15 years later, Oland murder remains one of Canada’s most infamous unsolved mysteries

SAINT JOHN • For those who were in the packed, fifth floor courtroom of the Saint John Law Courts on Dec. 19, 2015, it was a scene that cannot be forgotten.

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Dennis Oland, on trial for the second-degree murder of his dad, Richard, stood next to one of his defence lawyers, Gary Miller, and waited for the jury’s verdict. Seated behind him in the public gallery were members of the Oland family who had faithfully attended the 37-day trial in a show of support for Dennis, including his mother Connie – Richard’s widow.

The jury had deliberated for 30 hours and there was a feeling the decision could go either way. The anticipation was high and the tension was almost palpable.

When the guilty verdict was announced, cries and sobs of “No!” filled the courtroom, mostly from Oland’s family. But above those cries was a high-pitched, almost animal-like wailing from Dennis, who collapsed into a chair sobbing as he buried his face in Miller’s legal robes.

Everyone in the room was stunned. The unassuming, seemingly quiet investment adviser and father of three now faced life in prison for the bloody, bludgeoning death of his dad on July 6, 2011.

“Oh no … Oh my God,” Oland wailed repeatedly. “Oh my god … my children.”

Justice John Walsh who presided over the trial referred to the case as “a family tragedy of Shakespearean proportion.”

However, it was far from the last act in the legal drama surrounding the murder of Richard Oland.

Dennis Oland has been a free man since that shocking verdict in 2015 was overturned on appeal in 2016. He was acquitted of the second-degree murder charge in 2019 following a trial before judge alone, back in the same courtroom in Saint John.

Following the second trial, Dennis emerged from the court to a hero’s welcome as friends and supporters cheered him. He said nothing publicly as he left the courthouse, but he was smiling and clearly looked relieved.

Now, on the 15th anniversary of the murder of Richard Oland, there’s reason to look back on a case that left so many questions unanswered about a terrible crime and the pursuit of justice.

It’s important to state that from day one of the police investigation, which began on July 7, 2011, Dennis Oland maintained that he had nothing to do with the violent beating death of his 69-year-old father.

“I’m not that kind of monster,” Dennis answered under oath when asked if he had murdered his father.

It’s also important to note that almost from the start of their investigation, Saint John police viewed Dennis Oland as their prime suspect. The police were under pressure to make an arrest since the Oland family is well known in the Maritimes and the case was the subject of much public speculation.

Nevertheless, the investigation moved slowly. It wasn’t until November 2013, that Dennis Oland was arrested and charged with the second-degree murder of his father, setting up the complex legal battles that followed.

The true horror of the killing – which occurred sometime in the evening or night of July 6 – was revealed at both trials as experts in pathology and forensics testified to a frenzied attack that focused mostly on Richard Oland’s head. In total, there were about 40 wounds to Oland’s head and neck and several to the back of his hands, most likely caused as he tried to protect his head from the repeated blows.

His skull was fractured, and bits of bone and brain tissue were found at the scene along with a great deal of blood that had sprayed in all directions and pooled by the body. The first witnesses in the office said that well before they saw the body lying on the floor, they could smell the pungent odour of blood.

The forensics and pathology experts used photos of Oland’s dead body and illustrations of the murder scene in presenting their evidence, and they were tough to view. It was too much for some members of the Oland family. They would often leave during the most graphic testimony or not attend trial that day.

The violence of the scene turned out to be key for both the prosecution, which argued that Dennis killed his millionaire father in a fit of rage over money issues, and for the defence, which maintained that Richard’s killer would have been covered in blood, far more than the tiny traces found on a blazer Dennis wore.

Although there were some valuables at the scene, nothing was stolen apart from Richard’s cell phone. A murder weapon was never found, but the nature of many of the wounds – round indentations and gashes –suggested both a hammer and a small axe of some sort.

Dennis Oland is the last known person to have seen his father alive. He made three visits to his father’s office on July 6, 2011, roughly between 5:30 and 6:45 p.m. He neglected to mention the third visit during his police statement, but it was part of the evidence at both trials. The Crown argued that Dennis killed his father on the third visit.

The preliminary hearing in the case was held in May 2014, and it was an early indication for those who sat through it that this was not going to be a slam dunk either for the prosecution or the defence. There was a publication ban on its findings until after the first trial.

