Homicide investigation at Fredericton's Wilmot Park continues
Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon | CBC News | Posted: April 16, 2020 9:19 PM | Last Updated: April 16, 2020
Park expected to fully reopen Thursday, no word on identity of man found dead on the ground Wednesday
The homicide investigation at Wilmot Park in Fredericton continued Thursday, but most of the park has reopened to the public, said Fredericton Police Force spokesperson Alycia Bartlett.
Only a small area of the north side of the park, where a man's body was discovered Wednesday morning, near the gazebo, adjacent to Woodstock Road, remains closed, she said.
"We expect that to be cleaned up and released at some point today hopefully," she said in an email.
Police were called to the park on the city's south side on Wednesday at around 8:10 a.m. after a woman out for a walk found an unidentified white man, believed to be in his 20s or 30s, lying on the ground.
"It was pretty evident from the onset that it was not self-inflicted, nor was it natural causes," Chief Roger Brown told reporters on Wednesday. He didn't elaborate but did say a firearm was not involved.
An autopsy was scheduled to be conducted Thursday morning in Saint John to determine the exact cause of death and to hopefully identify the victim.
Bartlett could not immediately confirm whether the autopsy was completed.
Police believe the man was killed sometime between 8 p.m. Tuesday and 8 a.m. Wednesday.
They're asking anyone who may have seen or heard anything suspicious or has any information about the case to contact them at 460-2300, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or www.crimenb.ca.