A Crown witness who said Ruby Ann Ruffolo tried to hire him to kill her husband in the spring of 2002 denied yesterday that he tried to extort money from her in exchange for not testifying at her first-degree murder trial.
The 52-year-old Saanich woman is charged in connection with the death of her husband John. The former prison guard and Brink's driver's body was discovered in an old water viaduct in Langford six days after he disappeared on Oct. 19, 2003.
Forensic toxicology reports revealed John Ruffolo died of a toxic combination of heroin and the antidepressant amitriptyline.
As the trial resumed yesterday in B.C. Supreme Court, Jonathan Horton took the stand for a third day of cross-examination. Two weeks ago, Horton testified that when he was 18, a crying, upset Ruffolo took him on an hour-long car ride and offered him $5,000 to kill her husband.
Horton has also testified that a friend, identified as Ryan Holmes, used his home phone without his knowledge to call Ruffolo on Jan. 16, 2006. Horton testified that Holmes pretended to be him and tried to get money out of Ruffolo, promising he would disappear and not testify against her if she paid him.
Ruffolo's lawyer, David Lyon, asked Horton, now 25, dozens of questions about the phone call and about the identity of Holmes. Horton was unable to come up with any evidence to prove his friend actually exists.
"You never had a friend by the name of Ryan Holmes," Lyon argued.
"Yes I did," said Horton.
"You made up Ryan Holmes and you made the phone call to Ann Ruffolo on Jan. 16, 2006," Lyon continued. "You called Ann Ruffolo and you said, 'Give us $10,000 so we won't come to trial and lie about you.' You and your mom decided to make a fast buck."
Horton denied the allegations.
"Ann Ruffolo never asked you to kill her husband," Lyon persisted.
"That's a lie. Do you think I'd be sitting here if it wasn't true?" Horton replied. "She approached me. We did not approach her."
"Sir, you approached her and when you learned John Ruffolo was missing, you saw an opportunity to make a quick buck and you made a try for it," said Lyon.
Horton denied Lyon's allegation.
Today, the court is expected to hear testimony from Ruffolo's tenant, Douglas Murray. He is expected to tell the court that he helped Ruffolo place her husband's dead body in the back seat of a car and watch her drive away from their Saanich home, with the dead man's feet sticking out the window.