Judge Ronald LeBlanc, who presided over the hearing, said the Crown failed to prove that Oland had a motive to kill his father. LeBlanc said that although Dennis was in a financial bind and carrying a lot of debt, there was no evidence he asked his father for money. The prosecution thesis was that Richard had refused to give Dennis money, and that was his motive for killing his father in anger.

LeBlanc committed Oland to stand trial on the basis that a jury could conclude Oland killed his father because of certain facts in the case, including traces of his father’s blood on a jacket he initially told police he was not wearing, the time of his visits and the fact that it appears to have been a crime of passion, not a robbery.

Of the two trials, the first was the most dramatic as evidence was revealed and details of the killing were explored in depth. In both trials, the conduct of the police was an important issue, especially the failure of investigators to properly secure the crime scene and to investigate other possible suspects or scenarios.

Dennis Oland was the central, riveting figure during the trials. He was quiet and composed, never acting out or doing anything untoward. Occasionally, during some of the lengthy and often technical testimony, he would look at his cell phone. He was wary with news reporters, but not unfriendly.

On the stand in December, 2015, near the end of the first trial, Oland became emotional as he talked about how much he missed his father despite known strains in the relationship.

“Do you miss him?” he was asked by one of his defence lawyers. “Yeah, yeah,” Oland answered, fighting tears. He said on the day his father was killed, they had enjoyed “a wonderful conversation” about the family’s genealogy.

When Oland was questioned by police shortly after his father’s body was discovered, he said Richard was not “the easiest guy in the world to get along with.” He said they did not have a close relationship.

Following the guilty verdict in 2015, Oland was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years. He would serve only about 10 months before his guilty verdict was overturned on appeal in 2016 and he was released on bail pending a second trial.

The second trial in 2018 got off to a rough start. Justice Terrence Morrison declared a mistrial after a police officer made improper background checks during jury selection. Morrison ruled he would hear the case alone.

While the basic facts in the second trial remained the same, there were some major differences, especially in the way the defence presented its arguments.

Led by Alan Gold, the defence team focused much more aggressively on the actions of the Saint John police, including its belief that investigators had been blinded by tunnel vision in focusing solely on Oland.

The defence introduced a video it had created showing a possible escape route from Richard Oland’s office through a back door that was overlooked by police. There were also more questions about the police failure to properly secure the crime scene. One defence lawyer accused the police of treating the scene “like a tourist attraction.”

Plus there were new questions about the time of the murder. Did it happen before 6:44 p.m. when Dennis was in the office, as the Crown argued, or after 7 p.m. when he was nowhere near the scene? Some witnesses who heard thumping noises coming from the office indicated later times, but there was digital and cell phone evidence that indicated Richard was killed earlier rather than later.

The timing became a matter of reasonable doubt.

Dennis Oland testified for the second time and steadfastly maintained his innocence, this time with less emotion than during his first trial.

“I think it’s important that people hear from my own voice that I did not kill my father,” he said matter-of-factly.

Morrison found Oland not guilty of second-degree murder in July 2019, stating that Crown prosecutors had failed to prove their case against Oland.

“More than suspicion is needed to convict someone of murder,” he said. “In short, I am not satisfied the Crown has proved beyond reasonable doubt that it was Dennis Oland who killed Richard Oland.”

Morrison also said he “cannot accept outright the accused’s denial of guilt.” He said there was evidence that implicated Oland in the crime, including blood stains containing his father’s DNA on the brown jacket he wore the day of the killing.

But he said proof beyond a reasonable doubt is a high legal standard, and he said the Crown failed to reach it.

“I feel very bad that the Olands and Dennis had to endure what was a very punishing eight years – emotionally, financially, on all levels,” Gold said after the second trial. “They had to endure it on the basis of what I think was initially a flawed investigation.”

Gold called on the Saint John police to “reinvigorate” their investigation and “find the real perpetrators of this terrible, terrible crime.”

Following Oland’s acquittal in 2019, the Saint John police made it clear there is no longer an active investigation into the murder of Richard Oland.

“As the court process has run its course, the (Oland) file is no longer an active investigation,” the department said in 2019, adding that it could be reactivated if new evidence ever comes to light. The murder of Richard Oland now stands as one of Canada’s most infamous unsolved mysteries.