Killer’s former girlfriends tell court of controlling behaviour
HALIFAX — Two former girlfriends of a Halifax man convicted in the violent death of a Montreal-born businesswoman and yoga instructor described him as controlling and prone to radical mood swings at his parole eligibility hearing.
Nicholas Butcher was convicted of second-degree murder in April after a jury found he stabbed 32-year-old Kristin Johnston to death. The conviction carries an automatic life sentence, but a hearing was held to determine when Butcher will be able to apply for parole.
Crown prosecutor Carla Ball argued that Butcher should not be allowed to apply for parole for 17 years, noting what she described as Butcher’s “forethought” for confrontation and that Johnston was his domestic partner — considered a breach of trust and an aggravating factor under the Criminal Code.
But defence lawyer Peter Planetta said his client should be eligible for parole after 10 years, pointing to mitigating factors such as his clean record and prospects for rehabilitation.
On Friday, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Joshua Arnold reserved his decision until Aug. 22.
Submissions from the lawyers came after victim-impact statements by Johnston’s friends and family were read in court.
A gut-wrenching video recording of her sister’s victim-impact statement brought many in the courtroom to tears.
Kim Johnston described Kristin’s special relationship with her young niece, and the bond the two shared. “The pain of that loss is harrowing, knowing Kristin can’t hold her anymore, lie with her for naps, sing to her and love her,” she said, adding that her daughter was “robbed of the best auntie.”
Kim Johnston was eightmonths pregnant when Kristin was killed, and she said she worries about how her son was impacted by the tragedy. “I think about how the actual DNA of my son was affected when I screamed out in terror every night until he was born, or when I sobbed myself to sleep,” she said.
“My life has been completely devastated. Everything that is supposed to bring me joy only brings sorrow. Our lives are changed forever for the worse.”
Butcher stood in court at the end of the day to apologize to Johnston’s family for what he called their “unbearable, incalculable and irreparable loss.”
He was charged after police found Johnston’s body next to a steak knife on a blood-soaked bed inside her Halifax home on March 26, 2016. The jury heard that he called 911 and told the dispatcher he had killed his girlfriend and tried to kill himself. He also cut off his right hand with a mitre saw, but it was surgically reattached.
The Crown called two witnesses Friday to “highlight the character of the offender,” Ball said. Kathleen Byford-Richardson, his former girlfriend, described her relationship with Butcher as “very romantic,” but said it became riddled with conflict.
She told the court he became anxious in social situations and controlling of her behaviour.
Byford-Richardson said she called police after Johnston’s death, worried she had experienced a similar pattern of behaviour. “I felt guilty I hadn’t reported what I experienced at the time,” she told the court.
She and Butcher started dating in 2007 and were together for 21⁄2 years before she broke it off. During an argument Butcher tried to push her from behind and spat on her at their shared apartment in Montreal, Byford-Richardson said. After their breakup, By ford Richardson said, they met for dinner and a movie. After dinner, she told the court they drove to Parc Jean-Drapeau east of Montreal, where he presented her with a ring. But when she declined to accept the ring, she alleged that his behaviour changed “radically.”
Byford-Richardson told the court the situation became “unhinged.” His “rapid speech” and “confessions” made her worried, and she asked him to take her home. The next day, he began sending her insulting text messages, which she said were a “radical departure of how he’d been.”
Byford-Richardson later learned Butcher had been admitted to the psychiatric unit of a Montreal hospital.
Olivia Hasler, who dated Butcher in Halifax from 2013 to 2015, told court Butcher would become depressed and have a hard time getting out of bed, and became easily agitated during minor arguments.
She said he became uncomfortable and upset in social situations, once leaving a wedding reception because she hadn’t paid enough attention to him.