‘No one’s treating me with any dignity,’ says N.S. man accused of murdering ex

A Cole Harbour man charged with first-degree murder in the death of his estranged partner last fall is frustrated that his lawyers have not requested a psychiatric assessment for him.

Aaron Daniel Crawley, 34, is accused of killing Hollie Boland by intentionally running her over with a vehicle near his residence on Shrewsbury Road on Oct. 30, 2023.

Crawley appeared in Dartmouth provincial court Tuesday via a video link from jail.

“Did you put in the mental health assessment?” Crawley asked Karen Endres, one of his lawyers.

“I’m sitting here. I need help.”

Endres advised Crawley to call her at her office later in the afternoon rather than discuss it in open court, but that didn’t stop him.

“Could you please put that through?” he said of his request for an assessment.

“No one’s treating me with any dignity throughout this whole trial. … You guys are supposed to do that. Do I have any rights as a Canadian citizen?”

Endres told the court she and co-counsel Colin Coady have received the evidence in the case from the Crown but have not been able to meet with Crawley to review the material because of “scheduling challenges.”

“We do have something now set up next week,” Endres said. “We’re looking to meet with him and get some instructions.”

Judge Jill Hartlen docketed the case to return to court March 20. The next step in the process is to set dates for a preliminary inquiry.

Crawley also faces a charge of assault with a weapon involving a neighbour who came to Boland’s aid and was also knocked to the ground by the vehicle, and four counts of breaching conditions of a June bail order.

Police allege Crawley breached his bail by having contact with Boland, by occupying the driver’s seat of a motor vehicle, by being in a vehicle without the registered owner present, and by failing to comply with his house arrest.

Earlier charges

According to court records, Crawley was arrested May 24, 2023, on charges of using a vehicle to assault Boland, uttering threats to her and dangerous driving. He was released that day on an undertaking to police.

On June 9, Crawley was charged with committing 12 offences in Dartmouth or East Preston the previous day. He was charged with assaulting and trying to choke Boland and one of her friends in Dartmouth, setting fire to an occupied residence in East Preston, using a motor vehicle to assault another woman, property mischief, dangerous driving, and four counts of breaching his undertaking.

The Crown then applied to revoke Crawley’s undertaking and opposed his release on all the charges. Following a hearing in Dartmouth provincial court, Judge Brad Sarson ruled June 14 that Crawley could be released on a $6,200 bail order with his father as surety and a long list of conditions.

Crawley and his father lived at an address in Lower Sackville for just over a week and then received the court’s permission to move to a house on Shrewsbury Road.

Mother of three

Boland, a 30-year-old mother of three who lived in Dartmouth, was struck by a car at the intersection of Shrewsbury Road and Covey Court on Oct. 30 at about 3:30 p.m.

RCMP said someone noticed the victim was in distress and being held against her will in a vehicle at a nearby home and tried to get her out of the car.

The Good Samaritan and Boland both fell to the ground when the driver put the vehicle in reverse, RCMP said.

Police allege the man in the car then deliberately drove into Boland before speeding away.

Boland was transported to hospital by paramedics but did not survive. The Good Samaritan was treated at the scene for minor injuries.

Police issued an emergency alert about two hours later advising the public to be on the lookout for Crawley and the dark grey Mercedes C300 he was believed to be driving.

Someone who received the alert saw Crawley and reported his location to police. He was apprehended on foot near the intersection of Highway 7 and Lake Major Road in Westphal shortly after 6 p.m.

If Crawley wants bail on the murder charge, he will have to make an application in Nova Scotia Supreme Court. The Crown has also applied to revoke his earlier release order.