Justice for Justine: Investigation 'very active' in hit and run
From Charlottesville, the path to Barboursville is picturesque. Along Route 20 North, leading into the small town best known for its ruins and eponymous winery, white split rail fences run for miles beside verdant fields backed by rolling mountains. Secondary roads meander past horses, ponds, and century-old houses. But though the roads can be a driver's delight during the day, they are also narrow, winding, and, in the middle of the night, dark and lonely. Taylorsville Road is such a place.
Taylorsville Road curves west through woods for less than a mile, past a sprinkling of modest houses and trailers in various states of repair, before reaching the Greene County line. On November 3, 2006, sometime close to 1:40am, the body of a young woman was discovered along the Orange County portion of this road, the apparent victim of a hit and run.
Her husband– the closest thing to a witness so far– says her car had broken down and she'd called him to come pick her up. When he arrived, he says, he discovered her body in the road and called 911.
In the wake of their daughter's November 3, 2006 death, Steve and Heidi Swartz offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people involved in a hit and run on Taylorsville Road in Barboursville that killed their daughter, Justine Swartz Abshire. In May, with no arrest in the case, the Swartzes increased that reward to $50,000 and released this statement:
"We are confident the police will find out the truth about Justine's death. We are offering the $50,000 reward because we believe doing so will hasten the process. We believe there are people in the community who know something but have not yet shared it with the police, and others who have shared only a fraction of what they know. We also believe there are still others who are in a position to obtain information about Justine’s death. Sooner or later, those who know the truth will be compelled to speak. The sooner they do so, the better off they and everyone else involved in this tragedy will be. The $50,000 reward is simply one more reason to do the right thing sooner rather than later."
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