Former wife of murder suspect testifies she thought ‘everything was fine’ with finances

Evangelia Taylor didn't pay the bills and trusted her husband Richard Taylor to handle the family's finances.

When collections called her at work saying she owed $23,000 on a credit card she hadn't used in months, she thought it was a scam and her husband Rich said he'd take care of it. She didn't know the mortgage on their Oakville home was in default or that they owed tens of thousands in other loans. In July 2018, she thought they had more than $100,000 in the bank, because that is what is said on the bank records Rich showed her.

Evangelia is testifying Tuesday at Rich's trial. He's accused of two counts of first-degree murder in the arson deaths of his mom and stepfather, Carla and Alan Rutherford.

The Crown has said the murder was financially motivated. Rich has pleaded not guilty.

I thought everything was fine," Evangelia said, describing Rich as an excellent, excellent father" to their two children.

The pair were married for 13 years before the fire on July 9, 2018. They are separated now.

Court heard that just two days after the fire the family was supposed to be going on a trip to Greece with Evangelia's family. She has a large family there and wanted them to meet her children.

They owned her parents money for flights for her and Rich and had approximately $55,000 in hotels booked.

In the months before the murders, Evangelia's bank card wasn't working, so Rich would give her cash. She also continued to get collections calls at work, but thought they, too, were a scam.

In text messages between the couple, she would frequently ask Rich for updates and he would say he was working on it.

Evangelia said she was confused and frustrated with the bank.

More to come.

Nicole O'Reilly is a crime and justice reporter at The Spectator. noreilly@thespec.com