Prosecution urges jury to rubbish defence arguments in Ruddock trial

According to Jamaica Observer (General News), Lead prosecutor Latoya Bernard on Thursday delivered her closing statements in the Andre Ruddock murder trial in the Home Circuit Court in Kingston, appealing to the seven members of the jury to rubbish the arguments put forward by the accused and his attorneys, especially the claim that he did not kill 39-year-old Taneka Gardner. Ruddock is on trial for murder in relation to the October 17, 2021 killing of Gardner at Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries in St James. Both Ruddock and Gardner were members of the church. It is alleged that Ruddock, acting on instructions from his now deceased pastor Kevin Smith, used a knife to slash Gardner’s throat as part of what is believed be a human sacrifice ritual. However, even though the main witness in the case insisted during the trial that Ruddock was the one who killed Gardner by cutting her throat at the church on orders fro