Victoria (Tori) Stafford, 8 - Canada, Murdered. The trial of Michael Rafferty

[Jezreel]

See post #235 in Rampant Abuse and Murders of Children

National Post - At the heart of the case is the brutal death of the dear little girl a whole country came to know in the spring and summer of 2009, Victoria (Tori) Stafford.

It was on April 8 that year when the sunny eight-year-old first went missing, improbably disappearing on a three-block walk to her home in the town of Woodstock, about a half-hour east of London, Ont.

It was, prosecutor Kevin Gowdey said in his opening address to the jurors, “the very first day she was allowed to leave school and walk home by herself.

“It was also the last day of her life.”

Tori’s badly decomposed remains weren’t discovered, under a rock pile deep in the lush countryside of this part of southwestern Ontario, for 103 long days, until July 19.

By then, her face was familiar through pictures released by police, missing posters, and her parents’ increasingly desperate pleas for her safe return.

Mr. Gowdey painted a spooky picture of the ordinary end-of-day scene, so familiar to parents everywhere, at Oliver Stephens Public School that Wednesday afternoon in April.

It was just before 3:30 p.m.

As the chattering youngsters spilled out of the school, some were met by family or friends, or hopped a bus, or made their home uneventfully on their own.

But two people, the prosecutor said, were waiting for Tori and they meant only to do her harm.

The pair were Terri-Lynne McClintic, who in a separate proceeding two years ago pleaded guilty to and was convicted of first-degree murder for her part in the kidnapping and killing of the little girl, and Michael Rafferty, the 31-year-old now on trial.

Michael Rafferty pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, kidnapping and sexual assault causing bodily harm.
Ms. McClintic, now 21, will be the star witness here, where her former boyfriend, broad-chested and seemingly serene in the prisoner’s dock, is pleading not guilty to first-degree murder, kidnapping and sexual assault.

According to Mr. Gowdey, the harm the two did the little blonde was unimaginable: An autopsy showed Tori died from repeated hammer blows to the head, but that other injuries she suffered — blunt force trauma sufficient to lacerate her liver and fracture many of her ribs — would have been fatal on their own.

She was discovered wearing only her Hannah Montana T-shirt and the butterfly earrings she had borrowed that morning from her mother, Tara McDonald, because she was going to christen her new bedroom in her mom’s new house by hosting a movie night for some young friends.

“Excited by this prospect,” Mr. Gowdey said, “Tori dressed up for school that day” and to make the outfit complete, Ms. McDonald allowed her to borrow the earrings.

Ms. McDonald will be among the first witnesses to testify, a task Mr. Gowdey described as a hard one for her to do and a hard one for the jurors to hear, but necessary.

While it seemed at first that Tori had vanished into thin air, police quickly seized surveillance video from a nearby high school, which showed the little girl walking with a young woman dressed in a white winter coat and with her dark hair in a ponytail.

‘You will unquestionably be disturbed by the choices she made with Michael Rafferty to bring this all about’
Parents waiting for their kids saw the two chatting, but, as Mr. Gowdey said, “They thought nothing of it at the time. They assumed that Tori was with family or a friend.

“After all,” the prosecutor said, invoking the audacity of the crime with six simple words, “it was broad daylight.”

The mystery woman was Ms. McClintic, and she led Tori to a nearby parking lot, Mr. Gowdey said, where Mr. Rafferty “sat in his Honda Civic, waiting.”

The car was caught on video near the school three times in total that day.

The pair, with their stolen girl cargo, then hit the 401 Highway and headed east on a bizarre trip — first to Guelph, where Mr. Rafferty allegedly stopped to buy some Percocet pills from a friend and then went to an ATM, and Ms. McClintic bought a hammer and green garbage bags at a Home Depot, and then into Wellington County and the countryside.

Terri-Lynne McClintic has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.
The video cameras ubiquitous in the modern world, Mr. Gowdey said, caught Mr. Rafferty at the ATM, and Ms. McClintic at the Home Depot.

Tori wasn’t seen on any of the video, but she was indisputably in the car: Her DNA was later found in blood detected on the rear passenger door of the Civic.

In one spot, on a gym bag found in the car, Tori’s blood was mixed with Mr. Rafferty’s.

The trial began with some uniquely Canadian touches — a mysterious and unexpected delay to a proceeding already almost three years in the making; warnings galore to the jurors about the horrors of the evidence to come, and courtly euphemisms.

For instance, the jurors were told by Ontario Superior Court Judge Thomas Heeney that while Mr. Rafferty may be occasionally referred to as “the accused,” they were to take no negative inference from the term because “it is simply a label to describe one of the participants in a trial.”

