Man makes brief court appearance in murder case

An Upper Sackville man charged with second-degree murder in the April death of a woman in South Rawdon made a brief appearance in Shubenacadie provincial court Monday.

The body of 27-year-old Laura Ross was found in a burned-out garage at a property on Highway 202 in South Rawdon on April 3.

Joshua Eric Crowell, also 27, was arrested in Halifax in late July and charged with second-degree murder.

Wearing a red sweatshirt and close-cropped hair, Crowell was ushered in and out of the courtroom quickly Monday. Defence lawyer Peter Planetta told Judge Marc Chisholm that he was awaiting disclosure from the Crown and that he needed time to prepare.

The matter was set over until Oct. 12 in Shubenacadie court, when a date will be determined for a preliminary hearing.

In the meantime, Crowell will remain in custody at the Central Nova Correctional Facility in Burnside Industrial Park. Planetta said he did not know if the defendant will make a bail application to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia.

After Crowell was led from the courtroom, a number of people quickly left the public gallery benches. A woman who burst ino tears outside the courtroom was consoled and accompanied out of the building.

Firefighters were called to the South Rawdon address just before 9 a.m. on April 3, when a passerby spotted the blaze.