Wow. I had wondered if Alan had been able to speak to the neighbor before passing out. But no, we hadn't heard that bombshell before now! I can't access the story at all from The Star, so thanks so much for posting.
Canada - Carla, 64, & Alan Rutherford, 63, Dundas Ontario, 9 July 2018- *ARREST*
- Thread starter dotr
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I wonder why police are allowing this information to be released at this time? Isn't that sort of thing usually preserved for the trial?
ETA I would have thought the neighbor shared the info with the reporter, except that when it says how Al banged on the door, it says the reporter was told that part by police... so if not by the neighbor, then assuming she didn't get her info from the neighbor on that whole thing. Could be wrong, but...
ETA I would have thought the neighbor shared the info with the reporter, except that when it says how Al banged on the door, it says the reporter was told that part by police... so if not by the neighbor, then assuming she didn't get her info from the neighbor on that whole thing. Could be wrong, but...
This is what was published regarding the story...
"In recreating the night of the fire that killed Alan and Carla Rutherford, the search for a suspect in their deaths and the ripple effects the fire and the killings had on others, the Hamilton Spectator spent months speaking to multiple sources with knowledge of the family and the case, along with experts.
Some sources are confidential because they fear reprisal.
The Spectator independently verified all details.
The Spectator has also examined public financial, property, court and employment records and sifted through social media posts.
Members of Alan and Carla’s family declined to speak to the Spectator for this story."
The dying man said a name: the haunting case of a Hamilton couple’s death by arson | The Star
"In recreating the night of the fire that killed Alan and Carla Rutherford, the search for a suspect in their deaths and the ripple effects the fire and the killings had on others, the Hamilton Spectator spent months speaking to multiple sources with knowledge of the family and the case, along with experts.
Some sources are confidential because they fear reprisal.
The Spectator independently verified all details.
The Spectator has also examined public financial, property, court and employment records and sifted through social media posts.
Members of Alan and Carla’s family declined to speak to the Spectator for this story."
The dying man said a name: the haunting case of a Hamilton couple’s death by arson | The Star
This is horrific.
Alan realized in his dying moments that Rich was greedy for money and caused the fire.
I hope this is broadcast for all to know.
Hope Rich has nightmares about this for the remainder of his evil life.
MOO.
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They must have discussed his role as executor and their wishes for the estate. I suppose he didn't want to wait. I hope the family were able to remove him as executor of the estate, or to at least freeze the estate until after the investigation was completed. My experience with Wills is that there is an executor, but there is an alternate in the event that the first named executor is unable to complete the duty.
The dying man said a name: So who was his son Rich Taylor?
Rich Taylor seemed to be an average guy. A family, an Oakville home, a teaching job in Hamilton. Maybe a few oddities, but murder? Rich was charged months after a fire at his boyhood home that killed his mother and stepdad. Part 2 of 2.
HAMILTON—Richard Taylor had been keeping up appearances. He was a teacher and family man and had a nice home in Oakville.
He was apparently desperate for money, though, and was poised to profit from the deaths of his mom and her husband, killed in a fire that started while they slept on July 9, 2018.
Four days later, Hamilton police announced Al and Carla Rutherford were victims of homicide.
Det. Sgt. Steve Bereziuk, the lead investigator, said he was focused on those closest to the beloved retired couple as possible suspects. Months later, he would call the homicides “financially motivated.”
The dying man said a name: So who was his son Rich Taylor? | The Star
Rich Taylor seemed to be an average guy. A family, an Oakville home, a teaching job in Hamilton. Maybe a few oddities, but murder? Rich was charged months after a fire at his boyhood home that killed his mother and stepdad. Part 2 of 2.
HAMILTON—Richard Taylor had been keeping up appearances. He was a teacher and family man and had a nice home in Oakville.
He was apparently desperate for money, though, and was poised to profit from the deaths of his mom and her husband, killed in a fire that started while they slept on July 9, 2018.
Four days later, Hamilton police announced Al and Carla Rutherford were victims of homicide.
Det. Sgt. Steve Bereziuk, the lead investigator, said he was focused on those closest to the beloved retired couple as possible suspects. Months later, he would call the homicides “financially motivated.”
The dying man said a name: So who was his son Rich Taylor? | The Star
Richard Scott Taylor has a bachelor of arts degree from McMaster University, where he played on a baseball team. He earned a bachelor of science in education from Medaille College in Buffalo, N.Y., according to the Ontario College of Teachers website.
He was then hired by the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board.
By the mid-2000s, Rich was teaching phys-ed at Billy Green Elementary, a junior kindergarten to Grade 8 school on Stoney Creek Mountain.
[...]
One former colleague, who does not want to be named out of fear of repercussions from the school board, remembers Rich as a “scruffy” guy, slouched in a chair in the staff room, hands casually behind his head, dressed in baggy jeans and a sloppy T-shirt.
“He just looked like an unmade bed,” she says.
He had a quick and biting wit and often spoke harshly about students and their parents behind their backs.
[...]
That teacher and another former Billy Green teacher, who also does not want to be named, each say there were many unexplained thefts at the school that were never solved, but some speculated Rich was responsible.
In one case, $1,800 collected for a ski trip went missing from a filing cabinet. The theft was investigated by police, but nothing came of it. Money collected for Terry Fox runs and school trips also disappeared from teachers’ desks and filing cabinets.
