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.
“There is no doubt that Richard Oland was murdered,” said Morrison in his oral summary, which lasted about 20 minutes.
But Morrison said the Crown needed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Dennis was the murderer.
“There is much to implicate Dennis in this crime,” he said, noting he was the last person to see his father alive on the night of July 6, 2011, the brown jacket he was wearing that night had his father’s DNA on it, and Richard’s iPhone connected to a cell tower in Rothesay, where Dennis was at the time.
But Morrison said the Crown failed to establish a motive for Dennis in this crime and there were “too many missing puzzle pieces” to find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Dennis Oland has been found NOT GUILTY. Morrison says there are too many missing puzzle pieces to paint a picture of a man guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
— Danielle McCreadie💙💜💖 (@danimccreadie) July 19, 2019
Richard’s body was found in his Canterbury Street office in uptown Saint John on the morning of July 7, 2011.
A jury found Dennis guilty of killing his father in December 2015, but the New Brunswick Court of Appeal overturned the conviction and ordered a new trial in October 2016.
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,” said 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.
More to come…
