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Steven
Elliott LAFFIN
Classification: Murderer
Characteristics: Abduction - Rape
Number of victims: 1
Date of murder: July 28, 2010
Date of arrest:
October 29, 2010
Date of birth: 1974
Victim profile:
Nadine Anne Taylor, 29
Method of murder: ????
Location: Halifax,
Nova Scotia, Canada
Status:
Pleaded guilty.
Sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 13 years
on April 24, 2013
Steven Laffin sentenced to life in prison for
killing Nadine Taylor
CTVnews.ca
Thursday, April 25, 2013
A Dartmouth man has been sentenced to life in
prison with no chance of parole for 13 years in the death of a Halifax
sex worker.
Steven Laffin, 38, pleaded guilty last month to
second-degree murder in the death of Nadine Taylor after he led police
to her remains in a wooded area of East Chezzetcook, N.S.
Today, her family heard that police found large
blood stains in the basement of Laffin’s home weeks after she
disappeared.
“This was after he attempted to clean up the
house,” said Crown attorney Rick Woodburn. “There was still lots of
blood left everywhere. There was blood on the murder weapons, blood on
the walls, blood all over the floor. It was a clear, brutal homicide.”
“I can hear her crying for help in my head and I
couldn’t be there,” said Taylor’s aunt. “That pain in my heart just
won’t go away.”
“Every special occasion or event that I would have
shared with her has been shattered as a result of her being murdered,”
said Taylor’s mother.
Taylor, 29, vanished after she left her Halifax
apartment to use a pay phone in July 2010.
Today the court heard Laffin was getting married
that month and that he lured Taylor to his home and murdered her the
night his fiancée was away at her stagette.
Days later, he celebrated his marriage. A month
after that, the court heard he kidnapped and viciously attacked
another sex worker.
She managed to jump out of the trunk of Laffin’s
moving car on Old Sambro Road in Halifax on Aug. 16, 2010.
“I don’t think he expected me to get away and fight
as hard as I did,” said the woman, whose identity is protected by a
publication can, in court today.
Laffin became a suspect in Taylor's death in
October 2010 after he was charged in connection with the kidnapping
case. He pleaded guilty to charges of kidnapping, aggravated assault,
uttering threats and unlawful confinement in connection with that case
last fall.
Today Laffin was sentenced to nine years in prison
for beating, duct-taping, and choking the woman who escaped from the
trunk of his car.
“I am going to make sure he does not get out on
parole, some how, some way,” said the victim. “He does not deserve to
walk these streets.”
His sentence for those charges will be served
concurrently to the life sentence handed down for Taylor’s murder.
The Crown prosecutors and Laffin’s defence lawyer
made a joint recommendation that he serve at least 13 years in prison
before being eligible to apply for parole.
He is receiving credit for time served, which means
Laffin will be eligible to apply for parole in October 2023.
Justice Felix Cacchione ordered Laffin to undergo a
psychiatric assessment to be considered by the parole board upon his
release.
Laffin apologized to Taylor’s family today in Nova
Scotia Supreme Court, but Cacchione questioned his remorse.
He also added that he didn’t believe Laffin would
be released from prison anytime soon.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Kelland Sundahl and
The Canadian Press
Stephen Laffin called 'psychopath' in murder
sentencing
No parole eligibility for 13 years
CBC News
April 25, 2013
A 38-year-old Dartmouth man was called a
"psychopath" on Thursday as he was sentenced to life in prison with no
chance of parole for 13 years for the murder of Nadine Taylor, who
disappeared nearly three years ago.
Steven Elliott Laffin pleaded guilty last month to
second-degree murder in Taylor's death.
"You're either a psychopath or you have serious
psychopathic tendencies," said Justice Felix Cacchione as he handed
down the sentence.
"It is clear that you have serious underlying
issues that must be addressed before you are released."
Donna Taylor, Nadine's mother, described sleepless
nights and needing therapy since losing her daughter.
"My daughter Nadine was my precious dolly girl, she
was pretty, funny, loved people and animals. She would never turn
anyone away that needed help or food," Taylor said in her victim
impact statement.
