Slain family’s kin brace for worst

• The family of a slain Calgary couple and their little grandson who died with them expect the trial of their alleged killer to be extremely painful.

In a prepared statement released through the Calgary Police Service, the survivors of Alvin and Kathy Liknes and their five-year-old grandson, Nathan O’Brien, said they hope to find justice in their relatives’ deaths.

Douglas Garland, 56, begins a five- week trial Monday on three charges of firstdegree murder in the trio’s deaths.

“The next five weeks of this trial will be very difficult for us,” the family said.

“We can only hope that at the end of this gruelling time we will find justice for Nathan, Alvin and Kathy.”

The statement said the passage of time hasn’t made their losses any easier. “It has been two- and- a- half years since Nathan, Alvin and Kathy were taken from us,” the family said. “Our pain has not lessened during this time.”

Despite their grief, they said they are thankful that Calgarians and other Canadians have stood behind them. “We are grateful for the overwhelming support we have received from people in Calgary and across the country,” they wrote.

The accused will face a 14- member jury beginning Monday after three women and 11 men were selected Wednesday.

Crown prosecutors Shane Parker and Vicki Faulkner are expected to call about 60 witnesses over the course of the trial, scheduled to last until Feb. 17. Defence lawyers Kim Ross and Jim Lutz have not indicated whether they will be calling evidence. The defence does not have to disclose its intention to call witnesses, or not, until after the Crown closes its case.

Garland was charged shortly after the Likneses and their grandson disappeared from the couple’s Parkhill-area home on June 30, 2014.

Their bodies have never been discovered.