Nova Scotia man pleads guilty to second-degree murder of Esther Jones in Kingston

Dale Toole admitted killing 55-year-old Esther Jones at Kingston Bible College in August 2024 and disposing of her body. He was arrested after U.S. authorities denied him entry en route to Mexico.

Dale Toole pleads guilty to second-degree murder of Annapolis Valley woman

Dale Toole, a Nova Scotia man, pleaded guilty on Sept. 1 to second-degree murder in the death of Esther Jones, according to cbc.ca. The plea was entered in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Kentville. Toole had originally faced a first-degree murder charge after attempting to flee to Mexico following the killing.

Second-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence. A judge will set parole eligibility, which under Canadian law can range from 10 to 25 years.

What happened at Kingston Bible College

Court documents show Toole admitted entering the Kingston Bible College in Kingston, N.S., on Aug. 31, 2024. Jones, 55, leased a room at the college and operated a music studio there. Toole acknowledged he "intentionally and unlawfully caused" her death, then removed her body from the building and disposed of it.

An agreed statement of facts filed with the court does not specify a motive. In a cautioned interview, Toole said he did not know Jones personally but "knew of her by virtue of living in a small town."

Family raised the alarm

Jones's family initially feared she had been abducted. Her sister reported her missing on Sept. 2, 2024, after two days without contact. Jones had not answered her phone, her vehicle was gone, and she had missed church the day before.

That same evening, Brian Banks, a caretaker at the college who knew Jones, went to the building with his daughter at 8:40 p.m. He noticed unusual lighting on the lower level. On the upper floor, they found two jerry cans filled with gasoline near the entrance to a former chapel. Inside Jones's studio, a sandal with the toe piece pulled out was on the floor, along with dog treats outside — Jones was known to carry treats during her Canada Post delivery rounds.

As Banks and his daughter approached an open office door at the end of a hallway, they saw a man in a ball cap crouching inside. Banks told his daughter to call police. The man stood up holding what appeared to be a wrecking bar in a threatening manner, forced open a door his daughter had slammed shut, and fled the building after falling down the stairs.

Surveillance footage placed Toole at the scene

While waiting for police, Banks and his daughter attempted to access the college's video surveillance system, only to find that hallway cameras had been removed. Investigators later retrieved cloud-stored footage from the system's mobile app.

The footage showed Jones arriving at the college at 3:59 p.m. on Aug. 31. At 4:31 p.m., exterior cameras recorded her backing her vehicle to the south entrance as a white truck arrived from Baker Street. At 4:49 p.m., a still image from inside the building showed a man — matching the suspect's description — appearing to have his arm around Jones's upper body. A 4:54 p.m. image showed the same man in the upper-level hallway, with what the court document described as a reddish stain on the floor not visible in earlier footage.

Banks had photographed a white pickup truck parked near the college earlier that afternoon and provided police with the licence plate. Investigators traced the truck to Toole. Surveillance footage from a Canadian Tire in Greenwood, captured before the incident, also showed Toole driving that truck, wearing clothing consistent with the suspect seen at the college.

Toole's movements after the killing

On Sept. 6, RCMP officers visited Toole's home in Morden, N.S. A white truck was visible in the driveway, but no one answered — though investigators heard loud music and saw a dog on the property. When officers returned the next day, the truck was gone.

On Sept. 8, Toole sold a 1967 Ford Fairlane to a woman in Moncton for $20,000 in cash and a $10,000 cheque. The following day, he called police claiming to be on his way to Rimouski, Que., to deliver a vehicle, saying he would not return until Sept. 12 or 13. He had been told police were investigating Jones's disappearance.

On Sept. 10, officers stopped a man named Steven Grant driving Toole's white truck in the Greenwood area. Grant told police Toole had given him permission to use the vehicle and to pay for it whenever he could afford to.

A search of Toole's parents' home that same day turned up items from a firepit that were consistent with a Wyze Camera and a Google Pixel phone. Jones owned a Google Pixel.

Attempt to flee to Mexico

On Sept. 11, Toole's daughter contacted police after receiving a text from her father. In the message, he claimed his gas cans and hand tools had been stolen from his truck and that someone was trying to set him up. He told her he was out of the country, instructed her to delete his messages and remove his contact information.

That day, police contacted the Canada Border Services Agency and learned Toole had left Canada through Toronto, flown to Houston, and was awaiting a connecting flight to Mérida, Mexico — on a one-way ticket. U.S. authorities denied him entry during a secondary inspection and returned him to Canada, where he was arrested.

Toole's carry-on bag contained currency from multiple countries, including 5,900 Philippine pesos, 2,475,000 Iraqi dinars, 22,500 Mexican pesos, and $9,749.87 in American currency.

Source: Google News CA — Crime (EN)