Suspicious death of 85-year-old Dartmouth woman deemed a homicide

Halifax police are ruling the death of an 85-year-old woman as a homicide and are asking for the public's help.

Officers were called to the home of Eleanor Harding on Lynwood Drive in Dartmouth around 11:12 a.m. on July 11 after getting a report of a woman being found dead.

The information gathered during the initial investigation led investigators to believe the death was suspicious. The victim was later identified on July 13.

Members from the special investigation and forensic identification sections were on scene for a number of days.

Now that a medical examiner has completed the autopsy, Harding's death has been ruled a homicide, according to a news release from Halifax Regional Police on Monday around 4:30 p.m.

Spokesperson Const. Dylan Jackman said no one has been arrested and there are no suspects. When asked if there are any ongoing threats to public safety, Jackman said police are still investigating the case.

Police have said the timing of the announcement, nine days after Harding's death, was up to the medical examiner.

But "the timing and nature of public announcements are typically decided by the agency leading the investigation, in this case the Halifax Regional Police," Jill McKenzie, spokesperson for the medical examiner service, said in an email Tuesday.

Anyone with information of Harding's recent activities, or anyone who noticed anything unusual in the area of Lynwood Drive between the evening of July 9 and the morning of July 10 is asked to contact police by calling 902-490-5020.

They can also send an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.