Susan Clairmont: ‘I'm saying it's a possibility’: Court hears Richard Taylor told police murder victim set fatal fire

The night he is arrested for intentionally setting the fire that burned his mother and stepfather alive, Rich Taylor offers an alternate suspect.

Alan Rutherford.

His stepfather.

The very man who used his dying breath to name Rich as the killer and to point to his motive - money.

The man who tried in vain to save his wife Carla. The man who went back into their burning house to save the dogs. Who somehow, with burns to up to 95 per cent of his body, managed to drag himself to a neighbour's porch looking for help. Who, as he lay naked and dying, apologized to the teen girl who tried to comfort him for having to see him that way.

I didn't do it, and I don't think you looked into other avenues either that much, so ...," Taylor tells Det. Troy Ashbaugh near the end of an eight-hour interview in January 2019. Video of the interview continued to be played for jurors Friday.

But what other avenues should I look into?" Ashbaugh asks.

Well, I've talked to two police officers who, when I say what we knew, say it looks like Al did it. They've been on numerous arsons where a person goes to kill someone and or, insurance or something, and they don't know what they're doing with the ignition and they light themself on fire. That's coming from police officers."

What would Al gain?"

I don't know."

Well, he certainly doesn't gain the house," says Ashbaugh, referring to the fact the home on Greening Court in Dundas was destroyed in the blaze.

Well, he gets, he gets a lot of stuff. He gets my mom's pension. He gets my mom's - what else, her - she didn't have life insurance. (He) gets her RSPs. He gets the $50,000. He gets to live there."

Taylor, 46, is on trial for two counts of first-degree murder. Jurors have heard that in the early-morning hours of July 9, 2018, a fire was set at the foot of Carla and Alan's bed. An accelerant was poured on the floor, according to evidence from the Centre of Forensic Sciences and the Office of the Fire Marshal. Then it was lit.

Carla, 64, was dead when a young firefighter - just five days into his career - pulled her body out of the house.

Alan, 63, died a few hours later in hospital.

Taylor was a married father of two who was deep in debt and keeping it a secret from everyone - including his wife Evangelia. The Hamilton elementary school teacher had for years been borrowing new money to pay off old debts, maxing out credit cards and using scissors and tape to create fake bank documents to fool his wife into thinking they had money.

Texts messages show he borrowed money from Carla and she was getting tired of it.

The day of the murders, Taylor was two days away from a family trip to Greece. The plane tickets were a gift, but once they landed, he'd have to pay for hotels and food. He had no working credit cards and only a few dollars in the bank.

His charade was up.

So, let me get this straight," says Ashbaugh. You're saying Al killed your mom, and then ..."

I'm saying ..."

... accidentally killed himself, and then blames you? That's what you're saying?

I'm saying it's a possibility. When talking to two police officers who do homicide."

Ashbaugh asks him who the police officers are. One is a friend who is an officer with York Regional Police.

So, he said he thinks Al did it?" asks Ashbaugh.

He says, from what it sounds like, it sounds like he lit the fire," Taylor says.

The other is someone Taylor talked to once at an event. He can't remember his name.

And who did he say did it?" Ashbaugh asks.

He said it sounds like Al did it."

Months earlier, on the day of the murders, Taylor painted a different picture. One that doesn't seem to jive at all with the finger-pointing he does after his arrest.

Within hours of Alan's death, Taylor goes to Hamilton police headquarters and voluntarily sits down for an interview with a homicide investigator. He is cautioned and informed he may at some point be charged with first-degree murder times two."

After all, Taylor had become the prime suspect while the house was still in flames.

Moments into the interview, Taylor weeps into a tissue while recounting the timeline of the day.

Then he pulls himself together and describes his mother.

She was awesome," he says. She'd drop anything to take my kids."

In fact, the kids had been at her place just a couple of days earlier for a playdate."

Alan also loved Taylor's son and daughter and doted on them.

They'd do anything for me and my kids," he said.

And Alan loved Carla.

He loved my mom and made her happy."

Susan Clairmont is a justice columnist at The Spectator. sclairmont@thespec.com