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A 61-year-old Nova Scotia man has been charged with murder after a woman was attacked with an axe on Monday in Thorburn, N.S.

RCMP in northeastern Nova Scotia say John Douglas Cress, of Thorburn, has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the attack.

Police say they found a woman with serious injuries at the suspect’s home on Greenwood Street, about 10 kilometres east of New Glasgow, and that she was transported to hospital.

Residents in Pictou, Antigonish and Colchester counties were asked to shelter in place around 10 a.m. after the suspect allegedly fled into nearby woods with the axe.

About 90 minutes after, police made an arrest in the woods, and later learned that the woman had died of her injuries.

Cress is scheduled to appear in Pictou provincial court on Wednesday.

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