"There are many precious moments and times that I
will never share with my daughter Nadine. I know that every special
occasion or event that I would have shared with her has been shattered
as a result of her being murdered."
Laffin turned to face Taylor's family in the
gallery and spoke in court for the first time.
"I'd just like to first apologize," he said.
"I know saying 'I'm sorry' won't do anything and
won't bring Nadine back. But I am sorry for the pain that I have
done."
The Crown prosecutors and Laffin's defence lawyer
made a joint recommendation that he serve at least 13 years in prison
before he's eligible to apply for parole. Because Laffin has been in
custody since Oct. 29, 2010, he will be eligible to apply for parole
in 10 1/2 years.
Laffin was also sentenced to nine years for
kidnapping, aggravated assault, uttering threats and unlawful
confinement in an August 2010 incident in which a woman escaped from
the trunk of a moving car on Old Sambro Road in Halifax.
That sentence will be served concurrently with the
murder sentence.
The identity of the victim in that case is banned
from publication.
“Even for him to apologize just made it a lot
different. I never expected that,” she said.
The woman, who told CBC News she has since quit the
sex-trade, said Laffin grabbed her throat and choked her until she was
unconscious.
When she recovered, her mouth was covered with duct
tape and her ankles and wrists were bound. The woman was sexually
assaulted and she said Laffin threatened to kill her.
She was stuffed into the trunk of Laffin's car, but
managed to escape from the moving vehicle and get help.
More than two years later she got to look her
attacker in the eye in the courtroom. She says the ordeal has made her
stronger.
“I'm a recovering addict. I've been doing a lot
better with the drugs. I don't trust anybody anymore. I don't help
anybody anymore," she said.
Nadine Taylor's disappearance
Taylor disappeared in July 2010, after leaving her
Halifax home to make a call from a payphone because she didn't have a
phone of her own. She never returned, prompting her fiancé to contact
police and spend nights biking around the city searching for her.
Laffin was charged with Taylor's murder in October
2010, even though police said at the time that they did not expect to
ever find her body.
The night Taylor disappeared was just a couple of
days before Laffin was to marry Joanna Swinemar. At the time, his
wife-to-be was out of town attending her stagette.
Swinemar called Laffin that night and he told her
he was tired and was staying home. During Laffin's preliminary
hearing, the court heard testimony from his now ex-wife, that Laffin
brought Taylor to their Dartmouth home.
Both his wife and police witnesses testified about
blood spatter all over the basement of that home.
To explain the blood, Laffin told Swinemar he'd
been mugged in the driveway and went down the basement to clean up so
as not to mess up the rest of the house.
Because they were getting married and were
expecting guests, Laffin persuaded Swinemar to help him clean the
house. They scrubbed it down, but they didn't get everything because
police were still able to gather samples for trial.
Police spent seven days searching the house,
gathering the evidence they thought they were going to have to use at
his trial.
The week before Laffin pleaded guilty, he led
police to Taylor's body, concealed in the woods near a highway in East
Chezzetcook.
Taylor had been working in the sex trade at the
time of her disappearance.
Laffin pleads guilty to killing sex worker
CTVnews.ca
Thursday, March 7, 2013
A Dartmouth man has pleaded guilty to second-degree
murder in the death of a Halifax sex worker.
Steven Elliot Laffin was supposed to go to trial
next month in the murder of Nadine Anne Taylor.
Instead, he entered a guilty plea in Nova Scotia
Supreme Court Thursday afternoon, admitting he killed Taylor in July
2010.
The victim’s father says he heard what he knew all
along.
“Well, I knew he was guilty. Everyone knew he was
guilty,” says Cecil Taylor. “But the point is now there's time he’s
got to serve.”
Laffin’s guilty plea comes with an automatic life
sentence. The court still has to decide how much time Laffin must
serve before being eligible for parole.
“We’re jointly going to recommend 13 years,” says
Crown prosecutor Rick Woodburn. “The range for these types of things
is 13 to 15 years.”
“We look at all of the facts, including the usual
range for second-degree murder, all of the particular circumstances of
this case, and the level of cooperation, if any, of the defendant,”
says Crown prosecutor Susan MacKay.
