Twenty-six days in and the first degree murder trial of Michael Rafferty continues to garner the attention of the media and general public. Seating in courtroom 21 on the 14th floor of London?s court house remains filled as spectators, family and friends of Tori Stafford wait in anticipation for the Crown Attorney to complete its 12 chapters of witness testimony against 31-year-old Michael Rafferty. The trial began Monday March 5, 2012 following Rafferty?s plea of not guilty to the charges of kidnapping, sexual assault causing bodily harm and first degree murder of 8 year old Victoria ?Tori? Elizabeth Stafford ? a grade 3 student at Woodstock?s Oliver Stephen?s Public School. Chapter 10 began this week on Tuesday with 3 women testifying they dated Rafferty. 3 OPP Officers also testified how they were involved with tracking Rafferty?s movements in May 2005 ? 5 weeks after Tori?s disappearance that was also days before Rafferty?s arrest in Woodstock. The Officers testified they tracked Rafferty?s numerous phone calls that originated from his Blackberry Cell phone ? some of the calls made from the Mount Forest Area on April 8, 2009 ? the day Stafford disappeared from her school property. Today, 29 year old Jessica Meloche testified she, like several other women who testified, met Rafferty through the on-line dating website ?Plenty of Fish?. Meloche says she and Rafferty met in person for the first time on Easter Monday April 13, 2009. Meloche?s story was all too familiar in comparison with the other women Rafferty dated and who have already testified. Meloche told the court how Rafferty backed up his Blackberry data onto his laptop before taking it to Masonville Place in London for an exchange. Earlier testimony said Rafferty was complaining the phone was defective, had water spilled on it and was having difficulty with hearing through the headset. The company, Research in Motion (RIM) based in Waterloo, Ontario, said the cell phone was not defective following its inspection. Meloche also testified she and Rafferty dated frequently up until Rafferty?s arrest on May 19, 2009 in Woodstock. More testimony from Wednesday, including evidence from Michael Rafferty's Facebook page can be found here.
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