Pathways Ministries Trial | My daughter and pastor Kevin Smith were not in a relationship, father of murder victim testifies

The father of Taneka Gardner, who was allegedly killed during a sacrificial ritual at the Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries in St James in 2021, this morning denied that his daughter had a relationship with the church’s late pastor, Kevin Smith.

Attorney Venice Brown, who is representing the accused, Andrew Ruddock, made the suggestion during cross-examination as Gardner’s father took the witness stand at the start of the murder trial in the Home Circuit Court today.

The father also told the court that he was unaware that his 39-year-old daughter had any medical condition.

Gardner was killed on October 17, 2021, during an alleged sacrificial ritual at the Pathways church in St James.

Another man, Michael Brown, was also found dead on the church premises.

The witness, who was the first person to testify in the trial, said he was notified of his daughter’s death a day after the incident and went to identify her body at a funeral home.

He testified that when he saw Gardner’s body, he noticed a slash across her throat.

“I saw her with a slash on her throat,” he told the court.

The father said he was later informed during the post-mortem that the injury to Gardner’s throat had caused her death.

He testified that Gardner, the first of his four children, was a member of the Pathways church and had attended the ministry when it was located in Montego Bay’s city centre before it was later relocated to Albion.

According to the witness, after receiving news of Gardner’s death, he went to the church premises, where he saw police officers and yellow crime-scene tape.

He subsequently left the church and went to visit a cousin in another community.

The cousin later accompanied him to the funeral home, where he identified Gardner’s body.

Two days later, the father travelled to Kingston, where he observed the post-mortem and again identified his daughter’s body.

He told the court that he subsequently organised Gardner’s funeral and was present when she was buried.

Gardner and Ruddock were both members of the Pathways church, which was led by Smith.

Smith died a week after the incident in a motor vehicle crash while being transported to Kingston to face charges arising from the incident.

Ruddock is also represented by attorney-at-law Anthony Williams.- Tanesha Mundle

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