Fredericton police investigate discovery of man's body at Wilmot Park as homicide
Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon | CBC News | Posted: April 15, 2020 5:10 PM | Last Updated: April 15, 2020
Victim, in his 20s or 30s, suffered 'significant' injuries
Fredericton police are investigating the discovery of a man's body at Wilmot Park on Wednesday morning as a homicide, the city's first homicide of the year.
The unidentified white man, believed to be in his 20s or 30s, was found lying on the ground in the south side park by a woman out for a walk at around 8:10 a.m., said Fredericton Police Chief Roger Brown.
"It was pretty evident from the onset that it was not self-inflicted, nor was it natural causes," Brown told reporters.
"There were clear injuries observed by the investigators on scene, but that's as far as I can go."
Brown did say that a firearm was not involved.
An autopsy is scheduled to be conducted Thursday at 10 a.m. in Saint John to determine the exact cause of death.
Fingerprints will also be used to determine the victim's identity. He did not have any identification on him when he was found, Brown said. It's unclear whether his wallet might have been stolen.
The park remains closed to visitors as the criminal investigations unit continues to investigate.
"We have some 20 acres of land that we are looking through right now for evidence," including a number of entrances and trails, said Brown.
Part of the park might reopen Wednesday night, he said, but "it will not be released until we are 100 per cent sure that we have combed the area for anything of any evidentiary value that would assist us in bringing this … homicide investigation to a successful conclusion."
York Country Search and Rescue and the Department of Natural Resources K-9 are assisting with the police search.
The COVID-19 physical distancing requirements pose challenges for the investigators, said Brown, but the state of emergency rules keeping people at home could help.
"The fact that there are not a lot of people out and around right now, the crime scene wasn't as contaminated, for lack of a better word, as it would normally have been under normal times," he said.
Police are also hoping someone may have noticed anything unusual in the area between 8 p.m. Tuesday and 8 a.m. Wednesday, when they believe the victim was killed.
Anyone who may have heard or seen anything suspicious, or has any information, is asked to contact the force at 460-2300, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or www.crimenb.ca.
Investigators plan to review any security video footage that might be available from the park or surrounding buildings, said Brown.
"That would be a big part of the investigation going forward to see if indeed there was some footage of the victim prior to and if there were comings and goings after that would be of an assistance," he said
Police cordoned off the park, closed several streets and urged people to avoid the area shortly after responding to reports of an adult male lying on the ground in the park, adjacent to Woodstock Road.
The Fredericton Fire Department and Ambulance New Brunswick also responded to the scene.
The coroner was called in, as well as the police force's forensic identification unit and canine unit.