KINGSTON, Jamaica — The father of Taneka Gardner, the 39-year-old woman who had her throat slashed on October 17, 2021, at the Pathways International Restoration Ministries in Albion, St James, told a defence attorney on Thursday during cross-examination that he had no knowledge of his daughter being in a romantic relationship with the late pastor of the church, Dr Kevin Smith.

The murder trial of Andre Ruddock, the man accused of killing Gardner, got underway in the Home Circuit Court in Kingston on Thursday after a seven-member jury was empanelled on Wednesday.

Ruddock, under instructions from Smith, allegedly cut Gardner’s throat during what is widely believed to be a sacrificial killing.

Attorney-at-law Venice Brown, who along with Anthony Williams is representing Ruddock, appeared to have known something about a romantic relationship between Smith and Gardner, as the few questions she posed to the witness were mainly centred on that topic.

Brown asked the father if his daughter was involved romantically with Smith and he responded, “I don’t know about that one.

Brown right after suggested to the father that his daughter was in a romantic relationship with the pastor, however, trial Judge Leighton Pusey pointed out to her that the witness already indicated that he knew nothing about the alleged romance and prompted her to move on to the next question.

The next question to the father was if his daughter had any known medical conditions before she died.

“No, madam,” the father said to the attorney, who had no further questions.

During examination-in-chief, prosecutor LaToya Bernard asked the father a series of questions to establish for the seven jurors that he actually buried his daughter and that she was in fact dead.

The father shared that he received a call on October 18, the day after the incident, which prompted him to go to the church in Albion.

“I just went there because I heard what happened. I saw the police and the yellow tape. A lot of police and yellow tape, caution tape. I saw the tape blocking the entrance to the church. No madam, I didn’t go over to the church when I saw the caution tape,” he said.

He explained that he then proceeded to a location he referred to as Mango Walk, where his cousin resided. He explained that both of them went to the Freeport Police Station where he spoke to a detective inspector.

“I left for the Delapenha Funeral Home in Montego Bay, St James, to see the body because they said the body was there. They took out the body and showed it to me. It was Taneka Gardner, my daughter. I saw a slash on her throat. Workers from Delapenha were there with me. My cousin didn’t come inside.

“On November 19, 2021, I was called to come to St Catherine at Archer’s Funeral Home in Spanish Town. When I got there I was early so I waited until they opened. I went inside and a policeman spoke to me and took me to a room where the doctor was going to perform the autopsy. Taneka Gardner’s body was on a table and I was asked to identify her and I identified her as Taneka Gardner to the doctor as well as the police,” he said, explaining that he last spoke to his daughter about four days before she was killed.

After Gardner’s father left the witness stand, Corey James, the second witness, took up his position to give the jurors his chilling account of what occurred at the church on that fateful day in 2021.

“>He confirmed knowing Ruddock — the accused — very well as both of them had been attending the church together since 2014.

James, who is a livestock farmer, confirmed that Smith was the head of the church and that other members including himself and Ruddock were given various roles and functions.

He shared that while Ruddock was a security guard and Smith’s bodyguard, he on the other hand was given the role of getting Smith dressed and shaving his head.

“I helped Dr Smith get dressed before services,” he told the court.

James said that on the day of the incident, there was not supposed to be any service at the church because the day before, on Saturday, October 16, 2021, there was a “special ceremony”.

So, on the Sunday while he was cooking and resting, he had no intentions of going to church. However, his wife ran upstairs to him and told him something. He got out of bed and started to get ready to head down to the church. Asked by prosecutor Bernard why he, his wife and others got ready for church, James explained that Pastor Smith made a Facebook post where he informed his congregants of a flood and instructed them to come to him for safe haven.

“After she spoke with me we got ready, my wife, myself, our daughter and one of her friends, her friend’s mother and a nephew,” he said.

“Dr Smith made a post on Facebook. It was not his first time. He would post on his timeline on Facebook. Dr Smith made a post that a flood was coming. I am not sure what flood it was, but that was what he said, and we should come to the church for a safe haven. Yes, I did believe that a flood was coming, and I got ready and went to the church. When I reached the church it was between 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm. My family and friends travelled with me.

“When I got there, there were other individuals there. I was in yellow shorts, a blue hoodie, and I had a white sheet covering myself. Dr Smith said we should all cover ourselves with a white sheet. Everyone who travelled with me had a white sheet. When I got to the church, I saw others covered in white sheet. The covering up with the sheet was something new that started on the 16th, the day before at the special ceremony.