That is surely a most delicate take: The accused is merely a participant, like the lawyers and the judge? Really?

Mr. Gowdey, meantime, told the jurors that after they hear from Ms. McClintic, “you will unquestionably be disturbed by the choices she made with Michael Rafferty to bring this all about.”

Ms. McClintic is now a convicted killer: Surely the jurors will be more troubled by the results of her “choices,” than by her decisions.

Tori Stafford’s poor battered body was found inside garbage bags of the same colour and size as the brand Ms. McClintic bought that day at the Home Depot: One bad choice, one appalling result.

Tori


Rodney Stafford

Michael Rafftery

Terri-Lyne

[Jezreel]

London Free Press - First witnesses to be called

A teacher who said goodbye for the last time.

Parents who witnessed an abduction in the making.

A mother whose rising panic fueled a search for her missing daughter.

These are among the first witnesses expected to be called as jurors begin Tuesday considering the evidence in the first-degree murder trial of Michael Thomas Rafferty.

Rafferty, 31, has pleaded not guilty t murder, sexual assault causing bodily harm and kidnapping in the April 8, 2009 disappearance of eight-year-old Woodstock girl Victoria 'Tori' Stafford.

Tori was last seen on a surveillance video from a nearby high school walking home from Oliver Stephens public school.

Jurors will see that video clip as well as other visual evidence as the Crown begins its case by focusing on the day Tori disappeared.

Expected to testify about that day is Tori's mother, Tara McDonald.

"As hard at that will be for her and for us, unfortunately it is necessary," Crown Attorney Kevin Gowdey told jurors in his opening statement Monday.

A woman seen walking with Tori in the surveillance video, Terri-Lynne McClintic, 21, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison April 30 2010.

She will be a key witness in the Crown's case, Gowdey said.

The trial is expected to last up to three months.

This is Terri-Lynne leading away young Tori


There will be reporters tweeting updates througout the day.

[Jezreel]

The courtroom and overflow room was cleared out yesterday afternoon with no explanation.

This morning the judge stated the reasons why it was done:

10:12
RaffertyLFP: Judge Heeney explains reasons for why courtroom was cleared yesterday [via Twitter]

10:13
RaffertyLFP: Delay was related to a Facebook posting that someone claiming to be relative of juror [via Twitter]

10:14
RaffertyLFP: Posting said juror made disparaging about Rafferty. Jurors shown Facebook foot of poster No one recognized poster [via Twitter]

10:15
RaffertyLFP: Facebook poster was later found to be connected to perspective juror [via Twitter]

10:16
RaffertyLFP: Justice Heeney said incident shows hazards of Internet and also need for jurors to not discuss the case outside court [via Twitter]

[Jezreel]

London Free Press - he words still make the teacher break down in tears.

"OK, hon, we'll see you tomorrow," Jennifer Murrell said to the bubbly Victoria Stafford.

And then, Murrell told a hushed courtroom in London, "She went out the door."

Victoria Stafford, 8, did not return to school the next day and Murrell found herself on a witness stand today at the first degree murder trial of Michael Thomas Rafferty, where she barely held onto her composure describing her Grade 3 student's last day alive.

In a normal day filled with language and math lessons, twice Murrell had little chats with the girl she always called Victoria and loved for her spunkiness.

After second recess, Victoria wanted to call home and get a change of clothing because, she said, she fell into a puddle.

After a little chat, Victoria admitted she and her friends had been jumping into puddles.

Like good teachers everywhere, Murrell told Victoria she'd just have to wait until her tights dried and that is what happened when you played in puddles.

"She just took at it as it was and said, 'OK, Mrs. Murrell, and went on with her day."

Later in the day, Victoria was fooling around with some scissors and talked about cutting decals off a friend's sweater.

"She had a little sit at her desk until she felt she could use the materials properly," Murrell said. "That was just a silly moment we had."

The rest of the day Victoria was her "her bubbly little self."

Murrell, a wisp of a teacher easy to smile at early questions, cried throughout her testimony about the little girl who loved art, animals and helping younger children.

"She was just a lovely little girl."

A couple of minutes after the dismissal bell rang, Victoria asked if she could go back in the class to get her butterfly earrings.

She did and came back a minute later, after the other children had left.

She wasn't wearing the earrings and Murrell figured she had them in her pocket or backpack.

She left the school and turned to walk up Fyfe Ave.

At one point during her testimony, it appeared Rafferty was crying. He took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. - I don't believe this guy has any remorse the sick SOB!!!

