Douglas Allan MacIsaac, 48, was born in Hazel Hill, Cape Breton but grew up in Germany, the son of a Canadian Armed Forces family. He came to Fredericton in 1965 when his father was stationed at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown and decided to stay in Fredericton when his parents moved to Canso, Nova Scotia. He lived alone, driving for Standard Taxi and pursuing his two passions: golf and harness racing. At about one o'clock in the morning on Friday, November 15, 1996, Standard dispatcher Milton Cogswell sent Mr. MacIsaac to an apartment block at 633 Windsor Avenue, across from the University of New Brunswick Faculty of Engineering. When Mr. MacIsaac failed to answer radio calls by two a.m., Mr. Cogswell became concerned and asked drivers to look for him. They mounted a street-by-street grid search of downtown Fredericton. The search came to an end shortly after three a.m. when a driver noticed Mr. MacIsaac's taxi parked in a long narrow lane near the rear apartment of 262 Charlotte Street. The headlights were on, the engine was running and the driver's door was open. Mr. MacIsaac lay on the ground beside the cab. He was stabbed multiple times, so savagely that the knife blade had broken. It had been a short, five-minute trip from Windsor Street. The fare on the meter was $2.50. Armed with the Windsor Street address, police canvassed the neighbourhood and located the killer's residence two doors from the apartment block. He was arrested at work the same evening. The six foot two, 210 pound 20-year-old had no criminal record. Friends who had known him as quiet and well-liked were shocked at his arrest. The son of a Baptist minister in Pugwash, Nova Scotia, he played in his high school's jazz band and received a scholarship to Royal Miitary College. However he left RMC after one year and was working as a prep cook and dishwasher in a Fredericton restaurant. He was described as "an average employee, no better or worse than any other." The killer pleaded guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole for 14 years. Predictably, Mr. MacIsaac's death provoked discussion of safety measures for taxi drivers. [Next column]

Doug MacIsaac is buried in Fourth Hill Cemetery in Canso, Nova Scotia, with his father and older brother Gerald. Photo by Jody MacKeil . (Source: Find a Grave). "We're feeling unsafe out here," said one. "We need some safety standards; we need some protection." "I know we're all looking over our shoulders," said another. "A lot of us will be asking single passengers to sit up front with us tonight. This has scared a lot of us, especially seeing as it came so soon after another driver was whacked over the head [with a hammer] by two girls and had his cab stolen." "I just missed picking up Doug's last fare," said a Standard Taxi driver. "If I had been just a little faster arriving at my fare's address on Windsor, then I would have gotten the call. It's scary as hell -- any one of us could just as easily have picked up the fare. "And it's not like we haven't had problems in the past. I had one guy reach in from the back seat and try to take my cash one night. I have handcuffs, so I put one on his wrist and the other end on the steering wheel and ran to get the cops. But it scares you, it really does." Also predictably, opinions on safety measures were divided. "I'm not in favour of putting up plexiglass screens -- makes it seem like we're driving down the streets of LA. I think that sends the wrong message out. Really, this is probably just an isolated incident." Mr. MacIsaac's body was taken to Canso for burial in the family plot at Fourth Hill Cemetery. The funeral was held in Canso Baptist Church. At the same time a memorial service was held in Fredericton at Mr. MacIsaac's church, Lower Lincoln Baptist. A procession of cabs from all over New Brunswick drove through the downtown core on their way to the church. Fellow Standard driver and lifelong friend David Boutelier gave one of the eulogies at the memorial service. ""If there's one thing I wish people would keep in mind here, it's that Doug is more than a victim of butchery. He was a real person, a kind-hearted, decent human being who had hopes and dreams, who loved a good poker game, enjoyed golf and enjoyed the ponies. " "I'm still remembering the scrawny little red-haired kid I grew up with when our dads were stationed back in Germany."