Burlington dispatcher fatally shot remembered as selfless, kind woman who loved to help others

Laura Grant is being remembered by those who knew her as a selfless woman and as the type of person who would always be there in times of need.

“She was at the right place at the right time, and if it wasn’t for her our Laura wouldn’t be here today,” explained Burlington resident Cora Selles.

About 10 years ago, her daughter — also named Laura — was training for a triathlon and went into cardiac arrest. Grant happened to be driving by at the time and stopped to give CPR.

Selles said the doctors told the family that if it wasn’t for Grant’s quick thinking, Laura Selles may not have survived.

“The doctors told us that most people don’t survive that kind of cardiac arrest,” Cora added.

Halton Regional Police alleged Grant was killed by her husband. Officers said she was shot at the couple’s home on 2 Side Road in Burlington.

A day after the murder, officers could be seen combing through a vehicle in the driveway.

Meanwhile, a small memorial has formed at the base of the mailbox.

“Very sad, very disturbing,” explained Henry Mallock, a long-time resident in the area who said he didn’t know the couple personally.

Police have arrested and charged 57-year-old Kenneth Soederhuysen with first-degree murder.

Chief Stephen Tanner said the loss is being felt across all emergency services as Grant was a longtime dispatcher at the Mississauga Central Ambulance Communication Centre.

“In Kingston many, many years ago we put up a monument to the victims of domestic homicide and I can see us doing something like that in the future, so that we remember them in a very different way and in a very public way,” added Tanner.

“I think if we reached out to the victims of domestic homicide, for example, we could come up with a way we could recognize and memorialize them in a different way because they were victims of tragedy that never had to happen.”

Anyone with additional information regarding the incident is being asked to call police at 905-825-4776 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.