Laffin led police to a wooded area of East
Chezzetcook, N.S. last Friday, where they found remains believed to be
those of Taylor’s, although investigators have yet to positively
identify the remains.
“It will never go away, but it’s good to know now
that she can have a burial anyway, and not just be thrown on the
ground like dirt,” says Cecil Taylor.
His 29-year-old daughter vanished after she left
her Halifax apartment to use a pay phone in July 2010.
Laffin came to police attention in Taylor's death
after he was charged with crimes against another sex worker in 2010.
Last fall, he pleaded guilty to charges of assault and confinement in
the case of a woman who jumped out of a moving car in Halifax.
The Crown is asking for 12 years on those charges.
The woman - whose identity is protected by a
publication ban - was in court today, along with the head of Stepping
Stone, an organization that provides outreach services to sex workers.
She says sex workers are vulnerable to violence
because of the stigma they face.
“There’s been 19 sex workers since 1985 who have
been missing or murdered in Halifax, and that’s just our region
alone,” says Rene Ross, executive director of Stepping Stone.
She says it’s important to remember sex workers are
people too.
“Nadine was a beautiful force of energy.”
Laffin is due back in court on April 25 to
determine parole eligibility and be sentenced on charges of
confinement, aggravated assault and uttering threats in a case
involving another woman.
Withe files from CTV Atlantic's Jacqueline Foster
and The Canadian Press
Police finish searching site for missing woman's
remains
CBC News
March 2, 2013
Police have finished processing a scene outside of
Halifax where human remains believed to belong to Nadine Anne Taylor
were found on Friday.
Taylor disappeared July 31, 2010.
On Friday her accused killer, Steven Laffin of
Dartmouth, led police to a wooded spot in East Chezzetcook where they
found the remains.
RCMP Cpl. Scott MacRae said police have moved on.
"This morning the major crime investigators and the
forensic team have completed their work at a scene just off of the
East Chezzetcook Road near Highway 107. They finished recovering what
we believe to be the remains of Nadine Taylor and [are] still working
with the medical examiner`s office to complete the forensic side," he
said.
In a separate case, Laffin pleaded guilty to
kidnapping, aggravated assault, uttering threats to cause bodily harm
and unlawful confinement last October at Nova Scotia Supreme Court in
Halifax.
Those charges stem from an incident on Aug. 16,
2010, when a prostitute escaped from the trunk of a moving car on Old
Sambro Road in Halifax.
The woman — who told CBC News she has since quit
the sex-trade business — told a harrowing story about how she got into
Laffin's car and he drove her to a parking lot.
The woman said Laffin grabbed her throat and choked
her. She said when she regained consciousness, her mouth was covered
in duct tape and her ankles and wrists were bound.
She said she was sexually assaulted, that Laffin
slammed her face into the ground and said he would kill her.
The woman said she was stuffed into the trunk of
the Laffin's car, but managed to escape and run to a nearby house to
call 911.
Laffin is currently in custody for Taylor's
homicide.
MacRae said Friday’s discovery will likely play a
central role in the prosecutor’s case against Laffin.
Laffin pleads guilty to attack on prostitute
CBC News
October 4, 2012
A Dartmouth man accused of killing a prostitute
more than two years ago has pleaded guilty to kidnapping and
assaulting another sex-trade worker the same year.
Steven Elliot Laffin, 38, pleaded guilty to
kidnapping, aggravated assault, uttering threats to cause bodily harm
and unlawful confinement on Thursday morning at Nova Scotia Supreme
Court in Halifax.
Those charges stem from an incident on Aug. 16,
2010, when a prostitute escaped from the trunk of a moving car on Old
Sambro Road in Halifax.
The woman — who told CBC News she has since quit
the sex-trade business — told a harrowing story about how she got into
Laffin's car and he drove her to a parking lot.
The woman said Laffin grabbed her throat and choked
her. She said when she regained consciousness, her mouth was covered
in duct tape and her ankles and wrists were bound.
She said she was sexually assaulted, that Laffin
slammed her face into the ground and said he would kill her.
The woman said she was stuffed into the trunk of
the Laffin's car, but managed to escape and run to a nearby house to
call 911.
