Violent death 2 months after assault charge
William Conway facing other outstanding court charges
A St. John's man who allegedly assaulted a woman in August has been charged with her death.
William Conway, 50, was arrested on Thursday, in connection with the sudden death of Veronica Lewis, 57, in Airport Heights early that morning.
Lewis was found dead on Firdale Drive shortly before 1:30 a.m.
Conway was behind the wheel of the vehicle that struck Lewis. He then fled the scene.
He was scheduled to appear in provincial court in December on the assault charges.
RNC canvas neighbourhood
After the body was discovered, Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officers canvassed the neighbourhood, in hopes of locating witnesses.
Ray Walsh heard the commotion outside his home on Firdale Drive.
"I just woke up at two o'clock in the morning, and was alarmed at the number of police lights that were on the go," said Walsh.
"I looked out through the window and I think there was six or seven police cars out there. Two cars had the road blocked here, and a number of them had the road blocked below."
Walsh said he could make out the shape of a lifeless body, across the street from his home.
"It looked like something lying in the street, which I assumed to be a body … it had been covered up."
Walsh added that Thursday's incident wasn't the first time he's seen police on the street.
"Every now and then you see a car parked on the corner down there, or parked half way down the street."
In a news conference on Thursday afternoon, Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Cst. Talia Murphy said that the accused and the deceased had been in a relationship.
"It's believed that an argument or altercation may have occurred between the two individuals, and then it was reported that the female was located in the roadway, deceased."
Conway has a criminal history from the late 1980s and early 1990s of assault and possession of stolen property.
He also faces one count of leaving the scene of an accident in February.
Major crime investigators continue to work with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to determine the cause of death.