N.S. man sentenced to six years for killing ailing wife after they were evicted

A Nova Scotia man who killed his ailing, 72-year-old wife after they were evicted from their home has been sentenced to six years in prison.

Douglas Andrew Smith pleaded guilty in April to manslaughter in the death of his wife, Iris Dodd, in 2022.

Court heard he drove to the RCMP detachment in New Minas, N.S., and called 911 from his van in the parking lot to say his wife was dead.

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He told the operator he was responsible, and officers came out of the building to arrest him.

The Mounties later found Dodd in a recliner, face-up and covered by a blanket, in the couple’s home in Kingsport, N.S., about 85 kilometres northwest of Halifax.

Crown prosecutor Daniel Rideout said earlier this year that Dodd’s declining health and the couple’s imminent eviction from their home contributed to Smith’s actions.

A spokesperson for Nova Scotia’s public prosecution service says Smith’s sentence works out to five years and seven months, less two days, after accounting for the time he has already spent in custody..

He must also provide a DNA sample and stay away from firearms for the rest of his life.