A supporter of accused murderer Christopher Garnier let out a whoop as a judge granted bail to the 29-year-old Halifax man, who is charged in the death of off-duty Truro police officer Catherine Campbell.

Garnier is charged with second-degree murder and interfering with a dead body. He's been in custody since shortly after Campbell's body was discovered under the Macdonald Bridge in September 2015.

Police say Garnier killed Campbell in an apartment on McCully Street in central Halifax, then wheeled her body in a green bin through the city streets and dumped her under the bridge. None of the allegations has been proven in court.

On Tuesday, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Timothy Gabriel released Garnier on bail ahead of next year's trial. The conditions of release include 24-hour house arrest.

"The Crown is shocked and disappointed in that outcome and that's how we feel at this point," Crown prosecutor Carla Ball said outside the Halifax courtroom.

"The Crown's feeling was that there were concerns for the safety of the public and that confidence in the administration of justice would be depleted if he were released."

Garnier buries head in hands

In court, Garnier buried his head in his hands when he learned he would be freed from jail. A supporter let out a whoop and went out to tell Garnier's girlfriend, Brittany Francis, who is expected to be a witness at trial and has been excluded from court proceedings so far.

Members of Campbell's family, who have attended every court appearance, remained stone-faced. Some of them had sobbed at earlier points during the one-and-a-half day bail hearing.

Ball had to shepherd Campbell's family through the courthouse, away from Garnier's family.

Bail conditions

Evidence from the hearing is banned from publication. Garnier is scheduled to go on trial next November before a judge and jury.

Gabriel has imposed strict conditions on Garnier's release. In addition to house arrest, they include:

His mother, father and stepmother are to act as his sureties.

They must post $100,000 to guarantee his behaviour on release.

He is to abstain from drugs and alcohol.

He must stay away from the 20 witnesses the Crown plans to call. The only exception is his girlfriend.

He must not possess weapons.

He must not try to obtain a firearms certificate.

He must not possess or try to obtain travel documents. Police have his current passport.

'My client is happy'

Garnier is also allowed out to attend work and he gets two hours a week to run errands. He must check in with Halifax police in person twice a week, on Wednesdays and Fridays.

He must live with his father and stepmother at their condo on Shore Drive in Bedford or with his mother in Millville in Cape Breton. One of his sureties must escort him between the two addresses.

"Needless to say, my client is happy and his family is happy that he will be in their care and custody during the strict terms of his bail," Garnier's lawyer, Joel Pink, said outside court.