“I went on the boardwalk and was going inside the building. Dr Smith was at the top of the step at the main entrance of the building. Yes, I spoke with Dr Kevin Smith, and he spoke to me. I entered the building and sat down on the ground. He told us all to sit on the ground, cover ourselves with the sheets and not look in his face. Around 12 individuals [were in the building]. Mr Michael Brown, my wife’s cousin, was also at the church. Dr Smith started speaking. We started throwing food stuff outside. We threw away sanitary napkins, tissue and other stuff out the front of the building.

Because of COVID-19, Dr Smith was telling us the world was coming to an end,” James said, pointing out that the pastor was frequently telling them to take their money out of the bank.

He said Smith told them to throw out the food and other stuff because they were from Babylon.

While James and others threw out the items, he explained that a bottle fell from a table and broke on the ground inside the church.

He told the court that Smith informed them that those who were on the opposite side of the bottle would have to die in order for them to enter into the Kingdom.

“He said he got a revelation. I was on the opposite side, and Dr Smith said to me that in order for me to come over on the other side, my throat has to be cut. I was confused when he mentioned that to me. I spoke to Dr Smith, and he said I was a demon and that I should come out of the sanctuary. After I was told my throat would be cut, Kevaughn Plummer approached me with a knife, and he was trying to put the knife under my throat. I rest my finger under my neck to push away the knife. The knife was right under my chin. Dr Smith said I should get out.”

He said that when he turned around to walk outside, he felt someone stab him in the back, causing him to run out on the pavement.

“I felt like something was running down in my back. I wiped my back, and when I looked, I saw blood. Mr Smith was standing at the entrance of the door when I turned around. He said something to me. I spoke to Andre Ruddock and asked him if he could tie the white cloth around my back. He did not tie it, but Aldeane Campbell tied it for me. There were a lot of people outside the fence on the road, including my mom, sister, nephew and other people I would call friends. They wanted to come on the compound. The gate was closed, so they weren’t able to come over.”

The witness said he remained at the church because his wife and his daughter were still inside.

While on the outside of the church building, James said he could hear things being smashed and broken on the inside.

“It was still bright, so it was maybe around after 3:00 pm. Persons were shouting on the outside, ‘it’s Israel God, Israel King’. This was on the outside of the fence on the roadside. He shared that Smith took out a piece of paper with names on it. Among the names on the list were Taneka Gardner.

He appointed two archangels, Ruddock and another man and gave them two knives. He then instructed them to go to the church gate and not let anybody else in unless their names were called.

When Gardner was called, she entered and signed 999 beside her name on the paper. She was given instructions, including to kneel down.

“When Kevin Smith called Taneka Gardner’s name, Andrew Ruddock and Kayon Ramsey opened the gate and let her in. The people on the outside of the gate, I could see them over the picket fence. When Taneka Gardner was allowed to come on the inside, she was covered in the white garment. White cloth was tied around her head. I could see her face when she came in. Her head was covered as well. She had a suitcase in her hand, a mini suitcase. She came in with it and Kevin Smith asked her where she was going with that bag. One of the young men took it from her and went back to the gate with it.

“Kevin Smith said, ‘Taneka Gardner, your blood is not clean’. He was speaking very loudly. He continued to speak to her. He asked her, ‘do you believe that I am God? Do you believe I can heal you?’ She said Yes. He went further and he said, do you believe that if you die I can bring you back to life? She shouted on the top of her voice and said yes. Dr Smith gave a command. He said, ‘Archangel, cut her throat.’ He appointed Kayon Ramsey and Andre Ruddock as Archangel Gabriel and Michael.

“I was looking directly in the direction of Andre Ruddock. I watched Andre use his elbow to nudge Kayon Ramsey, but Kayon did not move. Andre Ruddock ran off from the gate and ran towards Taneka Gardner. Miss Taneka Gardner was kneeling down, and Andre Ruddock put the knife at her throat, and he was rubbing her throat with the knife. I just saw her foot kicking, and I could hear a gargling sound, like the blood was rushing down her windpipe as if she had fluid in her mouth, like when you put water in your mouth and gargle. He was rubbing the knife at her throat for about a minute before he brought her down to the ground. Mr Smith said to him to cut her head right off. While Andre Ruddock was cutting her throat, a cow was coming down from up the top,” he said, telling the court that it was at that time Smith switched  focus from Gardner and told Ruddock and Ramsey to kill the cow.

The witness explained that Ruddock then got up from where Gardner was, while Ramsey chased down the cow.

“Taneka Gardner was just lying there. You could see the white sheet with what appeared to be blood and it was also on the sheet that Andre Ruddock had on,” he said.