Another time, a teacher put $50 LCBO gift cards in envelopes and placed them in the custodians’ staff room mail slots as Christmas gifts, several sources have told the Spectator. Later, the custodians thanked the teacher for her $20 Tim Hortons cards.
There is no public record of Rich ever facing any discipline, according to the Ontario College of Teachers website.
The dying man said a name: So who was his son Rich Taylor? | The Star
He was then hired by the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board.
By the mid-2000s, Rich was teaching phys-ed at Billy Green Elementary, a junior kindergarten to Grade 8 school on Stoney Creek Mountain.
[...]
One former colleague, who does not want to be named out of fear of repercussions from the school board, remembers Rich as a “scruffy” guy, slouched in a chair in the staff room, hands casually behind his head, dressed in baggy jeans and a sloppy T-shirt.
“He just looked like an unmade bed,” she says.
He had a quick and biting wit and often spoke harshly about students and their parents behind their backs.
[...]
That teacher and another former Billy Green teacher, who also does not want to be named, each say there were many unexplained thefts at the school that were never solved, but some speculated Rich was responsible.
In one case, $1,800 collected for a ski trip went missing from a filing cabinet. The theft was investigated by police, but nothing came of it. Money collected for Terry Fox runs and school trips also disappeared from teachers’ desks and filing cabinets.
Another time, a teacher put $50 LCBO gift cards in envelopes and placed them in the custodians’ staff room mail slots as Christmas gifts, several sources have told the Spectator. Later, the custodians thanked the teacher for her $20 Tim Hortons cards.
There is no public record of Rich ever facing any discipline, according to the Ontario College of Teachers website.
The dying man said a name: So who was his son Rich Taylor? | The Star
In September 2017, Rich moved to Hess Street Elementary School to teach Grade 2/3.
After he left Billy Green, teachers say money stopped disappearing. But, the teachers and others say, similar unexplained incidents began happening at Hess.
Toward the end of his first year at Hess, he missed weeks of school. Rich told some people he had pancreatic cancer. The Spectator has learned from sources with knowledge of Rich’s health matters that this is not true.
After the fire at his mom’s house, multiple sources say, Rich was walking with a cane, though it is unclear why.
[...]
Det. Sgt. Steve Bereziuk, the homicide case manager, told journalists the retired Dundas couple had no enemies.
The Rutherfords were good people, who helped out their community and had a wide circle of friends. Police had never been to their Greening Court home until their bedroom erupted in flames.
Bereziuk said police collected security video from homes around the scene and gave it to their forensic video specialist to review for clues. What’s on that video won’t be revealed until trial, he said.
In a September interview with the Spectator, Bereziuk revealed new information: One of the Rutherfords’ four children was their suspect.
“Right now, we are focusing on one individual, and that person is aware,” he said. “And they have been co-operative.”
By then, police had executed a search warrant at Rich’s semi-detached home in Oakville, where he lived with his wife, Evangelia, and two school-aged children.
“We believe the fire was intentionally set,” Bereziuk continued in his Spectator interview. “And it was done with the intention of killing them.”
The dying man said a name: So who was his son Rich Taylor? | The Star
After he left Billy Green, teachers say money stopped disappearing. But, the teachers and others say, similar unexplained incidents began happening at Hess.
Toward the end of his first year at Hess, he missed weeks of school. Rich told some people he had pancreatic cancer. The Spectator has learned from sources with knowledge of Rich’s health matters that this is not true.
After the fire at his mom’s house, multiple sources say, Rich was walking with a cane, though it is unclear why.
[...]
Det. Sgt. Steve Bereziuk, the homicide case manager, told journalists the retired Dundas couple had no enemies.
The Rutherfords were good people, who helped out their community and had a wide circle of friends. Police had never been to their Greening Court home until their bedroom erupted in flames.
Bereziuk said police collected security video from homes around the scene and gave it to their forensic video specialist to review for clues. What’s on that video won’t be revealed until trial, he said.
In a September interview with the Spectator, Bereziuk revealed new information: One of the Rutherfords’ four children was their suspect.
“Right now, we are focusing on one individual, and that person is aware,” he said. “And they have been co-operative.”
By then, police had executed a search warrant at Rich’s semi-detached home in Oakville, where he lived with his wife, Evangelia, and two school-aged children.
“We believe the fire was intentionally set,” Bereziuk continued in his Spectator interview. “And it was done with the intention of killing them.”
The dying man said a name: So who was his son Rich Taylor? | The Star
Elle A
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Thank you so much for posting this Kamille! This story is horrific. I now know what it feels like to have your blood run cold. I cannot fathom how anyone could be capable of burning another person or living thing alive let alone their own mother and step father! Truly heinous. I am local to this area and drive by the school RT taught at daily and cannot help but think of the sheer terror Carla and Alan must have experienced. Impossible to wrap your head around this on every level.
All thoughts and opinions are IMO
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I didn't realize the poor dogs were crated in the basement. If they hadn't been, they may have been able to stop Rich or at least warn Alan & Carla by barking. They may have been able to run out behind Alan. They had no chance.
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Oh gawd!!!!
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I also didn't know Rich had been at their house just a few days before ... with his kids swimming. Sounds like he's had issues with money going missing at places he's worked. I wonder if he had a drug or gambling problem.
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Bravo
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The dogs.
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Fatal Dundas fire investigation expected to be lengthy
"The couple's two chocolate brown Labradors are being cared for by a neighbour. Many in the community knew the Rutherfords from seeing them walking their dogs."
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Ok now I see the confusion. Sorry I thought they were crated and died.
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