Halifax man accused of kidnapping sex worker

HALIFAX – A man accused of murdering a Halifax prostitute last July has appeared in court on charges stemming from an attack on another sex-trade worker two weeks later.

Steven Elliot Laffin, 36, of Dartmouth elected trial by a Supreme Court judge and jury on Monday on charges of kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault, uttering threats and forcible confinement.

A preliminary inquiry will begin June 28.

Last August, a 29-year-old prostitute escaped from the trunk of a moving car on Old Sambro Road in Halifax and ran to a nearby home to call 911.

The woman, whose name is banned from publication, claimed she had been attacked by a john and forced into the trunk.

Laffin was arrested a short time later when he showed up at a community police station.

Police then started looking at Laffin in connection with the disappearance of Nadine Taylor, a prostitute who left her Halifax apartment on the night of July 28 to make a phone call and hasn’t been seen since.

Although police haven’t discovered the 29-year-old woman’s body, and say it might not ever be found, they charged Laffin in October with second-degree murder.