Update on John McKendy

FREDERICTON - Police recovered a body Saturday they believe is that of a man wanted on a Canada-wide warrant in the killing of St. Thomas University professor John McKendy.

John McKendy, a 60-year-old sociology professor at St. Thomas University is shown in this undated photo from the university's website.

RCMP said they received a call just before 11:30 a.m. after the body of a man was discovered inside a car at a hotel parking lot in Moncton, N.B.

"We were alerted by someone in the region who called the RCMP in Moncton. We dispatched officers and discovered the body," said RCMP Cpl. Claude Tremblay, at a news conference in Fredericton.

"Police have determined that the car was rented earlier in the week by 27-year old Nicholas Wade Baker."

Police stressed that no positive identification of the body had been made.

They said it was found inside a silver coloured Chrysler with a Nova Scotia plate on it. It was a rental car from a company in Fredericton.

Just prior to the discovery Tremblay said the Mounties had laid a charge of first degree murder against Baker in the killing of McKendy.

The 60-year-old sociology professor's body was discovered in his Douglas, N.B., home early Friday.

Baker was identified as a suspect by police shortly afterward. They said he had no fixed address but had family in South Carolina.

Although police hadn't offered comment on family ties the Globe and Mail reported Saturday that Baker was married to McKendy's daughter and that she was found injured in the home and taken to hospital for treatment.

Canada Border Services were notified and police issued two pictures of the suspect, described as being about five-foot-eight with a slim build.

Despite what appears to be a major break in the case there are still more questions than answers. Police didn't release any further information, including how the man in the car died.

"We're not going to talk about that," said Tremblay. "It doesn't serve any purpose for the investigation, and out of respect for the family, they've gone through enough and don't need to see that."

Meanwhile, investigators still haven't revealed how McKendy was killed.

McKendy, a Quaker, came to the Fredericton school in 1974 and his research focused on social inequality and the sociology of religion and work.

On Saturday, Dawne Clarke, who teaches criminology at Saint Thomas, remembered her friend.

"He was kind and compassionate and gentle," Clarke said. "He never said a harsh word about anyone ever."

Her husband Stephen Pidwysocky, also a Saint Thomas professor, said McKendy was an example to others.

"We always talk about what a kind person or a nice person should be like. He was that, he was just a very nice, kind person," he said.

"John was a person who opposed all forms of violence."

University president Michael W. Higgins said McKendy's commitment to learning was exemplified by his passion for teaching.

Higgins said the campus ministry and grief counsellors would be brought in to provide assistance as needed.

A vigil was planned for Saturday afternoon in the university chapel.

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