Aidan David Cromwell found guilty of murdering Marc Bernard Tremblay in retrial

For the second time, a jury has found Aidan David Cromwell guilty of murdering Marc Bernard Tremblay in 2012.

The jury found Cromwell guilty of second-degree murder in Nova Scotia Supreme Court Wednesday afternoon, after a day of deliberations.

Cromwell, 24, stabbed 25-year-old Marc Tremblay in the heart on Feb. 2, 2012, near Ashdale Avenue and Titus Street in Fairview. Marc Tremblay was drunk and yelling insults at Cromwell and his girlfriend before Cromwell ran at him with a knife.

Members of the Tremblay and Cromwell families sobbed loudly when the verdict was announced.

Cromwell showed his frustration as he was led out of the court, saying, “where’s your justice?”

Second time around

Cromwell was originally found guilty of second-degree murder in 2014. The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal overturned the conviction in 2016. They ruled the original judge failed to properly instruct the jury on how to interpret evidence related to Cromwell’s actions after the stabbing.

The retrial began on Nov. 13. 

During the trial, the defence argued Cromwell was acting in self-defence or was provoked, based on Marc Tremblay’s behaviour. The jury’s verdict means the Crown was successful in proving beyond a reasonable doubt Cromwell wasn’t acting out of self-defence or provocation.

‘He was my life’

“Other than burying my son, this is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” said Marc Tremblay’s mother, Rose Marie Tremblay, outside the courtroom. She wasn’t present for the first trial in 2014.

Now, she said, “justice has been served.”

When Cromwell was brought into the courtroom after the verdict, he told his mother not to cry and she told him she had “to stay strong.” Cromwell was 18 when he stabbed Tremblay and has been in jail since his arrest in 2012.

Second-degree murder convictions carry an automatic sentence of life in prison. Justice Timothy Gabriel has yet to decide when Cromwell will be eligible for parole, which could be anywhere between 10 and 25 years from the start of his sentence.

Previous time served will count toward’s Cromwell’s parole eligibility.

His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March.