With former reporting scientist for the RCMP forensic laboratory in Halifax Joy Kearsey on the witness stand, the second-degree murder trial of Dennis Oland hearing about test results of various exhibits, including the brown jacket seized from Dennis Oland’s home in Rothesay.
The jury hearing of five areas on the brown jacket where the DNA profile found matched that of Richard Oland: the outside right sleeve, the outside upper left chest, two sections of the inside right cuff, the inside left cuff, and the outside back bottom centre. Of those, three were confirmed to be blood: the outside right sleeve, the outside upper left chest and the outside back bottom centre.
The brown jacket was seized on July 14, 2011, one week after Richard Oland’s body was discovered face down in a pool of blood in his investment firm office at 52 Canterbury Street in Saint John. There was a dry cleaning tag attached to that jacket.
The trial also hearing that the hairs found in between Richard Oland’s fingers at the autopsy were unsuitable for nuclear DNA analysis. Kearsey explaining that for the sample to be suitable for hair it requires a root because the root has cellular material.
The prosecution has stated that four areas of blood were found on the brown jacket with the DNA profile matching Richard Oland. It should be noted, however, that Kearsey has not yet finished her testimony.
CHSJ News reporter Laura Lyall is covering the Dennis Oland trial and is live-tweeting from the courtroom. You can follow along on the CHSJ News Twitter page or the Wave News Twitter page.
