Police have identified a man whose burnt remains were found at a Nova Scotia park on New Year’s Day.
Investigators have confirmed that 26-year-old Matthew Anthony Penney of Dartmouth was the victim of a homicide.
Police say a man was walking his dog at the Oakfield Provincial Park in Grand Lake when he spotted Penney’s remains on Wednesday.
An autopsy has been conducted, but police have not released the cause of death. Investigators say they are trying to piece together a timeline.
“What was his last few days, moments, put that all together, along with a history to help the investigators,” says RCMP Cpl. Scott MacRae.
Investigators aren’t saying whether Penny was killed at the park, or whether he was killed elsewhere.
“It sounds like we’re holding a lot of information. That’s common for the police in serious incidents to allow investigators to get that foothold or move the investigation along,” says MacRae.
Court documents indicate Penney was sentenced to four months in jail last January for charges including assault. According to the documents, a Dartmouth apartment was his last known address but the phone number for the Penney listed has since been disconnected.
Someone who lives in the building told CTV News Penney moved out a few months ago.
MacRae says anyone with information about Penney or his murder should contact police.
“It might be just that one little piece that helps solve these things and we want to answer that question, two questions, what happened and why did it happen?”
With files from CTV Atlantic's Jacqueline Foster
