CENTREVILLE, N.S. – Police say the death of a 22-year-old woman who was found inside a burning home in the Annapolis Valley was the result of intimate partner violence.
RCMP say they have arrested and charged 28-year-old Justin Joseph Benjamin with murder and arson with disregard for human life.
Since mid-October, police have reported that six women have died as a result intimate partner violence in Nova Scotia.
Police say around 3 a.m. Saturday, officers with help from the Kentville Volunteer Fire Department responded to a report of a house on fire on Anthony Avenue, and fire crews were able to extinguish the blaze.
Before first responders arrived, six people had escaped the house fire without injuries.
The 22-year-old woman — whom police have not named — was found dead inside the house, and her death was deemed a homicide.
Around noon on Sunday, police arrested Benjamin in Lequille, N.S., and he was expected to appear in Kentville provincial court today.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 13, 2025.
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