Oland killed his father ‘in a rage’: prosecutor
Defence argues circumstantial case is missing pieces
Prosecutors say Dennis Oland was deeply in debt as he turned to his very rich father for help and then bludgeoned him to death “in a rage” when he was refused.
The Crown was the first to present its opening statement Wednesday as the retrial of Dennis Oland for the second degree murder of his father, Richard Oland, finally began before Justice Terrence Morrison of the Court of Queen’s Bench.
“The evidence will support, beyond reasonable doubt, that Dennis Oland killed his father,” Crown prosecutor Jill Knee told the Saint John court.
The defence argument was equally dramatic, insisting the circumstantial case is like a jigsaw puzzle but the prosecution is missing pieces and the ones it has do not all fit.
The court was shown security camera footage from the evening of July 6, 2011 — the day Richard Oland was killed — that shows a calm and collected Dennis Oland shopping with family members.
“Would even a professional killer be so calm and normal after such a brutal, bloody, bashing murder?” asked defence lawyer Alan Gold.
Richard Oland, 69, a Saint John businessman and member of the prominent Maritime beer-brewing family, was struck 45 times, mostly on the head, with a weapon that has never been identified or found.
He was found lying in a pool of blood in his Saint John office on the morning of July 7, 2011.
The prosecution told the court Richard Oland was worth over $30 million when he died. His only son, Dennis, was deeply in debt and “living on the edge financially.”
He is the last known person to have seen his father alive.
The retrial of Dennis Oland, 50, a former financial adviser, was ordered in 2016 when the New Brunswick Court of Appeal overturned his conviction following a jury trial in 2015.
On Tuesday, a mistrial was declared in the second jury trial because of irregularities in jury selection and the trial now is proceeding by judge alone.
So, for the third time in his life, Oland was arraigned for the murder of his father Wednesday and pleaded not guilty. Gold said that Dennis will be testifying in his own defence during the trial.
Knee touched on several key elements of the prosecution’s case, including outlining a financial motive for the killing.
She also said the relationship between father and son was “strained” but Gold said that was a description provided by police, not by Dennis.