Man’s death at Halifax-area tent encampment now ruled a homicide 

Halifax Regional Police say the death of a man last year at a Dartmouth tent encampment is now being investigated as a homicide, and they’re looking for a woman as part of the case.

Police said they first responded to the Geary Street encampment, which was a municipally-designated outdoor sheltering location at the time, on Dec. 22, 2024.

It was reported that a man had been assaulted by a woman.

“Paramedics responded but the man declined medical attention and further police investigation,” Halifax police said in a release Wednesday.

Four days later, on Boxing Day, police were called again to the area where the same man was found deceased in a tent.

Police said the man has been identified as 56-year-old Jeffrey Alexander Emmerson.

“Last week, the Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service notified police that the autopsy findings indicated the manner of death to be homicide,” police said.

The investigation is being led by the Halifax police and the RCMP’s Integrated Criminal Investigation Division. Investigators are looking for the woman involved in the assault call.

She is described as between 20 and 25 years old, four feet, 10 inches tall, with shoulder-length dark hair. At the time, she was wearing a blue jacket and red sweatpants.