A Nova Scotia community is mourning the loss of two of its members after they were shot and killed in Halifax on New Year’s Eve.
The Rev. Jivaro Smith, senior minister at Saint Thomas Baptist Church in North Preston, N.S., says the community and family of Cora-Lee Smith and her father, Bradford Downey, are shocked and heartbroken by their deaths.
“It’s been a tragic shock for us,” Smith said. “Two good people who did not deserve this fate.”
Smith says she grew up with Downey and knew Cora-Lee Smith since she was a child. He remembers them both as loving, respectful people who had a zest for life.
Smith says the victims’ family is struggling to cope, but notes that the community is built on their faith and trust in God.
The North Preston community will host a private meeting Monday evening at its local community center, where members will have access to spiritual and grief counseling.
Smith and his father were found inside a vehicle in the 2400 block of Gottingen Street around 10:35 p.m. Tuesday.
Halifax Regional Police say they had been shot. Smith, 40, was already dead when officers arrived at the scene. Downey, 73, was found unconscious and taken to the hospital where he died from his injuries.
Police found the body of the suspected shooter near the skating oval on Halifax Common around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday. Investigators say Matthew Costain, 39, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police say Costain had been in a relationship with Cora-Lee Smith and are treating the murders of her and her father as an incident of intimate partner violence.
“These are the things that go through your mind when you work in this field: What could I have done, what resources were available to this woman and her family?” said Emma Halpern of the Elizabeth Fry Society of mainland Nova Scotia.
Matthew Costain is seen in a Toronto Police Service photo released in 2019. Halifax police say the man suspected of killing a woman and her father on New Year’s Eve was a fugitive wanted in Toronto since 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Toronto Police Service **MANDATORY CREDIT**
Costain was wanted for the 2019 Toronto shooting
Halifax police confirm Costain was a fugitive wanted in connection with a 2019 Toronto nightclub shooting.
Toronto police issued an arrest warrant for Costain on Sept. 6, 2019, alleging he was involved in a shooting at a nightclub a month earlier that injured four people. The original warrant said Costain was wanted for unlawful possession of a restricted firearm, aggravated assault and failure to comply with probation.
“It has now been confirmed that Matthew Costain, from the events in Halifax on New Year’s Eve, is the same Matthew Costain wanted in Toronto,” said Halifax Regional Police Constable. Martin Cromwell in an email to CTV News.
“Any further questions regarding the Toronto Police Service’s investigations should be directed to them.”
CTV News contacted the Toronto Police Service, but they declined to comment.
“We have no information to share at this time,” senior communications advisor Nadine Ramadan said in an email.
Intimate partner violence
These deaths mark the fourth intimate partner violence-related murder-suicide in Nova Scotia in the past three months. In each case, a man killed his partner before committing suicide.
The Nova Scotia government adopted a bill last September declaring domestic violence an epidemic. Attorney General and Justice Minister Becky Druhan said funding and resources have increased to support survivors.
“Intimate partner violence remains a deeply rooted problem in our society and continues to affect too many individuals and families,” she said in an email. “While progress has been made, we know there is still much to do.”
With files from Hafsa Arif of CTV Atlantic and The Canadian Press
