Prosecutors used closing arguments on Tuesday as an opportunity to scrutinize the man accused in the death of Victoria Stafford and his actions on the day she disappeared.
Attempting to discredit the defence's portrayal of Michael Rafferty as an unwitting dupe, the Crown questioned his agency in the young girl's luring and death.
Rafferty, 31, is accused of kidnapping, sexual assault and first-degree murder in the death of eight-year-old "Tori" Stafford of Woodstock, Ont.
Defence lawyers maintain it was Terri-Lynne McClintic, Rafferty's former girlfriend, who both instigated the kidnapping over a drug debt and killed Stafford.
Crown attorney Kevin Gowdey fired back at that theory on Tuesday, suggesting to jurors that both Rafferty and McClintic played an active role in Stafford's death.
"Michael Rafferty and Terri-Lynne McClintic were in this together," Gowdey said. "Together they did this to Tori Stafford. Together they are guilty."
"Terri-Lynne McClintic did not do this by herself, whatever the suggestion may be," Gowdey said. "She, in the Crown's submission, was a violent pawn that Michael Rafferty used to make this happen for himself."
Gowdey questioned why Rafferty filled his car with gas shortly before Stafford's disappearance. He asked the court why Rafferty parked so far away from the girl's public school that day, suggesting he was aware a crime was about to take place.
Gowdey said Rafferty then drove Stafford 130 kilometres away from the child's school, choosing the secluded area where her body was found because of "evil intentions."
"Away from civilization where no one will hear her scream, where no one will happen by and interrupt, where no one will find her body," Gowdey said.
McClintic, who testified earlier in the trial, has already pleaded guilty to Stafford's murder and is serving a life sentence for the crime. The 21-year-old woman is considered a key part of the Crown's case against Rafferty.
Defence lawyer Dirk Derstine used his closing arguments on Monday to chip away at McClintic's credibility as a witness, pointing out that she offered conflicting statements to police in the early stages of their investigation.
Before the trial, McClintic told investigators that Rafferty urged her to lure a child from a schoolyard at random. Court heard that the pair drove Stafford to a rural area where Rafferty raped and killed the little girl.
But upon taking the witness stand, McClintic reneged on a crucial detail. She told the court that she was the one who fatally struck Stafford with a hammer.
Throughout the trial, the defence has tried to peel away at the theory that Rafferty played an active role in Stafford's slaying. Derstine has characterized him as unsuspecting, while painting McClintic as the "engine" behind the murder.
But on Tuesday, Gowdey said it doesn't matter if the jury believes McClintic or Rafferty killed Stafford. If they worked together, they are both guilty, he said.
Rafferty's mother Deborah Murphy argued her son's innocence outside the courtroom on Monday, insisting the only mistake her son made was associating with McClintic.
"This could happen to any man that's walking around right now," Murphy told reporters in what's believed to be her first public comment since Stafford's disappearance.
But in the Crown's case, which involved 61 witnesses and more than 100 pieces of evidence, lawyers tried to discredit the theory that Rafferty was a passive accomplice.
Prosecutors pointed to DNA evidence found on a gym bag that had a "high probability" of coming from Rafferty and Tori. Court also heard that two blonde hairs were found on a black coat matching the description of the one McClintic said Rafferty placed over Stafford as she sat on the floor of his car.
The little girl's DNA was also found on a rear passenger doorframe of Rafferty's car.
Gowdey said Tuesday that Rafferty went to great lengths to throw police off his scent, including buying hair dye for McClintic after surveillance video saw Stafford leaving her school with a dark-haired woman.
"Why would a horrified witness who was an innocent dupe of Ms. McClintic take the steps to make the real killer change her appearance?" he said.
Stafford was kidnapped on April 8, 2009 as she was leaving Oliver Stephens Public School in Woodstock, Ont. The Grade 3 student's body was later found in a garbage bag under a rock pile in a rural area near Mount Forest, Ont.
Derstine has alleged that McClintic abducted Stafford over a drug debt and offered the girl as a "gift" to Rafferty for sexual purposes, a proposal he ultimately declined.
The Crown's closing arguments are expected to continue into Wednesday. From there, Justice Thomas Heeney will instruct the jury before a decision is made.
