Nova Scotia RCMP say a woman who was shot more than four decades ago died this year as a result of her injuries.
Consequently, police have ruled her death a homicide.
“It’s something the investigators have never experienced before or encountered,” said Cpl. Dal Hutchinson.
According to the RCMP, the Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service contacted investigators with the Homicide Unit in February of this year.
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The Medical Examiner said their autopsy report found that a 77-year-old woman had died from injuries she sustained in a shooting in 1976.
The woman was shot in Upper Lawrencetown on June 23 of that year and survived. Around the same time, a 34-year-old man, who police say was a suspect in the shooting, was found dead in a local business. RCMP say the victim and suspect knew each other but did not live together.
News coverage from the time identified the man and woman as Deanna Mary Conant and her neighbour, Wesley Elvin Poole. An article from the Halifax Mail Star from June 25, 1976 reported Conant had been shot in the chest and head.
“The woman was permanently disabled as a result of the gunshot,” said a statement sent to Global News on behalf of the Medical Examiner.
“The Medical Examiner’s autopsy found that the death was due to a complication from the permanent disability and would still attribute the death to the initial gunshot, regardless of the timeline.”
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Hutchinson says investigators then spoke to a relative and pulled old case files.
“You’re going to go back and try to verify any information that was collected at the time of the reported incident. Just trying to find files from 41 years ago is a task on its own,” he said.
“They were able to locate a family member and confirm some details and information about them.”
READ: Case of N.S. man accused of killing neighbour adjourned until October
A search at the Nova Scotia Archives revealed an article in the The Chronicle Herald newspaper dated June 25, 1976 about “a shooting incident Wednesday night at Lawrencetown which was described an attempted murder-suicide.”
In it, Deanna Mary Conant was reported to be in “serious condition in the Victoria General Hospital.” In addition, it named Wesley Elvin Poole, 34, having died from a .30-30 calibre rifle wound.
Global News contacted a family member of Conant’s who said it had been a “traumatic year.”
An online obituary for Conant said she “passed away peacefully Thursday February 16th, 2017 in Arborstone Enhanced Care.”
“Deanna enjoyed listening to music, and especially spending time with her twin grandsons,” it reads.
A photo gallery shows Conant in her younger years fishing and playing a guitar, beaming on her wedding day, and relaxing on vacation. Later photos showed her in a wheelchair posing with her grandsons, enjoying Christmas with her family and smiling for the camera.
RCMP have now ruled the two deaths a suicide and homicide. They say their investigation into the case has now concluded.
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