'Sense of relief' for Ont. family after arrests made in 14-year-old hit and run case

For the past 14 years, Lucas Shortreed’s family has been looking for answers into who killed him.

“Anniversaries for the past 14 years have been tough,” said Jenneen Beattie, Shortreed’s sister. “Thanksgiving has always been tough since the accident happened on Thanksgiving weekend.”

Beattie said her brother’s absence is especially noticed on special occasions.

“My wedding, he wasn’t there, and he hasn’t met my daughter,” she said.

Shortreed was just 18-years-old when he was killed in a hit and run.

On October 10, 2008, he left a party in Alma, Ont. and was walking down Wellington Road 17 when he was struck by a vehicle that fled the scene.

From the outset, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) believed they knew what type of car was involved, but over the past 14 years, they haven’t been able to recover it.

“Having a lot of unanswered questions around what happened that night has left wounds longer than had we had more information or been able to wrap it up,” Beattie said.

The address police searched on Wednesday was just a few kilometers from the scene of the 2008 crash and even closer to a where a billboard with Lucas Shortreed's face once stood. (CTV Kitchener)

But on Wednesday – nearly a decade and half after Shortreed’s death – there was a breakthrough in the case.

Police carried out a search at home in Mapleton Township, just a few kilometres from where Shortreed was killed in 2008.

Officers charged two people and recovered a vehicle.

Pictures provided to CTV News show a small white vehicle at the address being examined by police.

Police examine a vehicle while searching a home in Mapleton Township on Sept. 21, 2022. (Submitted)

Dave Halliburton, 55, was charged with failing to stop at the scene of an accident involving bodily harm and accessory after the fact.

Anastasia Halliburton, 53, was charged with accessory after the fact and obstructing justice.

The pair made their first court appearances Thursday.

Anastasia Halliburton and David Halliburton. (Facebook)

“It was quite shocking to get that news, for sure,” said Judie Moore, Shortreed’s mother. “There really aren’t words to describe the feeling.”

“My first reaction was that it was a little bit unbelievable,” Beattie said. “After 14 years of, you know, hoping that someone would come forward with some sort of information leading to an arrest.”

“There’s a definite sense of relief in that the car’s been found,” she said.

The family said over the past 14 years, they never gave up hope that they would get answers into Shortreed’s death.

“The community has been supportive in the last 14 years, with billboards and people really trying to give tips that they sincerely thought would lead to an arrest,” Beattie said.

“I think there’s a lot more resolution that we will probably have this year on Thanksgiving that we haven’t had the last 14 years.”