Man’s sudden death in December ruled a homicide, Halifax police looking for suspect

Police have ruled the death of a man in Dartmouth, N.S., as a homicide.

Halifax police are now investigating the sudden death of a man in December as a homicide and are trying to identify the person responsible.

Halifax Regional Police responded to a report of an assault on Geary Street in Dartmouth on Dec. 22, 2024. Police learned a man had been assaulted by a woman.

“Paramedics responded but the man declined medical attention and further police investigation,” said police in a news release Wednesday.

Four days later, on Dec. 26, 2024, police again responded to the Geary Street area around 4:20 p.m., after the same man was found dead inside a tent.

The man was identified as 56-year-old Jeffrey Alexander Emerson.

At the time, Emerson’s sister, Claudette Desmond, told CTV News her brother had been homeless since August and dealt with mental illness and substance abuse.

Now police are investigating his death as a homicide.

“Last week, the Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service notified police that the autopsy findings indicated the manner of death to be homicide,” said police.

Police are also trying to identify the woman responsible for the assault.

She is described as white and between the ages of 20 and 25. She is about four-foot-10 with a medium build and shoulder-length dark hair. She was wearing a blue jacket and red sweatpants the day of the assault.

Police are asking anyone with information about the assault or the suspect to contact them at 902-490-5020.

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page