Halifax police say a woman and her father were shot and killed by her boyfriend on New Year’s Eve in a case of intimate partner violence.
According to Halifax Regional Police (HRP), the suspect was found a few hours later and also died by gunshot.
Officers were initially called to the 2400-block of Gottingen Street just after 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
“Upon arrival, officers located a vehicle with the deceased female inside, as well as an unresponsive male. That male was later taken to the hospital where he died of his injuries,” said HRP spokesperson Const. Martin Cromwell.
Police identified them as Cora-Lee Smith, 40, and her father Bradford Downey, 73.
Cromwell said officers learned their suspect was nearby at the Halifax Commons, and found him there at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday.
The man, later identified as 39-year-old Matthew Costain, was found deceased. Cromwell said it’s believed he died by self-inflicted gunshot.
“Through our investigation, we’re confident that that person is involved in the homicides,” said Cromwell.
Police noted Costain was “known to be in a relationship with Ms. Smith” and called the incidents intimate partner violence.
‘We grieve and hurt together’
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Rev. Jivaro Smith, the pastor of Saint Thomas Baptist Church in North Preston, said he knew the homicide victims and their families.
The pastor described Cora-Lee Smith as “a fun-loving person, with a love of life and respect for her family.”
Her father “was an amazing guy who wouldn’t harm a flea. He’s one of the nicest men you could ever come to know and he had a love for people,” the pastor said, adding Downey had worked for a paving firm before retiring.
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“He would take the shirt off his back for his family members and his friends and people he came into contact with.”
He said the close-knit community is in a state of shock over the deaths. “There’s a sense of devastation, shock, there’s a grief for two innocent and nice people who didn’t deserve this fate.”
“It’s affecting families across the community. We share in each other’s joys and pains, and as a community we grieve and hurt together.”
Intimate partner violence epidemic
Intimate partner violence has been acknowledged as an epidemic in the province, and was formally declares as such in the Nova Scotia legislature in September 2024.
On social media, Adsum for Women & Children called for action to prevent such cases.
“Another case in Nova Scotia (with) devastating consequences,” the advocacy group wrote on X. “Those holding power need to act to prevent gender-based violence and respond to this epidemic.”
In an interview with Global News, the executive director of the Transition House Association of Nova Scotia, Ann de Ste. Croix, said the province is past due for changes that will address the epidemic.
“We need that sustainable funding in order to continue to meet the needs of those in the province, and as these tragic femicides indicate, the level of need is great in our province,” she said.
She added that transition houses provided services for roughly 4,500 women and children in 2024 — a stark increase from the nearly-4,000 they helped the previous year.
“What we’ve seen consistently in our transition houses is an increased demand for our services, and we’re consistently at capacity in our shelters,” she said.
During the election campaign this past fall, the province saw three cases of intimate partner violence that resulted in deaths. All three major party leaders on the campaign trail used the word epidemic to describe the situation.
The Mass Casualty Commission’s findings and recommendations, which were the result of an inquiry into the April 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia, also addressed intimate partner violence.
One of the commission’s recommendations was that “all levels of government in Canada declare gender-based, intimate partner, and family violence to be an epidemic that warrants a meaningful and sustained society-wide response.”
— with files from Global News’ Jake Webb and The Canadian Press
If you or anyone know you know are in immediate danger, call 911.
A list of resources for those experiencing intimate partner violence:
Bryony House in Halifax.
Shelters for women and their children experiencing violence.
Shelter Nova Scotia for emergency shelter for men.
KidsHelpPhone.ca for children or teenagers.
If you need crisis services, please call or text 211 or toll free 1-855-466-4994.
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