The video surveillance the jury were shown is at this link: http://www.lfpress.com/video/oxford-poli...9109007001

A couple of pics of the news crews and reporters outside of the courthouse today. I was going to wait until they broke for lunch but it was extremely cold and windy outside, just the walk there made my hands, feet and ears numb.

[Lady Cop]

unfortunate Canada doesn't have death penalty. it seems unreal that a female helped him do this. lured a child to an awful death. why?

another fucking homolka who will say he made her do it. but at least she pled guilty and is serving life.

[Jezreel]

I completely agree LC, as these two people both deserve it. They say the details of the case are graphic, I dread to think what they put Tori through.
I hope they will give the answers as to why.... Terri-Lynne is supposed to be a witness as Rafftery's trial, so more details will probably emerge. Terri-Lynne apparently had a rough trailer park upbringing filled with drugs and alcohol, she is trash and probably said her upbringing had something to do with why she did this. Her hearing was closed, no details released at the time.

This type of thing does not happen very often here, especially so close to home, I remember seeing flyers of Tori everywhere when she disappeared, it was on the news each day also and at the time I lived 3 hours away from where Tori was taken.

[Jezreel]

Court is now adjourned for the day.

London Free Press - UPDATE: 4:15 -- Laura Perry, a Woodstock resident whose son Jacob was a classmate of Tori's testified about the day the eight-year-old girl was abducted.

Perry was picking up her two sons at Oliver Stephen school was the first person seen in the infamous abduction video. She said she saw a young woman pass by wearing a white coat, walking with Tori. Perry said the woman with Tori looked like she may have been a teenager and "was walking fast, with purpose". She pointed out to the court exactly where she was standing on Fyfe Street when she the woman and Tori. Perry spoke to police and helped prepare a sketch of the woman she saw which was released to the public.

UPDATE: 3:21 -- The trial of Michael Rafferty was shown a number of videos which the prosecutors say puts Michael Rafferty's car in the area of Victoria Stafford's abduction.

The videos were presented by OPP Detective Constable Robin Brocanier. Cameras mounted on College Avenue Secondary School show a dark car with dark rims pulling into a the parking lot ofa a nursing home on Fyfe Avenue in Woodstock. The vehicle has been spotted in the area earlier.

Another video shows a person walking with Victoria Stafford towards the parking lot. The same vehicle is spotted at a gas station parking lot a short distance away, The gas station video had the wrong time stamp but the manager confirmed the actual time was close to the time of the abduction. The gas station video shows a driver with a white jacket but the face is not visible.

As Brocanier was reviewing the videos in May 2009 he found out that Terri-Lynn McClintic had confessed to murder and her boyfriend Michael Rafferty had been arrested.
--- --- ---
UPDATE: 2:31 -- Court has resumed with Det.-Const. Robin Brocanier still on the stand. He is going over the surveillance video and the movement of the suspect vehicle in the streets near Oliver Stephens Public School.
--- --- ---
UPDATE: 12:00 -- Det.-Const. Robin Brocanier took the court through evidence provided by two external video cameras at College Avenue Secondary School.

Moments before Tori's abduction, a dark coloured vehicle is seen slowing down on Fyfe Avenue near a nursing home.

Another camera picked up a more distant image of the same vehicle turning into the nursing home parking lot.

Another camera picked up a distant image of a child and a person in a white coat crossing Fyfe Avenue heading towards the parking lot.

In an opening statement Monday Crown Attorney Kevin Gowdey said Terri-Lynn McClintic lured Tori from her school and took her to the nursing home parking lot where Michael Rafferty was waiting in his car. Rafferty then drove down Norwich Avenue to Hwy. 401 and then to Guelph.
--- --- ---
UPDATE: 11:38 -- OPP Det.-Const. Robin Brocanier was the officer responsible for reviewing the video evidence in the case. He says he spent hundreds of hours in a broom-closet sized room reviewing the case.

He said College Avenue Secondary School near the scene of Tori's abduction had 32 video cameras and some provided vital information for the investigation including views of Fyfe Avenue and the nursing home across the street.

[Jezreel]

London Free Press - Tara McDonald (Tori's mother) testified Wednesday she had met Terri-Lynne McClintic while buying drugs before her daughter Tori was abducted.

But her daughter did not know the woman who pleaded guilty in 2010 to first degree murder of Tori, she said.

McClintic is expected to testify sometime later in the trial of Michael Rafferty, 31, who has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, kidnapping and sexual assault causing bodily harm in Tori Stafford's death.

