Halifax Regional Police have charged a 33-year-old Dalhousie Law graduate with second-degree murder in the death of Kristin Johnston.
Nicholas Jordan Butcher of Halifax, who police confirm was in a relationship with Johnston at the time of her death, appeared in Halifax provincial court Tuesday.
READ MORE: Halifax yoga community mourns murder victim Kristin Johnston
Johnston’s body was found by police in her home on Oceanview Drive off Purcells Cove Road in Halifax on March 26.
Police arrested Butcher at the scene that day, but he was suffering from serious injuries and was taken to hospital.
He was released from custody, pending treatment of his injuries, but remained a person of interest. He was re-arrested on April 11.
Police are staying tight-lipped about the circumstances of both Johnston’s death and Butcher’s injuries.
Rebekah Higgs, a friend of Johnston’s, told Global News on Tuesday that the laying of a murder charge offers “a little bit of relief.”
“Kristin was a very influential and awesome girl to be around and a wonderful woman. She was very powerful and very strong and you know, she was a force to be reckoned with,” Higgs said.
“She was a very beautiful light to a lot of people and she had a great, positive impact on the community here.”
According to a post on the Nova Scotia Barrister’s Society website, Butcher graduated from the Dalhousie Schulich School of Law last year.
He also has degrees from McGill University in Montreal and the University of New Brunswick.
A LinkedIn profile for Nick Butcher was removed from the website on Monday.