Laffin was scheduled to stand trial next week
before a Supreme Court judge and jury on five charges — including
attempted murder — but the Crown said Thursday that charge will be
formally withdrawn when Laffin is sentenced in February.
The charge of aggravated sexual assault was also
amended to aggravated assault.
Laffin is also charged with second-degree murder in
the case of 29-year-old Nadine Taylor, a Halifax woman who disappeared
two years ago. His trial on that charge is scheduled to begin in
April.
Laffin preliminary inquiry breaks until Jan. 26
By Steve Bruce - TheChronicleHerald.ca
January 18, 2012
A preliminary inquiry for the man accused of
killing Nadine Taylor has taken a break until late next week.
Steven Elliot Laffin, 37, is charged with
second-degree murder in the July 2010 disappearance of Taylor, a
29-year-old woman who worked as a prostitute.
The inquiry got underway Monday in Halifax
provincial court.
The Crown’s seventh witness, a police officer who
specializes in forensic identification, finished testifying Wednesday
morning. Lawyers then told Judge Anne Derrick the next witness isn’t
available until Jan. 26.
Crown attorney Rick Woodburn and defence lawyer
Kevin Burke agreed the hearing should be able to wrap up by Jan. 30,
which would be its sixth day. Nine days were originally booked, with
another three days on standby if needed.
The inquiry was moved into a larger courtroom
Wednesday after a security scare Tuesday caused when a female
spectator made a trigger motion with her hand as she walked past
Laffin, who was seated on the prisoners bench.
There were no incidents Wednesday.
Taylor went missing after she left her Halifax
apartment on the night of July 28, 2010, to make a phone call.
Laffin became a suspect about three weeks later,
after the Dartmouth man was charged with attacking another sex-trade
worker in Halifax.
Taylor’s body has never been found, but police
charged Laffin with her murder in October 2010.
The preliminary inquiry will determine if there is
sufficient evidence against Laffin for the case to proceed to a jury
trial in Nova Scotia Supreme Court. It also gives the defence a chance
to assess the strength of the Crown’s witnesses.
The seven people to testify so far include four
civilians and three police officers. The evidence heard during the
inquiry is banned from publication.
Laffin has been locked up at the Central Nova
Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth for 17 months.
Laffin's murder inquiry opens
By Steve Bruce - TheChronicleHerald.ca
January 16, 2012
A preliminary inquiry opened Monday for Steven
Elliot Laffin, charged with second-degree murder in the disappearance
of a Halifax woman.
Nadine Taylor, a 29-year-old prostitute, went
missing after she left her Fairview apartment on the night of July 28,
2010, to make a phone call.
Laffin became a suspect about three weeks later,
after the Dartmouth man was arrested on charges of attacking another
sex-trade worker in Halifax.
Athough Taylor's body has never been found, police
charged Laffin with her murder in October 2010.
The 37-year-old has remained locked up at the
Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth.
Nine days have been booked for the preliminary
inquiry, being held in front of Judge Anne Derrick in Halifax
provincial court.
At the end of the hearing, Derrick will rule
whether there's enough evidence to commit Laffin to stand trial before
a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge and jury.
Five people — four civilians and one police officer
— testified Monday.
The evidence heard during the inquiry is banned
from publication to protect Laffin's right to a fair trial.
Some of Taylor's relatives were in the gallery for
Monday's proceedings, along with members of Stepping Stone, an
organization that offers support for sex-trade workers.
On her way out of court, Donna Taylor told
reporters she didn't want to talk about her daughter except to say
that she was “poor, disadvantaged and helpless.”
The woman said it was difficult to be in the same
room as Laffin. “He looks like a demon,” she said.
The hearing will continue Tuesday with testimony
from forensic identification officers.
Laffin has another jury trial set for Supreme Court
next fall on five charges involving the other woman, who escaped from
the trunk of a moving car on Aug. 16, 2010. Those charges are
attempted murder, kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault, uttering
threats and forcible confinement.
He's also charged with assault causing bodily harm
from an incident with another inmate at the Dartmouth jail last
August. The alleged victim was Clarence Michael MacLeod, who's also
awaiting trial for second-degree murder.