Police found a bar menu in McClintic's home with McDonald's phone number on it. McDonald admitted to court she was addicted to oxycontin and took a pill on the day the Woodstock girl disappeared, April 8, 2009..

McDonald and her partner, James Goris, had gone to see McClintic to buy oxycontin and McDonald also discussed breeding her Shih-Tzu with McClintic's dog.

The mother denied rumors that she owed money to drug dealers but said Goris did owe a small amount of money.

McDonald said was able to overcome the addiction six months ago.

Her children had no contact with McClintic and she warned Tori not to talk to strangers, she said.

A sombre McDonald recalled the terrible day that her daughter Victoria never returned from school with her brother and the frantic and futile search began before she gave up and went to police.

She said her daughter was a Tomboy who loved Hannah Montana and her dog, Cosmo. McDonald said her daughter was in an unusually good mood and was excited about watching High School Musical 3 with her friends after school.

[Jezreel]

LFPress: -

UPDATE: 10:45 -- Day 4 of the Michael Rafferty murder trial has resumed with Det.-Con. Sean Kelly of Woodstock Police the only expected witness of the day.

Kelly was responsible for working with Tori Stafford's family following her disappearance.

Kelly says that on April 12, 4 days after Tori was abducted and following the release of the surveillance video showing the 8-year-old walking off with a woman in a white coat, Tara McDonald called him to say the woman in the video was Terri-Lynne McClintic.

Kelly then took McClintic into custody on an outstanding probation warrant for breach of custody and supervision.

Day 4 of the Michael Rafferty murder trial has been adjourned. The trial will resume Tuesday with Terri-Lynne McClintic on the stand.

Today the jury heard from the veteran police officer who first interviewed Terri-Lynne McClintic. Det. Const. Sean Kelly broke down on the stand Thursday as he described learning Tori Stafford had been killed.

"It went from an abduction to a homicide investigation," Kelly said, his voice breaking and tears filling his eyes, describing the arrests of Terri-Lynne McClintic and Michael Rafferty May 19 2009.

Kelly was the first investigator to interview McClintic.

He obtained several pieces of information about her, including a resume that included experience babysitting.

He also obtained a lock of her hair.

He had interviewed McClintic April 12.

___________________________________________

LFPress: - Just an hour before luring little Tori Stafford to her death, Terri-Lynne McClintic was in a Woodstock job centre looking for work, admitting she had an anger problem and listing babysitting on her resume.

She would turn out to be the last person you would ever want around children.

After pleading guilty in 2010 to the first-degree murder of eight-year-old Tori, McClintic is now safely put away for at least 25 years. On Tuesday, she's set to be the star prosecution witness against Michael Rafferty, her former boyfriend accused of being her partner in Tori's abduction, sexual assault and murder.

But before her testimony, Woodstock Police Det. Const. Sean Kelly was telling the jury how the 18-year-old high school dropout on welfare first appeared on his radar.

Grey suit, grey hair, grey tie, Kelly started out as a typical cop witness: Straightforward, informative, cool. But that would soon change.

It was Easter Sunday 2009, four days after Tori was last seen on surveillance footage being led away from Oliver Stephens Public School by a young woman with long hair and a white coat. A massive police investigation was underway with worried officers working around the clock. Kelly, who had become the liaison officer with Tori's distraught family, was interviewing a possible witness when he got a call from the missing girl's mom, Tara McDonald - she thought the woman in the video could be someone she knew as "Terri".

"She mentioned they had bred puppies together," Kelly explained. "There was a distinct walk from the footage that she recognized."

With a general geographic location from McDonald, he plugged the information into the police database and came up with a possibility: Terri McClintic was wanted for violating her probation. He decided to check her out.

McClintic came to the door and agreed to be interviewed about Tori. Arrested on the outstanding warrant, she was taken to the station and asked to bring along any white jackets she had. She brought a white cloth blazer and a pink ski jacket.

McClintic was doing her clumsy best to avoid being considered a suspect: Not only did she not have a similar white jacket as the mystery woman in the video. but she also told the detective while she'd recently cut her hair - everyone knew the kidnapper had long hair - it was only because she'd got gum in it. She even showed Kelly her shorn locks in the bathroom garbage can, with the gum still attached.

As if she were a five-year-old who couldn't keep gum in her mouth. The alarm bells must have been ringing for him.

McClintic also seemed to be trying to establish an alibi. She told Kelly on the afternoon Tori went missing, she was at Community Employment Services looking for work. Following up on her information, he confirmed she'd signed in there at 2:19 p.m.

