‘Monstrous’: Judge scolds man guilty of killing ‘defenseless little old lady’
Global News
A Nova Scotia judge scolded a man responsible for the 'monstrous and evil' murder of an 84-year-old woman in 2020 when handing down his sentence Thursday.
A Nova Scotia judge scolded a man responsible for the “monstrous and evil” murder of an 84-year-old woman in 2020 when handing down his sentence Thursday.
Justice James L. Chipman said in his Aug. 1 written decision that 66-year-old Richard Willis committed a “predatory and disturbing crime” when he killed Eleanor Harding, a woman he knew from his time living in a Dartmouth neighbourhood.
“In the dead of the night, you snuck onto her property and broke through a basement window of her home. It was not enough for you to break and enter and ultimately ransack her home and steal from Ms. Harding. You chose to murder her in cold blood, waking her from her sleep in the sanctity of her own home,” Chipman wrote.
“Why you wrapped a ligature around her neck and took Eleanor Harding’s life is impossible to fathom. She went from a routine night in her bed to a savage strangulation. You left Ms. Harding on the floor of her home with her jeans wrapped around her neck. This is how her son, Mark, had to find her. Your actions were monstrous and evil. Mr. Willis you literally took the life of a defenseless little old lady for no rhyme or reason.”
Chipman’s decision was on Willis’ parole eligibility, which he set for 20 years. Willis’ defence was seeking 10 to 15 years, while prosecutors asking for 22 years before Willis would be eligible to apply for parole.
He was convicted by a jury of second-degree murder on Jan. 23, 2024, and was given an automatic life sentence.
At 11:12 a.m. on July 11, 2020, Halifax Regional Police found Harding dead in her Lynwood Drive home.
Her death was deemed suspicious, an autopsy was conducted and the medical examiner ruled that Harding’s death was a homicide.
A new report finds anglophones face higher unemployment and lower wages in Quebec; gaps that researchers say carry major economic consequences.
Critics are questioning the solidity of Saab's pitch to deliver 10,000 jobs in Canada if it decides to set up shop here to assemble Gripen fighter jets.
The girl’s disappearance underscores long-standing concerns about the ease with which a parent can take a child to another country without the other parent’s knowledge or consent.
Asbestos cleanup, tight work windows and other TTC delays have slowed the build out of 5G cellular service in Toronto's subway system.
Alberta's UCP government is changing the rules to make it easier for citizens to force a referendum on issues such as the prospect of the province leaving Confederation.
An at-home DNA test given as a birthday gift solved an 80-year family mystery by revealing that a man in Quebec and a man in the Netherlands were long-lost brothers.
Lina Vargas was on the board for almost two years and told Global News that accountability and transparency are fundamental rights for all community members.
Industry Minister Melanie Joly told the House of Commons committee on international trade the move breaches federal contracts tied to manufacturing in Brampton and Windsor, Ont.
A targeted home invasion and kidnapping led to a gunpoint standoff with police and an overnight chase across Toronto. Two suspects remain at large, investigators say.
In a post on his LinkedIn account, Simon Donner says he resigned on Tuesday and he is grateful for the opportunity to help shape climate policy in Canada.
The development charges can vary greatly from city to city, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation report found.
The three leaders will be in Washington, D.C., for the FIFA World Cup draw, marking the first time they will be in the same room together.
Flu season has arrived early, with CHEO reporting eight times more cases than last year as hospitals warn of rising infections among children and seniors.