N.S. murder a sign of problems in bail system
HALIFAX – A Nova Scotia murder is raising questions from the Crown attorneys’ association over why the accused was released on bail despite earlier charges of assaulting the woman he eventually killed.
Hollie Marie Boland of Dartmouth, N.S., died from her injuries on Monday in the Halifax suburb of Cole Harbour after she was hit by a car.
Brian Cox, president of the Nova Scotia Crown Attorneys’ Association, says the case is of concern because the prosecution had opposed the release of suspect Aaron Daniel Crawley at a June 14 bail hearing.
Cox says that when a suspect out on bail kills his intimate partner, this is a sign the “bail system is failing.”
Court documents say the 33-year-old Crawley was facing previous charges for allegedly assaulting Boland — on one occasion with a car — during incidents on May 24 and June 8.
Provincial court Judge Brad Sarson nonetheless permitted Crawley’s release on conditions he stay away from Boland and four other people, not drive and remain at home except when going to his job or travelling for appointments.
The public prosecution service has said Crawley was charged with dangerous operation of a car and assault with a weapon against Boland on May 24, and had been released on an undertaking to appear in court at a future date.
Despite being ordered not to have further contact, Crawley was charged with assaulting and choking Boland on June 8, as well as with breaching his release conditions.
He has been charged with first-degree murder of Boland and was briefly in court Wednesday, where the case was put over until Nov. 29.
According to a police news release, a “Good Samaritan” tried to help Boland, who was being held against her will by a man on Monday on Shrewsbury Road, in Cole Harbour. Investigators say that when the Good Samaritan intervened, she and Boland were knocked to the ground by the suspect.
Police allege the driver used his car to strike the woman he had been detaining and fled the scene.
Boland died of her injuries in hospital, while the woman who had intervened suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 2, 2023.
