Andre Ruddock’s Murder Trial Hears Evidence From Pathways Church Siege

Andre Ruddock was found guilty by a 6-1 jury verdict of murdering Taneka Gardner, 39, at the Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries in St James in 2021. Her father, Septimus Gardner, said he was satisfied with the ruling and wished hanging still existed, while Ruddock’s lawyer said the defence will appeal.

A jury at Jamaica’s Supreme Court found Andre Ruddock guilty of murdering 39-year-old Taneka Gardner at Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries in St James, after police had to restore order during heated jury-room deliberations. The case stems from the 2021 killing linked to the late pastor Kevin Smith, and Ruddock returns for sentencing on January 22, 2027.

Andre Ruddock has been found guilty of murdering Taneka Gardner during a sacrificial ritual killing at the Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries church in Montego Bay, St James, in October 2021. A Home Circuit Court jury returned a 6-1 verdict, and Ruddock will be sentenced later. The case has drawn attention to the deadly events linked to the now-deceased church leader Kevin Smith.

Jurors in Kingston’s Home Circuit Court returned a 6-1 majority guilty verdict for Andre Ruddock in the murder trial over the October 17, 2021 killing of Taneka Gardner. Prosecutors alleged he slit Gardner’s throat at Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries in St James on instructions from then-pastor Kevin Smith.

Jurors in Andre Ruddock’s murder trial were sent back to deliberate after returning a 5-2 split verdict, which Judge Leighton Pusey said could not be accepted yet. Ruddock is accused of killing Taneka Gardner in October 2021 at Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries in St James, allegedly on the instructions of then-pastor Kevin Smith.

Jurors in the Andre Ruddock murder trial in Kingston have begun deliberating on whether he is guilty of murdering 39-year-old Taneka Gardner in 2021. Prosecutors allege Ruddock slit her throat at Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries in St James on instructions from then-pastor Kevin Smith.

The jury in Andre Ruddock’s murder trial is expected to begin deliberations today after Justice Leighton Pusey finishes his directions. Ruddock is accused of killing Taneka Gardner at Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries in St James in 2021, in a case that hinges on conflicting accounts about whether he acted on Kevin Smith’s orders or was coerced by police into confessing.

Justice Leighton Pusey told jurors in the Andre Ruddock murder trial to ignore anything heard outside court and decide only on the evidence. Ruddock is accused of killing Taneka Gardner at Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries in St James in 2021, and the judge said the key issue is whether the prosecution proved he was the killer beyond a reasonable doubt.

Justice Leighton Pusey told jurors in Andre Ruddock’s murder trial to ignore emotion, prejudice and public opinion and decide only on the evidence, stressing that the prosecution must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Ruddock is accused in Taneka Gardner’s 2021 killing at Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries in St James, but he says police pressured him into confessing and that he was forced to blame himself.

Closing arguments ended in the Andre Ruddock murder trial in Kingston, with prosecutors urging jurors to reject his claim that he did not kill 39-year-old Taneka Gardner at Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries in St James. The Crown says he cut her throat on the orders of pastor Kevin Smith, while the defence insists the wrong man is on trial. Judge Leighton Pusey will sum up before the jury decides the verdict.

Andre Ruddock’s murder trial in the Home Circuit Court in Kingston could end this week as prosecutors and defence lawyers deliver closing arguments over the 2021 killing of Taneka Gardner at Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries in St James. Ruddock admits killing Gardner in a police interview, but told the court he acted under duress and blamed the late pastor Kevin Smith; the jury has been told not all questions will be answered and will now hear legal directions before deliberating.

Defence attorney Anthony Williams used an umbrella, flashlight and a cracked egg in court on Thursday as he urged jurors to find Andre Ruddock not guilty in the 2021 killing of Taneka Gardner at Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries in St James. He argued Ruddock was not the killer and that the case against him was unreliable.

Closing arguments are expected today in the murder trial of Andre Ruddock, who is accused of killing Taneka Gardner at the Pathways International church in St James in 2021. Prosecutors say he acted on Kevin Smith’s orders in an alleged sacrificial killing, while Ruddock claims he was coerced by police and that Smith killed Gardner. The case now moves closer to a jury verdict.

Andre Ruddock, on trial in the Home Circuit Court for the murder of Taneka Gardner, denied prosecutors’ claims that he killed her or falsely accused the late church leader Kevin Smith. He said police forced his caution statement and that he was under fear and duress during the deadly Pathways International Ministries incident in Montego Bay.

Andre Ruddock, on trial for the murder of Taneka Gardner, denied prosecutors’ claims that he killed her at Pathways International in Montego Bay in 2021 and fabricated a story that police told him to blame late church leader Kevin Smith. He also said his caution statement and answers to police were given under fear and duress, while insisting Smith was responsible for Gardner’s death.

Andre Ruddock, the man on trial for Taneka Gardner’s murder, told Kingston’s Home Circuit Court that a police constable assaulted and threatened him with a gun to force him to confess and take the blame for the killing on behalf of church leader Kevin Smith. He denied making a voluntary confession and said he saw Smith slash Gardner’s throat at the Pathways church in Montego Bay. The testimony is central to the high-profile case over the deadly 2021 church shooting.

Murder accused Andre Ruddock told the Home Circuit Court that late pastor Kevin Smith tried to force him to take blame for Taneka Gardner’s 2021 killing, and threatened to crash the police vehicle if he spoke. Ruddock said he was moved between police cars during the trip to Kingston, while Smith later died in a separate crash that also killed Constable Orlando Irons.

Andre Ruddock testified in the Home Circuit Court that he saw deceased church leader Kevin Smith slash Taneka Gardner’s throat at Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries on October 17, 2021. He also claimed Smith later confessed, said he had been in a relationship with Gardner, and urged Ruddock to take responsibility for the murder. The testimony is central to the trial over Gardner’s killing.

Andre Ruddock testified in his murder trial in the Home Circuit Court, denying that he killed Taneka Gardner at the Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries in St James in October 2021. He told jurors that Dr Kevin Smith cut Gardner’s throat and later fired at police, a claim central to the case against Ruddock.