‘Monstrous’: Judge scolds man guilty of killing ‘defenseless little old lady’

A Nova Scotia judge scolded a man responsible for nan “monstrous and evil” execution of an 84-year-old female successful 2020 erstwhile handing down his condemnation Thursday.

Justice James L. Chipman said successful his Aug. 1 written determination that 66-year-old Richard Willis committed a “predatory and disturbing crime” erstwhile he killed Eleanor Harding, a female he knew from his clip surviving successful a Dartmouth neighbourhood.

“In nan dormant of nan night, you snuck onto her spot and collapsed done a basement model of her home. It was not capable for you to break and participate and yet ransack her location and bargain from Ms. Harding. You chose to execution her successful acold blood, waking her from her slumber successful nan sanctity of her ain home,” Chipman wrote.

“Why you wrapped a ligature astir her cervix and took Eleanor Harding’s life is intolerable to fathom. She went from a regular nighttime successful her furniture to a ferocious strangulation. You near Ms. Harding connected nan level of her location pinch her jeans wrapped astir her neck. This is really her son, Mark, had to find her. Your actions were monstrous and evil. Mr. Willis you virtually took nan life of a defenseless small aged woman for nary rhyme aliases reason.”

Chipman’s determination was connected Willis’ parole eligibility, which he group for 20 years. Willis’ defence was seeking 10 to 15 years, while prosecutors asking for 22 years earlier Willis would beryllium eligible to use for parole.

He was convicted by a assemblage of second-degree execution connected Jan. 23, 2024, and was fixed an automatic life sentence.

At 11:12 a.m. connected July 11, 2020, Halifax Regional Police recovered Harding dormant successful her Lynwood Drive home.

Her decease was deemed suspicious, an autopsy was conducted and nan aesculapian examiner ruled that Harding’s decease was a homicide.

Willis, of Truro, N.S., was arrested soon aft and was charged pinch second-degree execution and break-in offences.

According to nan decision, connected nan time Harding was killed, Willis walked much than 7 kilometres earlier arriving astatine her home.

“He surreptitiously entered done a basement model erstwhile it was dark, successful nan early greeting hours. Given nan clip of day, Mr. Willis must person known that Ms. Harding would beryllium dormant successful her home. In each of nan circumstances it is adjacent to reason that this was not an impulsive crime,” Chipman wrote.

“This was a predatory and disturbing crime — 1 that shocks not only nan tribunal but nan very cloth of our society. Ms. Harding was an aged woman. She lived alone. She was wholly defenceless successful her ain location against nan onslaught of unit she encountered successful nan early greeting hours of July 10, 2020.”

Willis had an extended criminal history; nan determination stated he committed criminal offences successful Manitoba, Ontario, and Nova Scotia betwixt 1974 to 2019, among them robbery, battle and possession of a limb vulnerable to nan nationalist peace.

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In particular, he had a history of committing crimes against aged victims, Chipman wrote.

“He is simply a vulnerable personification whose criminality has continued comparatively unabated for decades. Separating Mr. Willis from nine pinch nan extremity of protecting nine is of paramount importance,” he wrote.

“It is very concerning that Mr. Willis has continued to prey connected aged victims into his elder years. His past crimes and nan taxable crime show some cowardly and predatory behaviour connected a astir susceptible assemblage of society.”

Chipman cited nan unfortunate effect statements fixed by Harding’s loved ones erstwhile rendering his decision.

Harding’s boy Mark, who discovered her body, wrote she was an “independent” and “outgoing” female who expected to unrecorded good into her 90s, for illustration her sisters.

“She was friends pinch each her neighbours, often stopping to chat pinch them arsenic she did her gait work. Mr. Willis deliberately targeted her knowing that she was an aged widow surviving connected her own,” Mark wrote.

“He showed nary remorse for his actions aliases nan effect his heinous enactment had connected her family, friends and moreover nan broader community. This convulsive onslaught has taken distant our consciousness of information successful our ain homes.”

Harding’s youngest son, Derek, wrote that erstwhile he received nan news of his mother’s murder, he was devastated. He was surviving successful Alberta to activity and to prevention money, pinch nan extremity of moving backmost location to build spot connected Harding’s family land.

“I was an affectional wreck for days. It was difficult to moreover get retired of bed. I talked to my mom complete nan telephone a week earlier her execution and I received a paper successful nan message only days before. In it she sent a Dairy Queen gift paper telling maine to bask a strawberry Sunday — her favorite. Also successful nan paper were 2 Polaroid pictures of my 2 brothers that she wanted maine to have,” he wrote.

“I cognize she missed maine and it was ever truthful difficult to extremity each telephone call, telling her that I loved her and that I would spot her soon and would build a location connected her batch successful nan state wherever she could travel and enactment pinch me. I cognize they opportunity clip heals everything, but I miss her mundane and americium saddened that I won’t beryllium capable to hug her, and I will miss her consciousness of joke and astir of each to build that small location successful nan state she truthful overmuch loved to visit.”