Murder trial begins for man accused of killing mother, stepfather in Dundas arson

Warning: This story contains details that may disturb readers. Discretion is advised. 

The trial is now underway for the former Hamilton teacher who is accused of killing his mother and stepfather by setting fire to their home in Dundas, Ont., nearly four years ago.

Richard Taylor is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Carla Rutherford and Alan Rutherford, who died as the result of a blaze that started in their bedroom in their home at 8 Greening Court at about 3:30 a.m. on July 9, 2018.

Carla, who was 64 at the time, was pronounced dead on the front lawn after firefighters pulled her from the house.

Alan, 63, managed to escape the burning home, but most of his body was horrifically burned and he passed away in hospital 12 hours after the fire.

Taylor, a father of two and a former teacher at Hess Elementary School, was 42 years old when he was arrested in January 2019 in connection with the murders.

He has pleaded not guilty.

When Taylor was arrested, Hamilton police said they were not seeking any other suspects and that they believed the crime was financially motivated.

That’s something emphasized by the prosecution on the first day of the trial, which began on May 11.

The 12-member jury heard that Taylor’s financial situation was “dire” in the period leading up to the murder, to the extent that he falsified bank records to hide the family’s money troubles from his own wife.

He was the executor of Carla and Alan’s will at the time and stood to gain what Crown attorney Mark Dean described to the jury as a “significant amount” of money in the event that both of them died.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

On day one of the trial, the court heard from three witnesses: Karen Monk, her daughter Lauren, and a Hamilton police officer.

Monk resides at 7 Greening Court, right next to the Rutherfords, and answered the door that morning when she heard four very loud pounding noises on the front door at about 3:40 a.m.

Initially, she looked out the window and didn’t see anyone standing there, but the pounding came again, followed shortly by a voice calling for help.

Monk opened the door and saw a man slumped against the wall. She didn’t recognize him until he addressed her by name.

“He was burnt. He had skin falling off him … he was naked.”

Alan was upset, Monk said, and kept saying that someone had “firebombed” them and that Carla was still trapped inside the house.

She also recalled what he told her when she asked if there was anyone she could call after calling 911: “Don’t call Rich. He did this. He’ll already know about it.”

The court heard the frantic 911 call that Monk made that morning as she tried to fill in the operator on what was happening while reassuring Alan that help was on the way.

Monk began crying on the witness stand, overcome with emotion as she listened to the recording from nearly four years ago.

Her daughter Lauren, who sat with Alan for some time before he was taken away with paramedics, also took the witness stand on Wednesday.

She said she was in her bedroom that morning, texting goodnight to a friend when she heard the sound of glass smashing coming from the Rutherfords’ house.

About five minutes later, Lauren said she heard banging on the front door and some “commotion” from downstairs, which she went to investigate and saw Alan slumped on their front porch.

“But I don’t think I really knew it was Alan at the time because he was burnt so badly, I couldn’t recognize him.”

Lauren told the court that she sat with him and tried to comfort him, bringing him a glass of water at one point when he asked for it.

She also said she overheard Alan tell her mother not to call someone named “Rick” but was unsure if he had said “he thinks” or “he knows” he had something to do with the fire.

The third witness questioned on Wednesday was Const. Jason Katzmann, who was the first emergency responder on the scene.

Consulting the notes he made the morning of the fire, Katzmann testified that he spoke with Alan, who appeared to be “obviously in a great deal of pain” but was coherent enough to give his full name and birthday when asked.

The constable said he tried to enter the burning home when Alan told him Carla was still inside and kicked open the front door, not wanting to touch the door handle in case it was hot from the fire, and said the door gave way easily right away.

However, Katzmann said it was “pitch black” inside the front hall because of the smoke and he was unable to enter.

A second attempt was made to enter through the back of the house when another officer arrived on the scene, but that was also unsuccessful, and Katzmann said he ended up back with Alan.

That’s when Katzmann said he overheard Alan say it was “his wife’s son Rich who did it”.

The constable is scheduled to return to the stand on Thursday morning to be questioned by the defence counsel.

The trial is expected to last about six weeks and hear from a number of witnesses, including neighbours, family members, first responders, and others.

Justice Toni Skarica is presiding, with crowns Janet Booy and Mark Dean on the prosecution side and Jennifer Penman and Kristen Dulysh defending Taylor.