There were loud gasps in the N.B. Court of Appeal as the Chief Justice delivered the decision that Dennis Oland’s conviction in the death of his father has been quashed and a new trial has been ordered after three days of appeal.
Late last year a jury found Oland guilty of second-degree murder in the death of his father, high profile businessman and multimillionaire Richard Oland, of the family that owns Moosehead Breweries. His bludgeoned body was found in a pool of blood in his investment firm office in uptown Saint John on July 7, 2011.
A panel of three justices, Chief Justice Ernest Drapeau, Justice Margaret Larlee and Justice Kathleen Quigg heard the appeal.
Drapeau told the courtroom that the trial judge erred in his instructions to the jury when it came to Dennis Oland’s statement to police the day the body was discovered. Oland told them the previous day he had been wearing a navy jacket, when he was actually wearing the brown jacket – a key piece of evidence in the case – which was found to have blood stains on it. This issue, and the idea of a mistake vs a lie, took up much of the appeal.
Because his conviction has been quashed, Oland is again now presumed innocent. A hearing for bail pending trial is being held tomorrow morning. There are no details at this time about the trial, other than the length with Drapeau saying that this new trial would be shorter than the previous trial.
Oland himself was fairly low-key upon hearing word that he would be receiving a new trial, smiling in the prisoner’s box at the back of the courtroom, and exhaling heavily as he exited. His wife, Lisa Oland, and his mother and Richard’s widow, Connie, were both emotional as they sat in the courtroom following word of the new trial. His uncle and the executive chairman of Moosehead Breweries, released a statement following the decision:
Derek Oland statement: I am very pleased the Supreme Court of New Brunswick has granted a retrial for my nephew, Dennis #Oland 1/2
— Laura Lyall (@LauraLyall) October 24, 2016
We continue to believe Dennis is innocent 2/2.
— Laura Lyall (@LauraLyall) October 24, 2016
Oland’s defence lawyer Alan Gold argued during appeal that the guilty verdict was unreasonable, however, the panel maintained it was not and so they would not acquit Oland of second-degree murder. Gold spoke to media following the decision:
We will be in Fredericton for the bail hearing and will be bringing you live coverage on our website and Twitter page.
