HALIFAX - A Nova Scotia man has pleaded guilty to killing his common-law wife and her 24-year-old daughter, admitting he bludgeoned the younger woman with a baseball bat before attacking his wife with a claw hammer.
Gerald Ashley Rushton of Bible Hill, N.S., will be sentenced in November, having pleaded guilty today in Nova Scotia Supreme Court to two counts of second-degree murder.
Court documents say Rushton hit 24-year-old Brittany MacPherson with a bat after an argument over family problems on Dec. 27, 2013.
The statement of facts says that when 53-year-old Elizabeth MacPherson returned home that day, Rushton argued with her before striking her in the head with a hammer and cutting her throat.
Court heard that Rushton attempted suicide by cutting his own throat and wrists.
In a suicide note, Rushton apologized for his weaknesses and asked that his dog be put down and cremated with him.
