Stratford man accused of 2nd-degree murder and making gun in death of woman

Kassidy Ballantyne-Holmes is being remembered as a kind and warm person by family members, and through social media posts by friends and acquaintances. (Submitted - image credit)
Kassidy Ballantyne-Holmes is being remembered as a kind and warm person by family members, and through social media posts by friends and acquaintances. (Submitted - image credit)

A Stratford, Ont., man faces four charges related to a homicide investigation that police say left Kassidy Ballantyne-Holmes dead from a gunshot wound on Tuesday.

Court documents obtained by CBC News show Keith Daniel Savile is charged with second-degree murder, two firearm infractions, and manufacturing a firearm.

Stratford police said they were called around 5 a.m. to a home on Ontario Street. There, officers said they found Ballantyne-Holmes, 35, unresponsive and suffering from a gunshot wound inside the house.

She was taken to Stratford General Hospital, where she died from her injury.

Savile, 41, was arrested inside the home and later charged. Police said a bail hearing is scheduled for Savile in Stratford on Thursday.

Stratford police were called to this home on Ontario Street on Oct. 15, 2024 where they found a woman with a gun shot. Kassidy Ballantyne-Holmes later died in hospital.
Stratford police were called to this home on Ontario Street on Oct. 15, 2024 where they found a woman with a gun shot. Kassidy Ballantyne-Holmes later died in hospital.

Stratford police were called to this home on Ontario Street on Oct. 15, 2024 where they found a woman with a gun shot. Kassidy Ballantyne-Holmes later died in hospital. (Alessio Donnini/ CBC News)

Neighbours, family reeling

Melissa Paluch, who lived with the accused, said she was home when she heard a gunshot go off. She called it the single scariest thing she's witnessed.

Paluch said she didn't know the victim well, but cared for her.

"She was a good girl. I would never wish that upon anybody. When she came over she was happy. She had a good soul in her," Paluch said, adding that Ballantyne-Holmes was a mother of young children.

"[This has] put a lot of turmoil and damage on everybody around us. I feel for [the victim's family]. I feel for everybody."

Neighbours in the quiet Stratford neighbourhood where a woman was fatally shot said they were appalled to hear the news.
Neighbours in the quiet Stratford neighbourhood where a woman was fatally shot said they were appalled to hear the news.

Neighbours in the quiet Stratford neighbourhood where a woman was fatally shot said they were appalled to hear the news. (Alessio Donnini/CBC News)

Paluch said she knew Savile well, but he often kept to himself. She said he was not in a relationship with the victim, but the two were acquaintances.

"He kept everything very secretive," she said.

In the hours after her death, family members and friends of Ballantyne-Holmes spoke out on social media to express their pain in the loss of their loved one.

Property records show the house in which the shooting occurred is owned by Savile's family.

Police said the incident was isolated and there is no risk to public safety.