Nova Scotia man, 74, killed his ailing wife after they were evicted, court hears

A Nova Scotia man killed his ailing 72-year-old wife in 2022 after the couple was evicted from their home, a provincial Supreme Court proceeding heard Wednesday.

Douglas Andrew Smith, now 74, was set to stand trial beginning next week for a charge of second-degree murder in the death of his wife, Iris Dodd. Instead, he pleaded guilty in Nova Scotia Supreme Court to a lesser charge of manslaughter, avoiding a trial.

Crown prosecutor Daniel Rideout provided a summary of the events surrounding Dodd’s death and said an agreed statement of facts would be read at Smith’s sentencing hearing, set for July 3.

“It is expected that the agreed facts will reference their imminent eviction from their home … and the declining health of his wife as factors that impacted Mr. Smith’s actions,” Rideout told the court.

Smith has admitted to killing his wife on April 30, 2022, in Kingsport, which is about 85 kilometres northwest of Halifax, in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley.
The next day, Smith 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, the court heard.

“I think the actual words he used with the 911 operator was, ‘I’m responsible,'” Rideout said. Police came out of the building and arrested him.

Officers then went to Smith’s home and found Dodd face-up in her recliner, covered from head to toe with a heavy blanket, Rideout said. They did not see signs of a struggle, nor did they see any injuries on Dodd.

Smith told the 911 operator he had smothered his wife. However, the medical examiner found no evidence to confirm or refute his claim, and ultimately ruled that no cause of death could be determined, Rideout said. 

The judge released Smith with certain conditions and ordered him to appear in person for his sentencing hearing in July.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2026.