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By The Canadian Press
Published: December 04, 2008 8:44 AM
Updated: December 04, 2008 8:07 PM
EDSON — A man accused of murdering a 14-year-old girl as she walked along a path once discovered another woman’s body on a different path system, says the man’s former boss.
John Begg told CTV Edmonton that Ross Edward Kleman discovered a woman’s mutilated human body on a different path near the Edson airport in 2002.
Police later identified the dead woman as Margaret Findlay, and no charges have been laid in her death.
“He stumbled on to it when he was walking the trails and he was very disturbed,” Begg said.
“He told us he went and got the police and they went to see. He was very, very upset.”
No charges have been laid in Findlay’s death.
Kleman, 43, of Edson is charged with first-degree murder and has been remanded in custody until his first court appearance on Dec. 16.
Emily Stauffer, 14, was killed on the afternoon of Sept. 27 on a wooded path near a residential area. She was the daughter of a local Baptist pastor.
Begg, who employed Kleman for more than a decade, said his friend is the “last person” who could ever hurt another human being.
“As a matter of fact I phoned the RCMP at midnight and said, ’Are you sure? Are you sure?”’ Begg said.
Pastor Jim Findlay, cousin of Margaret Findlay, said he considers Kleman a son and allowed him to live in his home for years.
“I don’t believe it, I just don’t believe them,” he said.
CTV also reported friends say Kleman has told them he was recently diagnosed with a number of tumours in his body including his head and lungs.
RCMP spokesman Cpl. Wayne Oakes said it’s not clear whether the Stauffer family knows the accused.
“I don’t believe there were any close ties between Mr. Kleman and the Stauffer family,” Oakes said Thursday in Edmonton. “That point is really as yet an unknown.”
Media reports said the man who was arrested had worked as an equipment operator for the town, was married and worked odd jobs.
A Facebook profile under Kleman’s name lists “church-going” as one of his favourite activities, along with hiking and fishing.
Oakes said Kleman was apprehended without incident. More than 40 Mounties had been scouring the area for a suspect.
