As the investigation continues, more information is coming to light on Joseph Batten, who was killed early Saturday after a Christmas party in Cambridge, Ont.
Batten is being remembered as a gifted athlete, even as police continue to search for people of interest in the incident.
In fact, the 22-year-old was training to compete in martial arts, and if not for an injury might not have even been at the party.
Batten was skilled in judo, and was being trained by his father, once a member of the national team.
Wayne Erdman, a former national team coach and a long-time friend of the Batten family, is still stunned at what happened.
"I've known Joey since he was born and he was a real likeable young man. He was very athletic and very friendly and outgoing and it's just hard to believe what happened to him."
Batten died early Saturday after a scuffle outside a Masonic Temple in Cambridge.
Ken Mohan of the Masonic Temple says "To the best of my knowledge, what I was told, the place was rented to some group that was apparently having a Christmas party and some altercation went down."
Waterloo Region police are describing the incident as an altercation, not a fight, and they say there was a large group of people in the parking lot when it happened.
They continue to collect statements and have received some tips as they try to sort out what happened, and what may have led up to the incident.
Waterloo Regional Police Insp. Greg Lamport says they're looking for a vehicle and some people of interest.
"So we've put out the dark-coloured vehicle they were seen leaving in and it was two white males, one black male and two white females all in their late teens to early 20s."
Erdman says it wasn't in Batten's nature to start a fight and that he was nursing an injury from training for a jiu-jitsu competition.
"He had a shoulder injury and he would have been at BJJ (Brazilian jiu-jitsu) practice that night had it not been for the shoulder injury."
An injury that could have put Batten at a disadvantage in an altercation.
