HALIFAX -- The case of a Halifax man charged with the second-degree murder of a Montreal-born yoga instructor will return to court next week.
Nicholas Jordan Butcher appeared briefly in Nova Scotia Supreme Court on Thursday and was remanded back into custody.
Pretrial arguments were expected to begin on Monday, but Butcher dismissed his lawyer.
Butcher told the court Thursday that he does not have another lawyer yet, and he was ordered to return to court next Thursday to provide an update.
His trial is scheduled to begin April 24.
Butcher was arrested the same day officers found Kristin Johnston, 32, dead inside her Halifax home last March.
He was rushed to hospital for treatment of injuries described as significant, but not life-threatening.
Police have said Butcher and Johnston were in a "domestic relationship" at the time of Johnston's death.
Johnston moved to Halifax from Montreal and opened a Bikram yoga studio, gaining a reputation as a kind and determined businesswoman with what friends described as a "magnetic" personality.
