Douglas Garland triple-murder trial hears dentist believes tooth found in ashes

A small tooth found after investigators spent 10 months sifting through barrels of ashes collected from the farm where triple-murder suspect Douglas Garland lived is "very likely" a baby tooth from a child, a forensic dentist told jurors in Calgary on Thursday.

Garland, 57,is being tried in Court of Queen's Bench in Calgary on three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths ofNathan O'Brien, 5, AlvinLiknes, 66, and KathyLiknes, 53.

The child and his grandparents were last seen alive at the homein the southwest Calgary neighbourhood ofParkhillon June 29, 2014.

The forensic dentist, Dr. Bill Blair, testified Thursday he was asked by police to examine the dental evidence collected during the investigation.

The evidence includedtwo teeth discovered in theLikneshome, the small tooth, and fragments of teeth found in the ashes from the farm north of Calgarywhere Garland lived with his elderly parents.

Using an X-ray, Blair determined there were four possible samples of teeth from the packets of incineratedmaterial he'd received,including the one believed to be a baby tooth.

Theboy would havebeen in the age range to have a lower molar like the one found in the ashes, Blair testified.

One of two teeth found on the floor of the Liknes's bloodstained home, where the victims were last seen, "had some consistencieswith Alvin Liknes," according to the dentist.

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The bodies of the boy and hisgrandparentshave never been found. It is the Crown's theory that they were killed on the farm and burned.

Jurors have already heard evidence that bone fragments were found also in the ashes.

KathyMcCaw, a forensic video analyst for the Calgary police, was called as the prosecution's second witness on Thursday.

She was tasked with reviewingCCTVfootage from several locations alongMacleodTrailfrom June 30, 2014 the day the family members were discovered missing.

McCawcompared photos of Garland'struckwith CCTV images of a green truck near the Liknes's home, citing numerous similarities.

On June30, CCTVfootage from various locations captured three sightings of the truck ataround 3:30 a.m., 5a.m. and 7:30 a.m.

Images taken around 5a.m. near the victims' home show something in the bed of the pickup truck, but by 7:30 a.m., the box was empty.

Two weeks after themassivesearch for Nathan and his grandparents began, Garland was arrested and charged with their murders on July 15, 2014.

Garland is connected to theLiknesfamily through his sister,Patti Garland, who was in a common-law relationship with AlvinLiknes'sson, Allen.

Patti Garland, her parents and AllenLiknes all testified earlier in the trial that Garland harboured a grudge against AlvinLiknesafter a business relationship soured years earlier.

Through what prosecutors VickiFaulkner and Shane Parker have described as "dumb luck," a mapping plane that flew over the Garland property on July 1 and 2, 2014,took photographs that show what the Crown believes to be three bodies in the grass of two adults and a child.

Those photos are expected to be presented to jurors on Monday when the trial resumes.

• Investigators collected teeth, bone and bloody bedding, court hears during Garland trial
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• Jewelry and a piece of a shackle found in burn barrel, Garland trial hears
• Trial hears cadaver dog indicated human remains found in several spots on farm
• Garland had book on how to dispose of dead bodies
• Bloody footprints 'correspond' with shoes missing from Garland's home, trial hears

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