But Tori was seen with the white-coated woman one hour and 13 minutes later.

From seized records, the detective learned more about the woman eventually convicted of murder: McClintic had last worked for three weeks in November 2008 as an industrial cleaner at a Toyota plant, but it wasn't clear if she'd been laid off or fired. And her last job before that?

Babysitting.

"I cared for children eight months to five years of age," she wrote on her resume. "Prepared healthy meals and snacks, fulfilled basic everyday needs. Created and participated in appropriate activities."

So Terri-Lynne is testifying Tuesday, I am debating on whether to go, I am sure it will be a packed day at court, so I wonder if I would even make it in to the overflow room....? I am really intrigues to hear her testimony though and find out the why's and how's and what she was thinking, was it her idea, was it Michael Rafferty's.... and since the records at her court appearance when she pled guilty have been sealed, no-one knows how things went down that fateful day for Tori :(

[Jezreel]

Terri-lynne McClintic testifies tomorrow in her ex boyfriends murder trial, I believe this was one of the only things released from Terri's hearing in 2010, her statement after she pleaded guilty....

WOODSTOCK, ONT. -- Here is the statement of Terri-Lynne McClintic, as released by the court:

"Someone told me about four years ago that even though I was dealt pretty low cards in the game of life, I couldn't keep a poker face the whole time, but by acting unbreakable and burying all my emotions, I was just hurting myself more because eventually I'd break and all those things I buried would come rushing at me at once and I wouldn't know what to do. I told that person they didn't know what they were talking about. I never thought my method of survival, my method of protection, would wind up hurting me more than the life, the hardships life threw at me.

Over the last year, I've realized how accurate that statement is, but this isn't about me or anyone here else for that matter. This is about one thing, justice for an amazing little girl. This is about justice for Tori.

On April 8, I don't know what I thought was going to happen. I am honoured to have been able to spend even a brief amount of time with such an amazing person, and it pains me to think about how many people won't get to see what a beautiful and brilliant woman I just know she would have grown up to be.

Every night before I go to sleep, I tell myself that when I wake up in the morning this will all have been just a very, very bad dream, but when I open my eyes, I look around me and see that this is reality.

I can tell you that rather than acting, I over-evaluated the situation, and rather than think about any of it, I resorted to more drugs. I chose to tell myself until I believed it that everything would be okay.

I didn't wake up on that morning thinking I was going to take a child.

Not in a million years would I have pictured myself standing here, but here I am and I know that I need to stand up and take responsibility for my actions.

Every day I think that maybe if I hadn't walked down the street that day, that precious little angel would still be here. Every day I ask myself why, why did I tell myself that everything would be OK? Just why?

I can't explain my thought process on that day. I can't do anything except be honest. I will never try to make excuses for my judgment calls or my actions.

Yes, I was under the influence of drugs and, yes, there are things that I've experienced in the past that may have affected my reactions to the situation I was in, but regardless of those reasons, it doesn't make what happened acceptable.

Every time I close my eyes I'm flooded with the memories of that day. I will never forget what happened, the mistakes I made, the failure I was. A million tears will never be enough and a million words would never be able to express how truly sorry I am. I allowed my own issues, my own past to affect the future of an innocent girl.

I'll never be able to take back what's happened, but I've been trying to do everything I can to make things as right as they can be, which is why I stand here today. I would give anything to be able to trade that amazing little girl places, but I can't, and man that hurts.

Tori will never leave my heart. She'll hold my heart in her hands until the day I die. She has made me realize that I need to deal with my issues, that I can't continue on the road I've been walking. I owe my life to that precious little angel and all the people who've been hurt because of this.

I have one goal out of all of this, and that is to help other women like myself avoid winding up in positions such as this.

I will do everything I can to keep other children safe, and these are things I can do regardless of where I am. I also would like to help others avoid making the same mistakes I have; to learn what is meant to be learnt from our mistakes; teach others what I was failed to be taught; and most importantly, I want to help others in a way people failed to help me, and be supportive to others in need as only few people have been supportive of me. Those are the people I hold dear to my heart, and I want to be one of those people.

Enough people have been hurt as a result of this and I refuse to drag anyone through the proceedings of a trial. Spending the next few decades of life in prison is nothing compared to what Tori was robbed of.

I know that my apology doesn't mean much compared to what was lost, and I'm not asking for forgiveness as I stand here, but I am trying to make amends the best way I can by giving you my life today."

