After months of postponements and delays, the case against Aaron Daniel Crawley, 34, has just taken a big leap forward.

Crawley is charged with first-degree murder in the October 2023 death of his longtime partner, Hollie Marie Boland, 30. He allegedly struck her with a car outside a home in Cole Harbour, N.S., where he had been living.

During an appearance in provincial court in Dartmouth Wednesday morning, Crawley's lawyer, Eugene Tan, waived his client's right to a preliminary inquiry and inst…