of dollars in debt.

When debt collectors called Evangelia about $23,000 owing on a credit card she hadn’t used in months, Evangelia told the court “I thought it was a total scam.”

Richard said he would handle it and told her there was a problem involving fraud. She resorted to using only cash that her husband would give her and this went on for two years.

In the days before the fire, Evangelia testified that she was becoming increasingly frustrated that she still didn’t have a bank card or credit card and the family was supposed to embark on an international trip in just a few days.

Last week the court heard that police found a yard waste bag at the school where Richard Taylor worked. The bag was filled with mail, bills, and bank statements, some of which were altered.

The trial by jury continues tomorrow.