Susan Clairmont: Living in debt and lying about it: Richard Taylor tells court it is what he had always done

As he inched closer to having his dark secret found out, accused killer Richard Taylor says he wasn't bothered at all.

Though he was on the verge of having years of deceit about his marital finances exposed to his unknowing wife, Taylor says he wasn't feeling any pressure.

Living in debt and lying about it is what he had always done, he told the jury at his murder trial.

Taylor faces two counts of first-degree murder. He is accused of entering the bedroom of his mother Carla Rutherford, 64, and her second husband, Alan Rutherford, 63, on the night on July 9, 2018, and lighting it on fire while they slept.

They were burned alive.

Before he died, Alan managed to tell several people that Rich did it. For the money.

Under cross-examination by assistant Crown attorney Mark Dean, Taylor admitted his wife Evangelia knew nothing of their debt. She hadn't had a credit or debit card for ages and he had faked bank documents to make her think they had savings, when in fact they had nothing.

Their family was supposed to leave for a month-long vacation in Greece with their children on July 11. The tickets had been a gift from Evangelia's family, but once they landed Taylor would have no way to pay for food or hotels, the Crown said.

When you got off the plane in Greece, all of your lies and all of your deceit would be exposed," Dean said Tuesday.

Taylor disagreed. He said he had more than $5,000 in cash stockpiled" for the trip, despite the fact his elementary school teacher's salary was garnished and he had mounds of debt.

And on July 5, Vange - as she is called - texted Taylor to complain that she needed to buy new clothes for the trip but couldn't because she didn't have a credit or debit card. He assured her he was working on it.

You've said shit like this for two years," she texted. Nothing is working out."

Something big actually has to happen to get you out of this corner," suggested Dean.

It's a diabolical plan. It's a sinister plan. If you can pull it off, Greece gets cancelled ... If you can pull off this plan, your secret life will stay secret ... If you can pull off this plan, you'll inherit a boatload of money ... And if you can pull off this plan, Vange will stop asking about the bank card."

There was no plan to reset my life," insisted Taylor. To say I would kill my mother is ridiculous ... What you're suggesting is horrible and I didn't do it."

More to come.

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