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.”
Willis sentenced to life with parole eligibility
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.
Willis, of Truro, N.S., was arrested shortly after and was charged with second-degree murder and break-in offences.
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According to the decision, on the day Harding was killed, Willis walked more than seven kilometres before arriving at her home.
“He surreptitiously entered through a basement window when it was dark, in the early morning hours. Given the time of day, Mr. Willis must have known that Ms. Harding would be asleep in her home. In all of the circumstances it is fair to conclude that this was not an impulsive crime,” Chipman wrote.
“This was a predatory and disturbing crime — one that shocks not only the court but the very fabric of our society. Ms. Harding was an elderly woman. She lived alone. She was completely defenceless in her own home against the onslaught of violence she encountered in the early morning hours of July 10, 2020.”
Willis had an extensive criminal history; the decision stated he committed criminal offences in Manitoba, Ontario, and Nova Scotia between 1974 to 2019, among them robbery, assault and possession of a weapon dangerous to the public peace.
In particular, he had a history of committing crimes against elderly victims, Chipman wrote.
“He is a dangerous person whose criminality has continued relatively unabated for decades. Separating Mr. Willis from society with the goal of protecting society is of paramount importance,” he wrote.
“It is very concerning that Mr. Willis has continued to prey on elderly victims into his senior years. His past crimes and the subject crime demonstrate both cowardly and predatory behaviour on a most vulnerable sector of society.”
Harding was ‘independent, outgoing’
Chipman cited the victim impact statements given by Harding’s loved ones when rendering his decision.
Harding’s son Mark, who discovered her body, wrote she was an “independent” and “outgoing” woman who expected to live well into her 90s, like her sisters.
“She was friendly with all her neighbours, often stopping to chat with them as she did her yard work. Mr. Willis deliberately targeted her knowing that she was an elderly widow living on her own,” Mark wrote.
“He showed no remorse for his actions or the impact his heinous act had on her family, friends and even the broader community. This violent attack has taken away our sense of safety in our own homes.”
Harding’s youngest son, Derek, wrote that when he received the news of his mother’s murder, he was devastated. He was living in Alberta to work and to save money, with the goal of moving back home to build property on Harding’s family land.
“I was an emotional wreck for days. It was hard to even get out of bed. I talked to my mom over the phone a week before her murder and I received a card in the mail only days before. In it she sent a Dairy Queen gift card telling me to enjoy a strawberry Sunday — her favorite. Also in the card were two Polaroid pictures of my two brothers that she wanted me to have,” he wrote.
“I know she missed me and it was always so hard to end each phone call, telling her that I loved her and that I would see her soon and would build a home on her lot in the country where she could come and stay with me. I know they say time heals everything, but I miss her everyday and am saddened that I won’t be able to hug her, and I will miss her sense of humor and most of all to build that little house in the country she so much loved to visit.”
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