[Kip]

Jezreel, thanks for all of your updates. I followed Tori's disappearance daily (I must admit I was suspicious of her mother for quite a while.) I commend Terri-Lynn for pleading guilty. Her statement is quite eloquent - I wonder if she wrote it herself. I wonder if Rafferty thinks he has a chance in hell of being found not guilty.

[Jezreel]

Jezreel, thanks for all of your updates. I followed Tori's disappearance daily (I must admit I was suspicious of her mother for quite a while.) I commend Terri-Lynn for pleading guilty. Her statement is quite eloquent - I wonder if she wrote it herself. I wonder if Rafferty thinks he has a chance in hell of being found not guilty.

Your welcome Kip, I wasn't sure how many people outside of Canada followed this. I agree about her mother Tara, especially when the news about the drugs came out, she was always a bit weird at the press conferences she had too.
I believe this is an edited statement from TLM, maybe once this trial is over they will release the unedited version.... Unfortunately I don't think now that we will get any answers from her as to why they did this tomorrow, I will never understand people, what makes you want to beat as abuse a young girl and leave her partially naked in a field??
I hope rafferty doesn't think he has a chance of being found not guilty, unless they rely on the fact that he was never seen clearly in the surveillance videos and it's just TLM's word? The one good thing is that don't have to prove he comitted the actual murder to find him guilty of the charges, just that he was there and participated and if he is found guilty is automatic 25 years in prison.

I am still considering whether to go tomorrow, only as I am interested to see how TLM talks, reacts and what she says on the stand, I don't think I could handle hearing all the horrid details though :(

[Kip]

Jezreel, thanks for all of your updates. I followed Tori's disappearance daily (I must admit I was suspicious of her mother for quite a while.) I commend Terri-Lynn for pleading guilty. Her statement is quite eloquent - I wonder if she wrote it herself. I wonder if Rafferty thinks he has a chance in hell of being found not guilty.

Your welcome Kip, I wasn't sure how many people outside of Canada followed this. I agree about her mother Tara, especially when the news about the drugs came out, she was always a bit weird at the press conferences she had too.
I believe this is an edited statement from TLM, maybe once this trial is over they will release the unedited version.... Unfortunately I don't think now that we will get any answers from her as to why they did this tomorrow, I will never understand people, what makes you want to beat as abuse a young girl and leave her partially naked in a field??
I hope rafferty doesn't think he has a chance of being found not guilty, unless they rely on the fact that he was never seen clearly in the surveillance videos and it's just TLM's word? The one good thing is that don't have to prove he comitted the actual murder to find him guilty of the charges, just that he was there and participated and if he is found guilty is automatic 25 years in prison.

I am still considering whether to go tomorrow, only as I am interested to see how TLM talks, reacts and what she says on the stand, I don't think I could handle hearing all the horrid details though :(

Jezreel, hundreds of us followed this case on the now-defunct InSession message board. I'd watch the video of Tori going off with the unknown (at the time) woman frame by frame, hoping to spot something. I too don't understand how people can do something like this - and when two or more people are involved, it's even more mind boggling. It's hard to imagine a second person not putting a stop to such a heinous plan. If you do go, I'd love to hear your impressions of TLM. But I totally understand your not wanting to hear the details. Details of some cases (like the Christian/Newsom murders) kept me awake for weeks.

[Jezreel]

I guess that's one thing us 'regular' people will never be able to understand. That video of Tori walking with TLM haunts me still. You're right the Christian/Newsome case is horrendous, what they had to go through is beyond my comprehension.
I will for sure let you know my thoughts if I go, I can see it being quite busy tomorrow and I have never been to a trial before, I would probably head straight to the overflow room.

[Jezreel]

I went to the court today, was in the overflow room, TLM said she was the one who hit Tori with the hammer!! I will update the happenings today and my thoughts once I get home and composed. It was heartbreaking to hear the details.

[koko]

I went to the court today, was in the overflow room, TLM said she was the one who hit Tori with the hammer!! I will update the happenings today and my thoughts once I get home and composed. It was heartbreaking to hear the details.

thanks for letting us know, looking forward to your update.

[Kip]

I went to the court today, was in the overflow room, TLM said she was the one who hit Tori with the hammer!! I will update the happenings today and my thoughts once I get home and composed. It was heartbreaking to hear the details.

