Man accused of murdering his partner requests psychiatric assessment

A man accused of running over and killing his estranged partner is asking for a psychiatric assessment.

"Did you put in the mental health assessment?" Aaron Crawley asked Tuesday during a brief appearance in Nova Scotia provincial court in Dartmouth.

Crawley, 33, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Hollie Marie Boland, 30, of Dartmouth. She was run down on a quiet street in Cole Harbour in October of last year.

He has been in custody since shortly after the incident and all of his court appearances, including the one he made Tuesday, have been by video from jail.

"No one's treating me with any dignity today," Crawley said, interrupting the judge and lawyers as they discussed next steps in the case.

Crawley's legal aid lawyers told Judge Jill Hartlen that they have received a large batch of disclosure documents from Crown prosecutors and have scheduled an appointment with Crawley at the jail to go over them. The case will return to court next month. Crawley has agreed to remain in jail in the meantime. If he wants to apply for bail, he must do so in Nova Scotia Supreme Court.

A date for a preliminary inquiry has yet to be set, which is usually the next step in the process.

"I'm still here and I need help," Crawley said.