Crown set to finish closing arguments today against Michael Rafferty
Posted May 9, 2012 05:48:40 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
LONDON, Ont. – The Crown is expected to wrap up its closing arguments today at the trial of a man accused of killing 8-year-old Tori Stafford.
Michael Rafferty, 31, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, sexual assault causing bodily harm and kidnapping in Tori’s death.
Crown attorney Kevin Gowdey told the jury Tuesday that Rafferty used Terri-Lynne McClintic as a “violent pawn” to help him carry out his “evil intentions.”
The defence has suggested that Rafferty’s girlfriend McClintic, who has a very violent past,
was the one who planned the whole thing and that Rafferty had no idea the little girl would be killed.
But Gowdey says Rafferty was the one in control of the events of April 8, 2009, and that the pair worked together to bring about Tori’s death.
Gowdey told the jury there are several ways a person can be found guilty of first-degree murder, including killing someone in the course of a kidnapping or helping someone else commit a murder.
570’s Laura Carney is in London for the trial and will continue to file reports as the case heads toward a conclusion.
