Rushton pleads guilty to second-degree murder
Almost three years after a mother and daughter were brutally murdered in their family home, former Valley resident Gerald Rushton entered guilty pleas on Thursday to two counts of second-degree murder.
Rushton, 50, had previously pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in the Dec. 27, 2013, deaths of his common-law spouse, Elizabeth MacPherson, 53, and her daughter Brittany MacPherson, 24.
The bodies of both women were found in the Pictou Road home that Elizabeth MacPherson shared with Rushton following a 911 call from the residence.
When police entered the home, an unresponsive Rushton was discovered in a pool of blood after he had attempted to commit suicide by cutting both wrists and his throat.
Rushton entered his guilty pleas in Supreme Court in Halifax on Thursday in a barely audible voice. He then began sobbing quietly after taking his seat and continued to do so as deputy sheriffs led him out of the courtroom and into an elevator a few minutes later.
“He is incredibly remorseful and doing this as part of becoming whole again,” defence lawyer Luke Craggs told reporters outside the courtroom of Rushton’s decision to change his plea. “It’s not going to be easy but it’s something that he knows he has to do.”
Crown attorney Alison Brown, when asked for her opinion on the change in events, suggested the decision may also have had something to do with the case evidence.
“From the Crown’s perspective, I think we had a very strong and compelling case,” she said.
According to a statement of facts presented to the court, Brittany was killed first following a verbal altercation between herself and Rushton over “recent problems” the family had been encountering.
The dispute lasted several minutes during which Brittany “became extremely agitated and became verbally abusive toward Gerald,” the statement said.
Sometime around noon, Rushton “attacked Brittany with a baseball bat with a paperback book taped to its end.” She died of “blunt force injury to the head.”
When Elizabeth MacPherson came home a short time later, she and Rushton got into a “brief altercation” during which he struck her on the head with a carpenter’s hammer. She also died of blunt force injury. Rushton then took a knife and cut himself in an attempt to commit suicide.
He then called 911 and left the line open.
“I’m sorry for my weaknesses but I love them so much, I’m tired of seeing Elizabeth hurt and giving so much and getting so little in return,” Rushton said in a suicide note found at the scene.
In the note, Rushton also asked that his dog “be put down and burn him with me he is innocent and had been a wonderful dog.”
Rushton is to remain in custody until his sentencing on Nov. 15.
The minimum period of incarceration before parole eligibility is 10 years to a maximum of 25.