CLARKWATCH: Follow news and updates regarding sanctions on Mayor Clark.

Mill Street death deemed suspicious, body taken for autopsy

Oct 12, 2017 | 8:54 AM

 

MEDICINE HAT, AB — The discovery of a body in southeastern Medicine Hat has stunned residents who live nearby.

On Wednesday morning, police announced that a body had been found in the area of Mill Street, with the Major Crimes Unit taking charge of the investigation due to the nature of what took place.

While further information from police has not yet been released, a business owner along Mill Street told CHAT News a man who lived in the area had been stabbed.

Darrell Hammel owns a roofing company across the street from where the body was found. On Wednesday morning, his brother had told him there was a large police presence in the area, and he later headed down to his shop to pick up some items.

While he was in the area, he spoke with police officers, who took his information and asked him if he had any surveillance footage of the scene, which he did not. Before he left Mill Street, however, he ran into a man named Joseph Dolan, who said he had found the man’s body.

Hammel told CHAT News Dolan had taken his dog for a walk down at the Sarogota Dog Park that morning and he came across the body at the corner of Smelter Avenue and Mill Street.

According to Dolan, the deceased man had lived in the nearby house on the corner. When Hammel asked him how the man had died, Dolan told him he believed the man had been stabbed. After the conversation, Hammel left the area.

While Hamell couldn’t recall the name of the man who lived in the home, he knew of him in passing.

“He was kind of a quiet guy,” said Hamell.

“We’d see him every once in a while, we’d wave, he’d come over, we’d talk, myself or my brother.”

He believed the man was around 50 to 60 years in age, and had never seen anything suspicious at his property.

“I had never seen anything suspicious happening at this place,” said Hammel.

“The guy took care of his yard, was always doing something. I’m surprised, if it’s him, for sure. I had never seen anything with him, any individuals, or anything over there at his place myself (suspicious).”

Hammel indicated the occurrence would be a shock for the South Flats neighbourhood.

“It’s the kind of neighbourhood where people look out for each other,” said Hamell.

“For all the years we’ve been there, we’ve had one incident with theft in our yard when we didn’t have a fence. We’re not there all the time, but sometimes we’re there and we see people walking their dogs and stuff.”

The Major Crimes Unit has determined that the death of the man is suspicious in nature, and the man’s body has been taken to Calgary for autopsy.

“There’s lots of things that might make something suspicious,” said Inspector Brent Secondiak. “Criminal activity. We’ve been to lots of files that look suspicious initially and it could turn out to be not suspicious. It could be self inflicted injuries, that type of thing.”