Man serving life sentence for Halifax murder found guilty of witness intimidation

Kaz Henry Cox -- found guilty in the shooting death of Triston Reece -- appears in Halifax provincial court on Nov. 18, 2019.

A man previously convicted of first-degree murder in Halifax has now been found guilty of the “grim consequences of witness intimidation,” as Judge Bronwyn Duffy described it in her written decision.

Duffy said Kaz Henry Cox was found guilty on one count of intimidating a justice system participant – his estranged wife – earlier this year. Duffy sentenced Cox to two years, which will be served concurrently with his life sentence for the murder of Triston Reece, 19, in 2019.

In June 2022, a jury found Cox guilty of the shooting death of Reece on Scot Street in Halifax. He received an automatic life sentence with no chance for parole for 25 years.

According to the written decision, Cox’s charge of intimidating a justice system participant stems from his time in custody awaiting trial for the Reece murder in early 2020. Cox received police disclosure on the case, which included statements from his estranged wife that, among other statements, were “key to the Reece homicide investigation.”

The decision says Cox’s girlfriend set up a Facebook account for him under the name Gibby Cox in late 2019. Cox later had his girlfriend post excerpts from the disclosure to his Facebook account and tag his estranged wife.

“It did just what it was supposed to do, ruffle everyone’s feathers,” Cox said, according to the decision.

Duffy said Cox and his girlfriend discussed the comments on the Facebook post, which referred to Cox’s estranged wife as a “rat” and a “snitch.”

“The Court drew the inference from the evidence - namely, the comments of Mr. Cox on the calls - that he had the intent to provoke a state of fear in (the estranged wife) to stop her from testifying against him,” the decision reads. “The Court held that the evidence excluded any other reasonable alternative.”

Cox is also prohibited from communicating with his estranged wife.

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