Bill Crawley, 41, was a married father of two sons aged 18 and 8. During the day he worked at the Canadian Navy dockyard in Halifax, but for the past 15 years he had also drove nights for Bob's Taxi. "It was another full time job for him. He got off at the dockyard and came right over here," said Bonnie Cleveland, another Bob's driver. Mr. Crawley's last recorded trip was in the early morning of Sunday, September 17, 1995 when he took a husband and wife to the north end of Dartmouth at about 4 a.m. It was the end of Mr. Crawley's shift, but on his way home he was hailed by a 17-year-old youth who had been drinking and smoking marijuana at a Dartmouth hotel. Mrs. Crawley speculated that he picked up the youth because he resembled their older son. When they arrived at a residential neighbourhood on Breeze drive in east Dartmouth, the youth refused to pay the $6.70 on the meter and tried to run away. Mr. Crawley apparently tried to stop him and a struggle ensued. Mr. Crawley wound up in the back seat where he was stabbed 23 times. Mr. Crawley managed to reach between the front bucket seats and grasp the microphone but all he was able to say was "Paul," the dispatcher's name. Before losing consciousness he turned on the roof light and honked the horn repeatedly. Other drivers fanned out across the city looking for him. He was eventually found by a woman driver who had known him for fifteen years, since they worked together at the dockyard. Her first thought was to keep him conscious until help arrived. "I tried talking to him. When you have someone in real trouble like that you try to keep them awake," she said. As she was getting out of the cab after police arrived she saw the bloody knife lying next to Mr. Crawley's leg. Two hours earlier she was chatting with him as they parked in front of the Little Nashville bar. "He was fine then, the same happy go lucky person he always was. Bill wouldn't hurt a fly." Police quickly identified the youth as a suspect and arranged for him to turn himself in. He did this about 9 p.m. on Monday September 18, the day after the murder, accompanied by a lawyer. At the time of the murder the youth was free on his own recognizance pending his trial for being an accessory to a robbery. He had a criminal record dating back to when he was 14 years old. Mr. Crawley's funeral took place on Wednesday, September 20 at St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church at Lake Echo, about 20 km east of Dartmouth. More than 200 taxis from Halifax, Dartmouth and other parts of Nova Scotia formed a procession to Lake Echo where Mr. Crawley and his family lived. On the same day Crown prosecutor Stephanie Cleary gave notice that she would apply to have the murder trial transferred to adult court. The application was granted by provincial court judge Brian Williston on November 27. Sadly, the youth's parents both died of cancer before his trial took place in October, 1996. [Next column]

The Canadian Navy dockyard at Halifax as it was in 1981 or earlier. Bill Crawley worked here during the day while driving a taxi at night. (Source: "Halifax from Angus L. MacDonald Bridge" (detail). Photo by E. Otto. Traveltime postcard published and distributed by The Book Room, Halifax N.S., via For Posterity's Sake: HMC Dockyard Halifax. Daniel Little posted this picture on Pinterest stating that he sent the postcard to his sister in 1981. Not confident that the evidence would sustain a charge of murder, the Crown agreed to a plea deal which saw the youth plead guilty to manslaughter. At sentencing Judge Suzanne Hood ordered that the youth spend 18 months in youth jail followed by two years in the Halifax provincial correctional centre. He would be eligible for parole before starting the third part of his sentence in federal penitentiary. Judge Hood's reasoning was that in a penitentiary the youth would be exposed to drugs, violence and possible sexual abuse which would destroy any chance of rehabilitation. Mr. Crawley's murder inevitablly raised the issue of safety measures to protect drivers from violent attacks. The driver who found Mr. Crawley said she was robbed twice, at knifepoint and gunpoint, and in a third incident was rescued by another driver when she was attacked by a convicted rapist. Rick Cantellow, a 15-year veteran Bob's driver said the only answer was bullet proof plastic shields and steel seat inserts used by police and New York cabbies. "But they're very expensive and very impersonal," said Mr. Cantellow. "It's out of the question for most people." Dartmouth Taxi Association president Leo Greenwood agreed that the adoption of shields was unlikely. "Drivers just don't want them, they want to be able to talk to their customers," he said.