I was assuming MR had killed Tori. Details in the story below. Unbelievable. TLM kidnapped someone on a dare. TLM bought a claw hammer that afternoon, so it seems to me she was planning on murdering Tori.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/ToriS...95456.html

[Jezreel]

I will start by saying that TLM's statement given at her hearing is most definitely edited, she is not that well spoken and I don't think would be that eloquent, or her lawyer wrote it.
I was in the overflow room, I didn't even try to get into the courtroom itself, I was quite happy to not be that close to those sick monsters.
They have 3 screens in the overflow room, one shows the from end of the courtroom - jury, witness, judge, crown etc, the other is pointed directly at the prisoner box where Rafferty sits and it is quite close up. I was shocked when Rafferty came in, he has gained a lot of weight and aged a fair amount, apparently according to others in the room, he also had gotten his haircut since last week "(how nice he gets to have his hair trimmed and face shaved)!! He is still one ugly looking motherfucker though!!
So TLM is brought in, you can't really see her as the other camera is a fair distance and above so you can see her outline really, but not her face. It all started quite slow with asking about her background, etc, she sounded like she was high or something the way she spoke, there were a lot of pauses, likes and ummms, and sometimes she really didn't seem sure of what she was saying. After about 20 mins defense wanted to ask a question without the jury and witness there, they were all removed and media were not allowed to update or tweet. Does that mean I am not allowed to say what happened? it was anything major, but not sure if i can say?
Basically TLM had a horrible childhood, full of violence, drugs, alcohol etc, she was bullied at school as her (adoptive) was an alcoholic and the kids called her mum crazy carol, started smoking weed at aged 8! Poor me poor me BS. The first night she met Rafftery, by chance while she was picking up pizza they went for a drive in his car and had sex. She seemed to be quite honest in what she was saying, again cant see her face, and she mumbled a lot. It looked like Rafferty had his eyes on her the whole time, they actually adjusted her chair and mic as he said he did not have a clear and direct view of TLM. For the first part of the testimony he kept a pretty straight face, not really showing any emotion. TLM was addicted to oxy's and Rafferty would call her up to get some when he wanted, she said he made her feel good, he seemed like a good guy at first. He would also say horrible tings to her and make her feel like a bad person, when mentioned the once said it was like Lucifer meeting the bible??? WTF! So it seems he is a classic abuser, make them feel good, bring them down all to manipulate someone.
The audio cut out a few times in the room, once being once she was testifying about the day of the abduction, all I could see was Rafferty at points looking agitated, angry and taking a lot of notes.
After the lunch break, audio was working again and TLM continued her story. She had mentioned that he had said bad things and she had pushed them to the back of her mind as she wanted to think he was a good guy, for instance, he asked her if it would be weird if he would say he wanted to kidnap someone - she laughed it off - dumb bitch! Also he took her around to a few houses telling her the layout of them and how you could go in, tie someone up and take them..... now these would be warning signs to most people. When the crown was asking her about other instances, she had started to say once time he climbed on top of her and.... then the crown stopped right there and went in a different direction saying they did not need to get into that right now. I wonder what the story was going to be, I read he liked choking when he was having sex, or maybe he was going to rape her, or some sick role play? We may never find out the end to that story.
As her testimony went on about that fateful day, she became more emotional, her pauses were longer as well, she said that it was not planned, that Rafferty had asked her to go to Guelph with him and then he started driving towards the school. He asked her if she was going to do it? She said, do what? He said, I knew you were all talk! At that point she said she knew what he wanted to do...... she said she wanted to chicken out, but Rafferty kept driving past and that she picked Tori because she was walking on her own. She started talking about her dog and asked Tori if she wanted to see it, Tori agreed and they walked to where Rafferty was parked Cressant care parking lot.
Poor Tori got shoved on the floor in the back of the car and TLM said she was in the front...... at points during this Rafftery is shaking his head, taking more notes and looked agitated.
There were at least 3 times that TLM could have escaped with Tori or let Tori escape if she really wanted to, once when they stopped at Tim Hortons in Guelph, Rafftery didn't go through the drive thru, he actually got out the car and went in... why didn't TLM tell Tori to leave, why didn't Tori try and leave? He also stopped at a house to pick up prescription drugs, and also at a service station and got out and used the ATM. I don't think she was scared of Rafferty, so she must have been ok with this. She even went into to Home Depot by herself to purchase garbage bags and a hammer that he told her to, why not raise the alarm there if you really wanted it to end?
Oh I forgot to mention that TLM said Rafftery had dared grab a kid, he said make it a girl, they are easier to manipulate, she said she always rose to dares!!!!
This whole time she she said she was talking to Tori, and asking her her favorite color and shows and holidays etc and told her it was going to be ok, and telling herself it was going to be ok. Why would you think everything was going to be ok when you just bought garbage bags and hammer, why would you think that when Rafferty apparently told her, they could leave her or let her go now?? I am sure the weed and oxy's she took that morning had worn off, she couldn't still be high, she even said herself she had a high tolerance for them. She did also say earlier that she was on prescribed anti depressants and anti psychotic meds.
As she goes on, she is taking long pauses after questions are asked and is getting emotional, at one point saying she needed a minute and the court broke for recess.
When he pulled into a lane way somewhere out in the country and started masturbating, she said she knew what was going to happen and got out the car and walked away out near the field! She said she could hear Tori cry, scream etc but stayed there, at one point she turned around because she heard the horn and could see Rafftery in the back seat with Tori on his lap, apparently they were both naked from the waist down!
People in the room were gasping, there was a lot of deep breaths and a lot were crying by this point, it was quiet and somber and all around sad. It was a far cry from the morning when people were making fun of TLM when she couldn't remember things like how long she had lived somewhere etc.
At one point she said Rafferty had called her over and asked her to go check and see if there were any cars around or if she thought anyone could hear anything - really you don't like what is going on but you do nothing to stop it and keep a lookout!!! She even said herself when the crowne asked if she did anything to stop what was happening that she didn't. I think she stood in that field to keep lookout, not because she didn't want to hear or see what was going on. Rafftery called her over another time and told her to take Tori to the bathroom, so she led her to the front of the car, she said she saw blood in the snow! She said Tori grabbed her hand and asked her not to leave her and not to let him do it again! (instead of trying to run away) she led Tori right back to Rafftery and got on the front seat, Tori wouldn't let go of her hand, but she couldn't stay there and ran out into the field again.
She said she was seeing flashbacks to when she was that age, and all this anger and rage filled up inside of her, she felt like she wasn't there (at this point it looked like Rafftery mouth bullshit to himself but I can't be sure) There was a bit of confusion about what happened next as TLM was mumbling, speaking very slow and taking really long pauses between questions, the audio wasn't the greatest so it was hard to hear if when she walked back to the car and saw Tori laying on the ground whether it was her or Rafftery that started kicking her. After she said it was probably her that then took the garbage bags out the car, she said she said she out one over Tori's head and then Tori was hit with the hammer. The crown asked her hit her, there was a long long silence, for a few minutes it felt, the crown had to ask again and finally TLM said that it was her that hit Tori with the hammer! Well you could just hear everybody in the room gasp and start crying even more, quite a few people had already left, but at his point a few more got up and left. The testimony for the day ended not long after this, I believe the crowne still has questions and then the defense will cross, she could likely be on the stand another couple of days.

