Calgary police: Man charged in Deerfoot Park death

A man has been charged in connection with the death of a Calgary woman at Deerfoot Athletic Park last month.

Fifty-eight-year-old Judy Maerz was found dead near Deerfoot Trail and 16 Avenue NE by a passerby on Feb. 16 just after 10:30 a.m., police say.

Officers say the woman’s body was also set on fire, which they believe was an attempt to cover up the killing.

“This was a very public and extremely disturbing murder,” said S Sgt Sean Gregson at a news conference Thursday afternoon.

“We believe that Judy was picked up and transported over to Deerfoot Athletic Park, where she was ultimately killed.”

Christopher Ward Dunlop, a 48-year-old from Calgary, has since been charged with second-degree murder and indignity to a body.

Police executed a search warrant in a home in Eldorado Place in the city’s northeast, where he was taken into custody.

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This is the second time Dunlop has faced murder charges.

Dunlop pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the 2009 death of 38-year-old Laura Furland. He was sentenced in 2015 to 13 years in prison but given credit for 6.5 years served.

At the time, officers found Furland’s body naked and decomposed in Fish Creek park two weeks after being dumped.

Gregson says Maerz’s death parallels the 2009 killing.

“There are a lot of similarities between those two investigations,” Gregson said.

“They weren’t known to each other, and I think it was an unfortunate circumstance which they met.”

Gregson added that anyone with information surrounding the incident is encouraged to call police at 403-266-1234 or leave a tip anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Dunlop is expected to appear in court on March 6.

— With files from Mark Strashok