CORNER BROOK, N.L. — People in a Newfoundland fishing village are mourning the deaths of a couple who were run down as they walked home from a Christmas gathering, allegedly by a relative now facing charges of drunk driving.
A man related to the married couple, Merle and Marilyn Sheppard, said Wednesday that they were walking along the Little Port Road in Lark Harbour when they were struck by a pickup truck after midnight Boxing Day.
Eric Sheppard, who is a distant cousin of the 59-year-old husband, said the man accused in the case is Marilyn Sheppard's brother-in-law and was attending the same party, but is based in Fort McMurray, Alta.
Sheppard said the deaths are being keenly felt throughout the town of about 500 people, where many bear that last name and have a family connection.
"I knew them all my life," he said from his home. "It will have a big effect on the community, a very big effect because everybody knows everyone."
Walter Joyce, 45, appeared in court in Corner Brook on Wednesday and was released to return for another hearing on Jan. 17.
RCMP Cpl. Trevor O'Keefe confirmed that a man who has a family connection to the couple was facing four charges, including two counts of impaired driving causing death, impaired driving and driving while over the legal limit.
Sheppard said they attended the party on Little Port Road and began walking home on the same road, when they were hit not far from their home.
Sheppard, a retired truck driver, said the couple worked in the fishery, going out on their own boat to catch lobster, cod and crab. He said they lived in the town their whole lives and attended the sole local church.
"They were friendly, quiet people minding their own business," he said. "They were nice people."
Deputy Mayor Melanie Joyce said many in Lark Harbour are devastated by the loss of the man and his 51-year-old wife, who she described as kind, well-known and always there to help anyone who needed it.
FUNERAL TO BE HELD SATURDAY FOR COUPLE STRUCK AND KILLED BY ALLEGED DRUNK DRIVER
A funeral service will be held Saturday for a couple who were run down by an alleged drunk driver as they walked home from a Christmas gathering in western Newfoundland.
Merle and Marilyn Sheppard were heading home along the Little Port Road in Lark Harbour after midnight Boxing Day when they were struck by a pickup truck, allegedly driven by her brother-in-law.
The man accused in the case, Walter Alfred Joyce, is reportedly married to Marilyn Sheppard's sister and was attending the same party, but is based in Fort McMurray, Alta.
The 45-year-old appeared in court in Corner Brook on Wednesday and was released to return for another hearing on Jan. 17.
Obituaries say a service will be held for the couple, who were both in their 50s, at St. James Anglican Church in Lark Harbour on Saturday.
Eric Sheppard, a relative, said the deaths were being keenly felt in the town of about 500 people, where many bear that last name and have a family connection.
He said the couple worked in the fishery and lived in the town their whole lives, attending the sole local church where they will be buried.
