Father clueless if daughter was intimate with Pastor Kevin Smith

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.