Woman, father killed on New Year's Eve were victims of intimate partner violence: Halifax police

Halifax police are investigating three deaths that are connected – two of which they say were homicides resulting from intimate partner violence – in the city on New Year’s Eve.

Halifax police are investigating three deaths that are connected – two of which they say were homicides resulting from intimate partner violence – in the city on New Year’s Eve.

Halifax Regional Police responded to a report of an injured person in the 2400 block of Gottingen Street around 10:35 p.m. Tuesday.

Police found the body of a woman and an unresponsive man inside a vehicle. They say both had been shot. The man was taken to hospital, where he died from his injuries.

A few hours later, around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, police received information that a man connected to the victims was believed to be in the area of the Halifax Common.

Officers responded to the scene, where they found the man dead from a gunshot wound. Police say they recovered a firearm from the scene.

Autopsies have confirmed the man and woman found in the vehicle were both homicide victims. They have been identified as 40-year-old Cora-Lee Smith and her father, 73-year-old Bradford Downey.

The man found dead at the Halifax Common has been identified at 39-year-old Matthew Costain, who police say was in a relationship with Smith.