Man killed his partner, her father before killing himself on New Year's Eve: Halifax police

Halifax police are investigating an incident of intimate partner violence after a man shot and killed his partner and her father before killing himself on New Year’s Eve.

Halifax Regional Police responded to a report of an injured person in the 2400 block of Gottingen Street around 10:35 p.m. Tuesday.

Police found the body of a woman and an unresponsive man inside a vehicle. They say both had been shot. The man was taken to hospital, where he died from his injuries.

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A few hours later, around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, police received information that a man connected to the victims was believed to be in the area of the Halifax Common, near the skating oval.

Officers responded to the scene, where they found the man dead from a gunshot wound. Police say they recovered a firearm from the scene.

Victims identified as father, daughter

Autopsies have confirmed the man and woman found in the vehicle were both homicide victims. They have been identified as 40-year-old Cora-Lee Smith and her father, 73-year-old Bradford Downey.

The man found dead at the Halifax Common has been identified at 39-year-old Matthew Costain, who police say was in a relationship with Smith.

“The homicides are believed to be incidents of intimate partner violence,” said Halifax Regional Police Const. Martin Cromwell.

“At this time, police are not looking for any other suspects.”

Cromwell told reporters Costain’s death is still under investigation, but it appears he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

“The investigation remains ongoing, and anyone who may have additional information is asked to call police at 902-490-5020.”

Police confirmed Costain did not have a criminal record in Nova Scotia, but they are aware he used an alias.

Fourth murder-suicide linked to intimate partner violence in N.S.

This is the fourth murder-suicide linked to intimate partner violence in Nova Scotia in just three months. In each case, a man killed his female partner before killing himself.

The first homicide happened in Enfield, N.S., on Oct. 18, 2024, when a 61-year-old man killed his 59-year-old wife and then turned the gun on himself. The woman’s daughter identified her as Brenda Tatlock-Burke and her husband as Mike Burke – a retired RCMP officer.

On Nov. 1, 2024, police responded to the sudden deaths of a 58-year-old man and a 49-year-old woman at a home in Yarmouth, N.S. Police later confirmed the man killed the woman and then himself in an act of “intimate partner violence.”

A few days later, on Nov. 4, 2024, police found the bodies of a 72-year-old man and a 71-year-old woman at a home in Cole Harbour, N.S. That case was also confirmed to be a murder-suicide linked to intimate partner violence.

Nova Scotia adopted a bill declaring domestic violence an epidemic in the province in September 2024.

According to the Canadian Femicide Observatory, 172 women were killed by violence in Canada in 2024. 

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page.