Crown calls final witness, closes its case against Nicholas Butcher
HALIFAX — After three weeks of evidence, the Crown has closed its case against a Halifax law school graduate accused in the violent death of his girlfriend, Kristin Johnston.
Nicholas Butcher, charged with second-degree murder, was arrested after the body of the Montreal-born yoga instructor was found in her Halifax-area home on March 26, 2016.
The Crown called its final witness to the stand Wednesday — an expert in digital forensics who analyzed a laptop found in Johnston’s home with a username of Kristin Johnston and found that it had been accessed hours before her death.
Blair MacLellan, who is self-employed but worked as a civilian for the RCMP’s tech crime unit at the time of the alleged murder, said Facebook messages were opened on the computer around 1:40 a.m. on March 26, 2016.