A Nova Scotia man has been charged with second-degree murder again in connection with the 2017 death of Laura Ross.
Ross, 27, was found in a burned-out garage at her property in South Rawdon, N.S., on April 3, 2017. Two young children were rescued from an adjacent home.
Investigators at the time ruled her death a homicide and said the fire had been set intentionally.
Later that year, Joshua Eric Crowell, then 27, of Upper Sackville, N.S., was charged with second-degree murder. That charge was withdrawn by the Crown in 2019.
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“As with every case, there is a continuous assessment. It became apparent there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction. As such, we are obligated to stop the prosecution,” a spokesperson from the Public Prosecution Service told Global News at the time.
Also in 2019, Ross’ homicide was added to the province’s Rewards for Major Unsolved Crimes program, which offers up to $150,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
In a Thursday release, RCMP said investigators arrested and re-charged Crowell, now 35, this week.
“Over the course of this exhaustive investigation, officers collected and analyzed a substantial amount of evidence and spoke with many witnesses who shared critical information,” said Cpl. Angela McKay, who has since retired, in a release.
“We never waivered in our commitment to Ms. Ross and her loved ones despite setbacks at various times in the investigation, and new evidence has enabled us to now re-charge Crowell.”
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