Accused in first-degree murder case ditches lawyers

A Halifax man charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Triston Reece last summer has parted ways with his lawyers.

Kaz Henry Cox, 41, appeared in Halifax provincial court Tuesday via a video link from jail.

But rather than setting dates for a preliminary inquiry, lawyers David Hirtle and Alex Mackillop informed Judge Elizabeth Buckle by teleconference that they were no longer able to stay on the file because of a breakdown in the solicitor-client relationship with Cox.

After Cox confirmed the situation, the judge allowed the lawyers to withdraw and advised the accused to contact Nova Scotia Legal Aid for assistance in obtaining new counsel.

Buckle scheduled the case to return to court at the end of April for an update on Cox's search for a new lawyer.

Reece, 19, was shot on Scot Street in Halifax on the night of July 26, 2019, and died in hospital just after midnight.

Cox was arrested Nov. 15 at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth, where he was in custody on other matters, and charged with killing Reece. The first-degree murder charge indicates police believe the shooting was planned and deliberate.

On Dec. 2, an inmate named Stephen Francis Anderson was brutally assaulted by a group of prisoners about a half-hour after he arrived at the Dartmouth jail. Some prisoners went into Anderson's cell and attacked him while others formed a human wall to keep jail guards at bay.

Police announced Dec. 19 that 15 men, including Cox, had been charged with conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, forcible confinement, aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and obstructing correctional officers. One of the men is also accused of assaulting a guard. A preliminary inquiry for the 15 men is set for next January in Dartmouth provincial court, but one of the defence lawyers expects the Crown to file a preferred indictment to send the case directly to trial in Nova Scotia Supreme Court.

On Tuesday, Cox told the judge he wants to seek bail in Supreme Court.