Waterloo Regional Police say the woman who was found dead in a Kitchener park on Friday was murdered.

She’s been identified as 55-year-old Mary Anne May of Kitchener.

A man walking his dog in a park near Tyson Drive, in the Bridgeport area, found her body near the Grand River just after 7:30 a.m.

Cheryl Suchostowski, May’s friend and neighbour, says she was shocked when she heard the news. “I can’t see that she would ever do anything to anybody that would ever give cause for murder.”

Suchostowski says May had a tough life, but she was always willing to help her friends.

“I was working last Thanksgiving and she felt so bad that I was missing out on my Thanksgiving Day dinner… she made [me] a big turkey dinner.”

Police have not released the cause of May’s death, saying it could compromise the investigation.

A forensics team and detectives searched her Margaret Avenue apartment on Sunday, looking for evidence that could help them identify the person who killed her.

Police are trying to determine May’s last known whereabouts. They’re also asking anyone who was in the Tyson Drive area on Friday morning to contact police at 519-650-8500 ext. 8642 or Crime Stoppers 1-800-222-8477.