'The system failed,' says family of Cole Harbour murder victim

The family of a mother of three who died after being struck in Cole Harbour, N.S., by a car allegedly driven by her longtime partner says the justice system let herdown.

Aaron Daniel Crawley, 33,has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Hollie Marie Boland, 30.Crawleyis in custody and scheduled toreturn to court on Nov. 29.

Crawley had previously been arrested for a similar attack on Boland in May, and then again for an assault involving her in June. He was out on bailat the time of the alleged attack on Monday.Advocates said the caseexposes the vulnerability of women who experience intimate partner violence.

A GoFundMepage for their children said the couple met when Boland was 14 and that her life "was flipped upside down"in the last five months.

"We are at a complete loss of words," Boland's family said in a statement they shared with CBC News. "Our hearts are aching and broken for the loss of our beloved Holly Dolly."

The family said she was a "wonderful"mother who took pride in her job as a support worker, where she helped people in Dartmouth, the community where she wasraised.

"We feel atthis moment the system failed Hollie, and if they hadn't, she would still be here with all of us and her babies," the family's statement read.

The accused appeared in court via video link from the Burnside jail on Wednesday. He asked to speak but was advised not to.

He did tell the court: "I do plan on co-operating, though, with everything."

No risk assessment

After the earlier charges in May and June, the Crown prosecutor asked the judge to keepCrawleyin jailwhilethecases made their way through the courts, but a judge released him under house arrest withconditions to stay away from the victim.

"Individuals have right to reasonable bail and the court needs to consider bail in every situation, no matter how serious the charge is and how strong the evidence against people,"Crown prosecutor Eric Taylor said following courtWednesday.

"And the judge in that case felt that the risk could be alleviated by harsh conditions of house arrest, which he imposed."

Taylor said there was no court-ordered risk assessment on whether Crawley posed a risk to Boland or the wider community prior to the bail decision.

Brian Cox, the president of the Nova Scotia Crown Attorneys' Association, told CBC News the fact thatCrawleywas accused of a crime while released is a "failure of our justice system."

"This victim was a real person with a real family and children, and we're going to be fighting for their justice right alongside the public's in this matter," he said.

"When we have an intimate partner who's killed while an offender is out on release, that says to me that the bail system is not working."

'These women didn't have to die'

The attack on Bolandhappened the same day as an alleged axe assault by a man in Pictou County that resulted in the death of an 88-year-old woman. Police have not confirmed the relationship between the accused and victim.

The deaths of the two women haveraised concernamong advocates who work to prevent violence against women.

Ann de SteCroix, the provincial co-ordinator with the Transition House Association of Nova Scotia, said there's been a rise inviolence against women in Canada, witha woman or a girl beingkilled every 48 hours.

"Within our organizations, we're seeing an increase in demand for our services,"de Ste Croix said."We're seeing an intensification in the types of violence that people are experiencing as well.

"This is one of many cases within the province that have happened, so I think broadly speaking, I can say that things are getting worse."

De SteCroixsaid that while there are services and supports available for victims and survivors of intimate partner violence,more needs to be done to prevent violence and to support those experiencing it.

"There needs to be more wraparound services for victims and supports," she said. "That looks like investments into mental health and addictions and housing and food security and all of those other things that impact those experiencing violence and can make it more difficult to leave."

Feminist advocate Linda MacDonald,with the Truro, N.S.,-based group Persons Against Non-State Torture, agrees that more needs to be done to protect women.

"These women didn't have to die," MacDonald told CBC Radio's Maritime Noon on Wednesday.

Activist raises alarm after 2 women killed in Nova Scotia

11 months ago

Duration 6:13

Linda MacDonald is with Persons Against Non-State Torture. MacDonald says a woman or girl is murdered in Canada every two-and-a-half days and more needs to be done to stop that.

MacDonald said all too often women and girls are killed due to their gender, and the justice system doesn't fully take that into account.

"This man should have been considered a serious risk of murder and femicide, and should have been retained untilthe final sentencing," she said.

"I don't know if [the judge] understood the lethality of the man that he had in front of him:a man that was alleged to have strangled and choked and he's alleged to have used a car to try to harm Hollie before, and whether he understood that there's such serious warnings of femicide there and that house arrest wasn't enough, I have no idea."