HALIFAX — Police in southwestern Nova Scotia say an 83-year-old woman died Sunday as a result of intimate partner violence, the seventh time a woman's death has been linked to domestic abuse in the province since mid-October.
The Bridgewater Police Service said that just before noon on Sunday, officers responded to a 911 call reporting a woman in medical distress. Police say they found Patricia Tanner inside a home, where it appeared she had been injured by a weapon.
Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene, and police say an elderly man was found with “related injuries” inside another room in the home.
Deputy police Chief Danny MacPhee said Tanner's 85-year-old husband, Andrew, was arrested at the scene and later charged with first degree murder.
Police did not says what type of weapon was used.
When asked about what type of injuries Andrew Tanner sustained, MacPhee said, "Some of them were definitely self-inflicted." He did not elaborate.
There had been no previously documented incidents of intimate partner violence connected to the couple, MacPhee said, and neither party was known to police.
Since Oct. 18, seven women and one man have been killed in incidents of intimate partner violence in Nova Scotia. In five of the seven homicides, the perpetrator then killed himself.
Claudia Chender, leader of the Opposition NDP, issued a statement Monday, saying the provincial government should take immediate action.
"As Nova Scotians hear the news from Bridgewater of another life lost to intimate partner violence, our thoughts are with the victim's family, loved ones and the community," Chender said in the statement.
"The time for piecemeal solutions is over .... Organizations like the Transition House Association of Nova Scotia that provide life-saving services to Nova Scotians experiencing violence continue to work in uncertainty, without knowing if they will continue to receive the necessary government funding to do this critical work," she said.
The NDP has previously tabled legislation that would increase funding to organizations that work to prevent gender-based violence and support survivors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 3, 2025.
Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press
