*UPDATE May 26: On Friday, Edmonton police said charges, including second-degree murder, were withdrawn against 31-year-old Justin Handbury. He was charged in connection with the hit-and-run death of an 18-year-old man on May 22 in the west end. Police said Handbury will remain in custody on unrelated outstanding warrants.*
READ MORE: Charges withdrawn against suspect in hit and run that killed Edmonton teen
Police have released a photo of the man they suspect of running over and killing an Edmonton teen over the long weekend.
Police released the photo on Tuesday evening and said 31-year-old Justin Handbury is wanted on “murder-related warrants” in connection with the death of 18-year-old Jade Belcourt.
Earlier in the day, police said the teen died of his injuries after being hit by a vehicle in the city’s west end on Monday.
The EPS homicide unit is now investigating the death and an autopsy has been scheduled for Wednesday morning.
Police were called to the area of 190 Street and 85 Avenue shortly before noon.
READ MORE: Teenager in critical condition after west Edmonton hit and run
Neighbour and nurse Shirley Henry said she went to the scene of the collision after she heard two people screaming.
“This fella was just prone on the ground, and you just kind of go into nurse action,” Henry said. “He was unconscious. He was bleeding. It looked awful.
“I haven’t seen anything like that, even as a surgical nurse for 40 years.”
The victim’s aunt said she believes the hit and run was a targeted attack. Beth Cork told Global News a person punched her older nephew during an altercation before the crash and then hit her younger nephew, Jade, with a vehicle.
She said she believes the dispute was between the driver and her older nephew. She said Belcourt’s mother was home when he was hit.
“Investigators do not believe this was a random act, as the complainant and suspect were known to one another,” police said in a news release Tuesday evening.
In an email to Global News, Belcourt’s father said “my son was always making people smile and if a person needed anything, if he could, he would give it.”
Below is a photo of Handbury as well as a photo of the vehicle they believe he was driving.
Anyone with information about Monday’s hit and run, Handbury’s whereabouts or the vehicle he was driving is asked to call police at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.
Watch below: A hit-and-run collision in west Edmonton has left an 18-year-old man in critical condition. As Laurel Gregory reports, the victim’s aunt believes the collision was no accident.
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