Laffin an 'articulate and respectful' man: judge
CBC News
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
A Nova Scotia man accused of murdering a prostitute
was described as an "articulate and respectful" man when he appeared
before a judge in 2007, court documents show.
Steven Laffin, 36, was charged Wednesday with
second-degree murder in the death of Nadine Taylor, a sex-trade
worker.
He has also been charged with abduction, forcible
confinement, aggravated sexual assault and uttering death threats in a
separate case involving an ex-prostitute.
In 2006, Laffin pleaded guilty to attempted robbery
after he went into a convenience store in Halifax with a knife and
demanded money. He was given a two-year conditional sentence.
The next year, when Laffin wanted to have the terms
of his house arrest amended, he appeared before Judge Jamie Campbell
in Halifax provincial court.
In court documents, Campbell wrote that Laffin did
not match the stereotypical image of a robber and said he had a
"dignified carriage" and wore "carefully chosen business suits."
"At 32 years old he appears in every outward
respect to be a person who should be looking forward to a bright
future," Campbell wrote.
According to the documents, Laffin lost his job on
a cruise ship, only to come home and discover that his wife had
emptied the family bank account.
"He was left with no marriage, no money and no
job," the judge wrote.
After he received the conditional sentence, Laffin
"made a concerted effort to become reintegrated into the community"
and began working at a Tim Hortons.
"He works more than regular hours. He has been
promoted to a supervisory position. He has money saved and is paying
off his debts. Apparently he has not lost his work ethic. He could
have taken a very different approach," Campbell wrote in 2007.
"He has apparently, through work and dedication,
committed himself to reestablishing his life. It is in society's best
interest that he be encouraged in that endeavour."
The judge granted Laffin the desired amendments to
his conditional sentence.
Sexual assault victim tells her story
CBC News
Thursday, September 16, 2010
The victim of an alleged abduction in the Halifax
area told CBC News she relied only on her wits to escape from the
trunk of a speeding car last month.
The 29-year-old woman, whose identity is protected
by a court order, said she was sexually assaulted, bound and kidnapped
on Aug. 16.
"He was choking me by my throat and I was trying to
fight him but I couldn't do nothing," she told CBC News.
"He kept knocking me out, he kept putting me out by
grabbing my throat."
The woman, who was a sex-trade worker until the day
of the attack, said she got into a man's car in Spryfield, and he
drove her to a parking lot.
She said she was overpowered and sexually
assaulted.
"I remember coming to and I was duct-taped … my
mouth, my ankles, my wrist, behind my back," she said.
"I remember waking up because he was undoing my
pants at this point. I remember sitting up and saying, 'Shh, listen,
there's somebody right there.' I was trying to get him to stop and he
didn't stop, he kept going.
"He kept smacking my head into the ground, and my
chin, kept slamming my face into the ground, telling me he was gonna
kill me."
The woman said she was stuffed into the trunk of
the man's car, and she felt the car was travelling about 120
kilometres an hour.
Two days after the attack, Halifax Regional Police
charged 35-year-old Steven Elliot Laffin with abduction, forcible
confinement, aggravated sexual assault and uttering death threats in
the woman's case.
Remembered boyfriend's advice
Laffin, who is being held at the Central Nova
Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth, has a court appearance on
Oct. 14.
This is not the first time Laffin has faced such
charges. Court records show that in June, a charge of sexual assault
with a knife was dropped when the alleged victim, another sex-trade
worker, did not show up in court.
The woman in the August incident said she doesn't
remember anything until she woke up in the trunk.
"I remember my boyfriend saying, 'If you ever get
locked in the trunk there's always a lever to pull,'" she explained.
"I popped the trunk, the trunk come down so hard on
me it knocked me out again. I don't know how long I was out … then I
come to and I got up and I pulled the lever and I went out head first
and I don't remember anything until I come to on the road."
The woman said she ran to a home on Old Sambro Road
in Halifax, where the residents helped her call the police. She said
she is struggling to recover from her injuries and the emotional
trauma.
"Him telling me he was gonna kill me, and
whispering in my ear. I can still feel him right here," she said.
