Yarmouth man found guilty of second-degree murder in death of Colton Cook
A jury has delivered a guilty verdict in the 2020 murder of a man from the Yarmouth, N.S., area.
Colton James Cook, 26, was reported missing from Brooklyn, N.S., on Sept. 27, 2020.
Later that day, police found partial remains near his burned truck in Yarmouth.
On Sept. 29, officers found the rest of Colton's remains near the intersection of Saunders and Raynardton Road in South Ohio, N.S.
Robert Charles Rogers of Yarmouth County was charged on Oct. 2 with murder and interfering with human remains.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges and went to trial at the Supreme Court in Yarmouth this month.
Thursday night, the jury found Rogers guilty of second-degree murder and interfering with human remains.
"Happy for the verdict. Right now, I'm overjoyed,” said Colton's mother, Stacey Cook, by phone from her home in Yarmouth.
“It's hard to be there on our end and sit there and watch what you have to watch, hear what you have to hear, and have no say.”
Jennifer Stairs, the director of communications for the Nova Scotia Judiciary, confirmed the guilty verdict to CTV News.
Stairs says the charge carries an automatic life sentence, but the court still needs to determine when Rogers will be eligible for parole. He remains in custody and is due back in court for a sentencing hearing on Feb. 2.
Two other men were arrested in the case and pleaded guilty.
Wayne Richard Crawford of Yarmouth County pleaded guilty on Jan. 3 to second-degree murder. He remains in custody and is set to be sentenced on May 30.
Keith Arthur Siscoe of Yarmouth County pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to murder on July 18, 2022. He remains in custody and is set to be sentenced on Feb. 3.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Louis Gossett Jr., 1st Black man to win supporting actor Oscar, dies at 87
Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the seminal TV miniseries 'Roots,' has died. He was 87.
Weather alerts issued for 7 provinces, 1 territory
Warnings of up to 60 millimetres of rain and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces and one territory ahead of the Easter weekend.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Luxury cruise line selling world cruise suite for US$1.7 million
Luxury operator Regent Seven Seas Cruises is raising their price tag to eye-watering levels, with a suite on an upcoming 140-day world voyage costing US$1.7 million.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
A Filipino villager is nailed to a cross for the 35th time on Good Friday to pray for world peace
A Filipino villager has been nailed to a wooden cross for the 35th time to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a brutal Good Friday tradition he said he would devote to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the disputed South China Sea.
Ontario homeowner on the hook for $27,000 when contractor severed power line
An Ontario man who built a garage on his property has been locked in a battle with his electricity provider for a year and half over a severed power line.
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.