Convicted murderer on the lam for the 3rd time found in Nova Scotia
A convicted murderer who went missing in August from a halfway house in Moncton, N.B., was located in Nova Scotia on Friday afternoon.
Jack Woods was found around 2 p.m. local time by RCMP at a home in the Tantallon area west of Halifax, RCMP Staff-Sgt. Matco Sirotic said.
It was the third time Woods had fled and been caught since he was convicted in 1996 of murder and manslaughter.
Sirotic said officers had been checking addresses in the area based on information provided by RCMP in New Brunswick last week. They checked one of those locations again Friday and found Woods.
"He was apprehended, taken into custody, and he was very co-operative throughout," Sirotic said.
Woods, 66, failed to return to a halfway house Aug. 22 while on a 72-hour unescorted temporary absence from the minimum-security unit at Dorchester Penitentiary, about 42 kilometres southeast of Moncton.
The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) said in a news release that Woods will be processed and returned to federal custody. Darrell Blacquiere, the deputy warden of Dorchester's minimum-security unit, said he expects Woods will be returned to the prison.
The CSC said it is investigating what happened.
Fled before
Woods is serving an indeterminate sentence for second-degree murder and manslaughter.
He and an accomplice killed two people between July and November 1993. The bodies of David Rosamond and Harvey Bernard were found buried in shallow graves in Alberta, The Canadian Press reported.
In one death, Woods claimed to have accidentally shot the victim, while the co-accused shot the person a second time. In the second case, Woods hit the victim with a stick, causing that person's death.
In May, the parole board granted Woods two 72-hour unescorted leaves from the prison for "administrative purposes" and a 60-day work release for personal development.
A parole board decision states Woods indicated the two leaves would be used to become familiar with halfway house routines, open a bank account, obtain a bus pass and learn bus routes.
During the 60-day leave, he was expected to prove he can function in the community and balance a work schedule while following "society's expectations," leading to day parole and then full parole.
In 2008, the decision says, Woods was granted day parole and demonstrated appropriate conduct until absconding in 2010. He was unlawfully at large for about five months before he was arrested. Woods told the board he fled after he was denied a request to move to another province so he could help his son.
He was granted day parole again in 2012. Eight months later, he was again unlawfully at large. He turned himself in after two months. Woods indicated he feared for his safety after incurring a debt.
