As Randy Riley got up to exit the courtroom for the last time in his first-degree murder trial, he blew a kiss to his aunt, who blew a kiss back. Moments before, he had been convicted of second-degree murder. Riley, 27, was charged in 2013 with the shooting death of Chad Smith, who was killed […]
Kieran Leavitt
Posted inNews + Opinion
Witness credibility on trial during murder case
Closing arguments have finished and the jury now deliberates in a first-degree murder trial where witness credibility has become a central issue. The Crown began its closing argument against Randy Riley on Thursday by telling jury members that one key witness, Paul Smith, told them “everything you need to know.” Riley, 27, is charged with […]
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Crown witness confesses to murder during testimony
A bizarre twist in a first-degree murder trial saw a Crown witness take the stand, only to confess to the murder in question, saying the man accused had nothing to do with the crime. Randy Desmond Riley, 27, is charged with killing Donald Chad Smith in 2010 with a sawed-off shotgun after Smith was called […]
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Waging war on minimum wage
In front of a Westin Hotel ballroom full of Atlantic Canadian business leaders and politicians, a panel discussion on minimum wage quickly became about how—not if—Nova Scotia could hike its wages to $15 an hour. The event, held last Friday, was facilitated by the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council to help flesh out the local complexities […]
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Welcome to the dungeon
In the absence of the Everything To Do With Sex Show this year, the Society of Bastet is opening its dungeon’s doors to the public. The alternative lifestyles community is inviting anyone interested in kink and community building to check out their Dartmouth play-space on February 17, with hopes that a strong public showing can […]
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Abdoul Abdi and the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children
The provincial inquiry into systemic abuses at the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children shouldn’t be granted any extension on its work until they acknowledge another, currently ongoing injustice of the department of Community Services’ own creation. So says Irvine Carvery, who believes the systemic failures that lead to decades of abuse at the Dartmouth […]
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Rent control idea frozen out, along with Nova Scotian tenants
Rent control could be a step in the right direction for Nova Scotia but some think it won’t be enough to address poverty and housing affordability. The NDP proposed new rent control legislation last month that would see rent increases capped at 0.8 percent for the first year, and become negotiable after that. During Jagmeet […]
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Falling through the tenancy cracks
International students in Halifax say they’re being taken advantage of by one of the city’s largest property rental companies, which seemingly as official policy uses leases in breach of the Tenancy Act for non-Canadian tenants. Jianing Xu says she was asked by Killam Properties to pay rent for her Cathedral Lane apartment in three-month increments. […]
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The aftermath of the Sandeson verdict
“Turn around and take a bow, Billy,” Taylor Samson’s mom said to the man who murdered her son. William Sandeson, 24-years-old and showing no emotion, walked out of a Halifax courtroom this past Sunday after Justice Josh Arnold said he would likely be sentenced to life in prison with no parole for 25 years. Sandeson’s […]
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Sandeson murder case almost derailed over mistrial
The first-degree murder trial of medical student William Sandeson was almost thrown out by the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia six weeks into proceedings. Sandeson is accused of murdering 22-year-old Taylor Samson during a drug deal involving 20-pounds of marijuana the night of August 15, 2015. Samson’s body has yet to be found. The Crown […]
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Defence tries to poke holes in murder case against William Sandeson
As the med-school student’s murder trial finishes its sixth week, lawyers defending William Sandeson have indicated through their cross-examination of Crown witnesses where their strategy might lie for the remainder of the trial. Sandeson’s defence team has indicated it may continue to argue there was an inadequate investigation by police. On May 8, before defence […]
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Finding Taylor Samson
Since the day he went missing, Linda Boutilier hasn’t stopped looking for her boy. On a rainy Mother’s Day last Sunday, Taylor Samson’s mom, brother Connor and best friend, Thomas McCrossin, have met to reminisce about the 22-year-old whose death is all the city can seem to talk about. William Sandeson, a 24-year-old Dalhousie medical […]