[Jezreel]

I am sorry for the graphic content, but this is even less graphic then what I heard today and I am still wrapping my head around it all. I just meant this to be a brief overview but ended up typing a lot more.

Even though it did seem as though TLM was being honest about a lot of things, parts of her testimony didn't quite add up, I still don't think this wasn't premeditated and was a spur of the moment abduction. She did seem honestly distraught and emotional, she really has nothing to gain or loose and she pleaded guilty to first degree murder and is already serving her time, but I think she has somewhat minimized her role in this. At points I felt bad for her for her childhood, but in no way do I feel bad for her actions and the consequences she faced, I wish we had the DP here sometimes, it's sad to think that she will be eligible for parole one day and may walk the streets again.
Rafferty to me looks like an evil man, not much emotion from him except for anger and agitation. At one point it looked as though he might have been crying, but I don't think he actually was, I don't think he has any real feelings. How he is pleading not guilty I do not understand, even though we now know that it was TLM that ultimately killed Tori, he can still be found guilty of first degree murder as kidnapping and sexual assault were involved in what resolved in a murder. I am also sure that when the ME takes the stand he will testify that there were signs of sexual abuse, I am not sure how her body was when found though, she was out buried in bags under rocks for 103 days!

I am also sorry for any typos, punctuation etc it may not be easing to read but I wrote this on my ipod so not easy to bold my thoughts as opposed to testimony.

They should both be tortured and left out to die.

[Jezreel]

I went to the court today, was in the overflow room, TLM said she was the one who hit Tori with the hammer!! I will update the happenings today and my thoughts once I get home and composed. It was heartbreaking to hear the details.

I was assuming MR had killed Tori. Details in the story below. Unbelievable. TLM kidnapped someone on a dare. TLM bought a claw hammer that afternoon, so it seems to me she was planning on murdering Tori.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/ToriS...95456.html

I think that is what most assumed too, myself included, you could tell when TLM finally answered the question from the crowne on who had hit Tori with the hammer and said it was her, the astonishment of everybody in that room, it was eerie, people were shocked to hear it was her.