Dennis Oland leaves the Saint John Law Courts with his family on July 19, 2019, after being found not guilty in the 2011 death of his father. (Kevin Worrell/Wave News)
Dennis Oland has been found not guilty of second-degree murder in the death of his father more than eight years ago.
Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Terrence Morrison delivered his verdict in a Saint John courtroom Friday morning.
“I am not satisfied the Crown has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that it was Dennis Oland who killed Richard Oland,” said Morrison in his oral verdict, which took about 15 minutes to deliver.
Morrison said the Crown failed to establish a motive for Dennis in the murder and there were “too many missing puzzle pieces” to find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Crown’s Case
Richard’s body was found in his Canterbury Street office in uptown Saint John on the morning of July 7, 2011.
The Crown argued Dennis had a deeply troubled relationship with his Richard and harboured resentment against him over his father’s extra-marital affair with Diana Sedlacek.
Because Dennis was in such dire financial straits, they said, he went to his father’s office on July 6, 2011, to ask for help, but was refused.
“Fueled by the troubled relationship and resentment over the affair, the Crown says his father’s refusal of financial help sent Dennis Oland into a murderous rage,” Morrison said.
The judge said the Crown’s case relies on two primary pillars: the discovery of blood and Richard’s DNA on the brown sports jacket Dennis wore to his father’s office, and the time of Richard’s death.
"There is no doubt that Richard Oland was murdered," says Morrison, but the Crown needs to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Dennis was the murderer.
Before he can find Dennis Oland guilty, he needs to be sure that is was Dennis who dealt the blows that killed Richard Oland.
— Danielle McCreadie (@danimccreadie) July 19, 2019
An examination of the jacket found four stains on the outside which were later confirmed to be blood.
Investigators also found reddish stains on the inside of both the right and left cuffs.
The Crown argued the blood was the result of spatter from the crime scene but the defence contends the killer would have had significant blood spatter on them.
“They say that the small number and size of the stains found on the brown jacket is inconsistent with it having been worn at the bloody crime scene,” Morrison said.
“While the presence of his father’s blood on the brown jacket could be indicative of the accused’s presence during the murder, the small number and size of the blood stains on the jacket is inconsistent with the bloody crime scene and no possible explanation for the lack of blood has been demonstrated.”
Time Of Death
Dennis made three visits to his father’s office between 5:45 p.m. and 6:36 p.m. and was the last known person to see him alive, the Crown argued.
“According to the Crown, this evidence demonstrates that Dennis Oland had the exclusive opportunity to kill Richard Oland,” Morrison said.
The Crown presented evidence which showed no human interaction on Richard’s computers after 5:39 p.m., that Richard’s iPhone connected to a cell tower in Rothesay area at about the same time Dennis was there, and that all phones calls sent to the iPhone went to voicemail after 6:44 p.m.
But the defence argued the evidence of computer usage, as well as the cell phone evidence, is inconclusive.
They also pointed to the evidence of Anthony Shaw and the sworn KGB statement of John Ainsworth, who were working at Printing Plus below Richard’s office, who said they heard noises between 7:30 and 7:45 p.m. — at the same time Dennis was captured on surveillance video in Rothesay.
Morrison said although Shaw’s evidence was credible and reliable, he was unsure as to whether or not it should be accepted.
“The digital, cell phone and other evidence inconsistent with Mr. Shaw’s time estimate prevents me from conclusively determining Richard Oland’s death in accordance with Mr. Shaw’s estimate,” he said.
“In short, I have a reasonable doubt as to whether Richard Oland was killed prior to 6:44 p.m. or when Mr. Shaw says he heard the murder at 7:30 p.m.”
Dennis’ Testimony
Morrison said there is “much to implicate Dennis” in his father’s murder, citing several reasons:
- He was the last known person to see his father alive on July 6.
- The brown jacket he wore during that visit was found to have his father’s blood and DNA on it.
- When interviewed by police, he told them he was wearing another jacket.
- The brown jacket was dry-cleaned the morning after that “untrue” statement.
- Richard Oland’s iPhone was the only item missing from the crime scene and it happened to connect to a cell tower in the Rothesay area at around the same time Dennis was in the same general area 10 minutes after leaving his father’s office.
“In my assessment of the evidence, I identified some frailties in Dennis Oland’s testimony. In light of those, and the evidence as a whole, I cannot accept outright the accused’s denial of guilt,” Morrison said.
“However, I am not confident that I can accept the Crown’s version of events.”
No Decision On Appeal: Crown
Crown prosecutors issued a brief statement to reporters following Friday morning’s ruling.
“No decision has been made if an appeal will be lodged since Public Prosecution Services needs to carefully study and review Mr. Justice Morrison’s reasons for judgment,” read the statement.
Public Prosecution Services has 30 days to file an appeal if they choose to do so.
They said no other comments will be made at this time.
