Kurt Timothy McKechnie was born to parents Joan Dvorachek and William McKechnie in 1963. He was later given two siblings – a sister named Kim, and a brother, Todd, who had his only nephew, Kyle. Kurt was nicknamed “Soldier” amongst his family and friends, the moniker earned for his seventeen years in the Canadian Armed Forces, where he served in Kuwait and France, was part of Desert Storm, and helped bring down the Berlin Wall while stationed in Germany.
Above: Kurt in Kuwait, unknown year.
Despite the legacy that he has left on his country, his family and friends remember him as the fun loving guy who hitch-hiked to concerts in the winter, and loved music. Harold Smith, a life long friend of Kurt’s remembers him at every show he played in his band, standing in the front row, head-banging along. Todd McKechnie remembers his brother throughout their life; fishing, camping, going to concerts. He remembers Kurt as a teenager, excelling in track and field - even participating while stationed overseas - football, and hockey – Kurt was quite the tough guy, but not the type of person to go looking for trouble.
Still, after the end of his military service, like so many other veterans, Kurt fell into substance abuse issues due to his post-traumatic stress disorder. He was prescribed medical marijuana, but had begun to get into things that were harder to/ manage the memories from the war.
Above: Kurt while stationed overseas.
Smith, having not seen Kurt for the last seven years, heard of the rumors after his death. “If that’s what he was into, well, that’s what he was into,” he says. “But the way I look at it is I don’t care who you are or what you’re into, you don’t deserve to get shot and die.”
Which is exactly what happened to Kurt, on January 31st, 2019. Four men broke into his girlfriends’ home and shot him multiple times before fleeing in an SUV that was captured on CCTV footage near the apartment complex where his girlfriend lived on Southwood Drive, Waterloo. The killing seemingly came from no-where, and police initially suspected a botched robbery, but later confirmed that the killing was targeted at Kurt.
Above: Kurt McKechnie
Both Todd and Harold aren’t surprised that it took four men and guns to get the best of him. Kurt was always able to hold his own in a fight, but never liked to fight with weapons. Police say the men that killed him were known to Kurt, which makes sense as to why they had the four of them there the night that he died.
On February 13th, 2019, shortly after the murder, the Waterloo Police released the video showing the SUV parking near Kurt’s girlfriend’s unit. Four men were seen leaving the townhouse just before 6:30am, fleeing the area. Todd questions the video, claiming he saw a longer version showing the four men running into the home, then running back out. A month later, the video disappeared from the cellphones of the people who had it.
Above: The SUV believed to be connected to Kurt's death.
Ten days before Kurt was murdered, someone broke into his apartment while he was away. Police claim that there is no relation to this incident and his death, and that they made an arrest in that case, however the timing of the break in is suspicious. Did the person who broke into Kurt’s apartment know the people who killed him? Is there a link to them that the police are missing? How can the police be certain that the person who broke in is not connected to the people who killed him if they do not know who the people that killed him are? They say that Kurt was targeted, but they don’t know why he was targeted.
For Kurt’s family and friends, the second anniversary of his death was just as painful as the first – a matter made worse by the fact that there is no resolution in his death.
“It’s sad,” Todd says. “You hear stories and no one knows what’s true. I’m just shocked nobody is coming forward.”
For Harold, who last saw Kurt seven years before his death after moving to Calgary, it is especially tough. He never thought that the last time he saw his friend would be outside of a Scotiabank in downtown Preston, where they hugged and chatted for a moment, promising to get together soon, before parting ways.
“Someone knows something."
But instead of coming forward, whoever knows who killed Kurt remains silent, and the police continue to follow up on cases that hold more importance than the death of a veteran who fought for our country and came home damaged.
For further reading on the case, check out these links:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/kurt-mckechnie-homicide-shot-killed-january-2019-cambridge-1.5455873
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/kurt-mckechnie-murder-cambridge-1.5895846
https://www.toronto.com/news-story/10228412-behind-the-crimes-family-friend-seek-answers-in-soldier-s-unsolved-murder/
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/cambridgetimes/obituary.aspx?n=kurt-timothy-mckechnie&pid=194985722
https://globalnews.ca/news/7611848/waterloo-kurt-mckechnie-shooting/
https://globalnews.ca/tag/kurt-mckechnie-murder/
https://twitter.com/WRPSToday/status/1095727417094692864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1095727417094692864%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cambridgetimes.ca%2Fnews-story%2F10228412-behind-the-crimes-family-friend-seek-answers-in-soldier-s-unsolved-murder%2F
And also check out the Facebook group, made to remember Kurt.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/472874156954989
