LONDON, Ont. - WARNING: Graphic details from this court case may disturb some readers.

The Crown prosecutor wrapped up two days of closing submissions to the jury by describing Michael Rafferty as one half of a "terrible team or murderous duo" that brought upon the horrific death of eight-year-old Victoria "Tori" Stafford.

Rafferty and his co-accused Terri-Lynne McClintic "each took part, in one way or the other, in the murderous events that happened" on April 8, 2009, said Kevin Gowdey Wednesday afternoon at the end of his closing arguments.

"They were in it together, they did it together, they are guilty together," he said.

McClintic, 21, has already pleaded guilty in the case and has served as the prosecutor's key witness against Rafferty. Rafferty, 31, has pleaded not guilty to sexual assault causing bodily harm, kidnapping and first-degree murder.

Defence lawyer Dirk Derstine, who wrapped up his case Monday afternoon, told the jury that Rafferty was an innocent dupe who didn't know that McClintic had targeted Victoria for murder. McClintic, he said, is a skilled liar with a history of violent tendencies who outlined her cruel and sadistic fantasies in her journal.

But Gowdey refuted that claim, telling the jury repeatedly that Victoria's murder was the direct result of both Rafferty and McClintic's actions and that McClintic was nothing but a "violent pawn" used by the accused to carry out his desires.

"He drove by (Victoria's school) looking for a child to take…waited for McClintic to come back with her prey and when her prey was brought back, he drove that car which he filled with gas, out of Woodstock with (Victoria) on the floor of the back seat under a peacoat, away from her home," he said.

"Mr. Rafferty buried her in garbage bags under a pile of rocks and left her there. He then went on with his life."

Rafferty, sitting in the prisoner's box, shook his head no and rolled his eyes often during Gowdey's submission. At many points during the day he mouthed the word "no" or "that's not true" and other unintelligible things to himself silently.

Gowdey dutifully ignored Rafferty's gestures, instead asking jurors to consider the man's "post-offence conduct."

"There were curious actions and choices he made that may help you determine if he was trying to cover his tracks," he said.

He reminded jurors of McClintic's testimony describing how she and Rafferty discarded evidence the child's sexual assault and murder. They threw out her jacket, clothes they were wearing and Victoria's panties, leggings and skirt, she said.

He told them once again how he resumed his social life in the hours after the murder, chatting on the phone with numerous women and quickly resuming sexual liaisons with them.

"That's pretty outstanding for a horrified bystander," Gowdey said, taking aim at the defence's theory.

Gowdey questioned witness testimony and Rafferty's phone records that showed a gap in signal in the hours after Victoria disappeared.

McClintic's credibility

The prosecutor also spent a significant amount of time Wednesday establishing the relationship between McClintic and Rafferty as well as addressing the 21-year-old woman's credibility as a witness.

He told the jury they should have confidence in the woman's testimony despite the defence's best attempt to portray her as a violent gang member and skillful manipulator.

He addressed the fact that McClintic changed her evidence, telling police back in 2009 that it was Rafferty who hit Tori on the head repeatedly with a hammer before changing her mind in 2012 when she took the stand and told a jury that it was in fact she who had brutally killed the child.

"The Crown accepts she told a lot of lies," Gowdey said. "Even so, I suggest that because of the independent corroboration of the evidence, you can have a lot of confidence in the details that she gave."

Gowdey went on to remind the jury of key pieces of information that McClintic had given police that turned out to be accurate, including a detailed description of the site where Victoria was found and the manner in which she was killed and buried.

Her evidence was corroborated by phone records, police who checked out the crime scene and scientists who conducted forensic tests on all the material that was found.

Gowdey disputed McClintic's testimony that it was she who killed the girl. He pointed out that in McClintic's second version of the story, Rafferty washed his genitals off with water bottles after Victoria was sexually assaulted and after the child was placed in garbage bags and buried.

However, when the child's body was recovered three months after she disappeared, caps of water bottles that matched bottles found in Rafferty's car were found in the same garbage bag that was wrapped over her head.

McClintic explained her change of story by saying she didn't want to admit to herself that she was capable of doing something so heinous. She told the court that she killed Victoria in a fit of rage as the child was being sexually assaulted

"I realized I needed to do something so I turned back to the vehicle. When I turned back all I saw was myself when I was that age and all that hate and blame I had for myself came boiling out of me," she had testified.

"I went back to the vehicle and I savagely murdered that little girl."

Gowdey called this version of events "curious," pointing out that the child was beaten to death after the assault when Rafferty threw her on the ground outside the car.

"If she was truly feeling rage because of the sexual assault why did her rage drive her to kill the child and not the man assaulting the child?" he asked. "Finally when she had a chance to help, she took the hammer which somehow materialized from the trunk and somehow used it on the girl and not the rapist? Think this one through carefully, ladies and gentlemen."

The Crown told the jury that despite who they believe killed Victoria, Rafferty and McClintic acted out together from the moment Victoria was kidnapped until after she was murdered.

Emotions run high

As the trial nears its end, heavy emotions are still playing a major part in the trial.

Before breaking for recess, Gowdey painted a picture for the jury, reminding them of the eight-and-a-half minutes that they sat in silence watching a video of Rafferty driving to Home Depot and McClintic going inside to buy a hammer and garbage bags, items that would be used in the murder.

"I do want you to remember for all that eight-and-a-half minute period Tori had to be alone in that Home Depot parking lot, probably knowing what they had in mind," he said. "Knowing the things that (Rafferty) and (McClintic) had been talking about as they drove the car to Guelph. It was absolutely frightening for her."

The trial has become too much to bear for Tori's father Rodney Stafford. Yesterday, Stafford went home early as the Crown went over photos from the crime scene and McClintic's testimony of the sexual assault.

His family told media outside the courtroom that Stafford did not be attend court Wednesday as he was feeling "completely saturated."

"Rodney is having a very difficult time controlling his emotions," his sister Rebecca Nichols told reporters outside court. "It's a very challenging time right now having to relive everything yet again and it's going to be overwhelming. In the last couple of days it's been everything all at once."

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