Dennis Oland appeals murder conviction, seeks bail

Dennis Olandis appealinghissecond-degree murder conviction in the 2011 death of his father, prominent New Brunswick businessman Richard Oland, and seeking bail, pending the appeal.

His lawyers filed the notice ofappeal and notice of an application for bail with the New Brunswick Court of Appeal in Fredericton on Wednesday.

They are seeking to have the conviction quashed, and either an acquittal entered or a new trial ordered.

"The verdict of guilty of second-degree murder was an unreasonable verdict in law and not one that a reasonable jury, properly instructed, could judicially have arrived at," the documents state.

• Dennis Oland's family offered to post reward to find father's killer

Oland, 47, was found guilty by a jury in Court of Queen's Bench in Saint John on Dec. 19, following 30 hours of deliberations over thecourse offour days.

He is in custody at the Saint John Regional Correctional Centre, according to the documents,and is scheduled to have a sentencing hearing at the Saint John Law Courts buildingon Feb. 11 at 9:30 a.m.

The bludgeoned body of RichardOland, 69, was discovered lying face down in a pool of blood in his Saint John investment firm office on July 7, 2011. The multimillionaire had suffered 45 sharp and blunt force injuries to his head, neck and hands.

Dennis Oland'slawyers cite Court of Queen's Bench Justice John Walsh's"misdirection or non-direction" to the jury, and his decision to admit certain pieces of evidenceas grounds for an appeal.

They contend, for example, that forensicevidence obtained fromOland'sblood-stainedbrown sports jacket a key piece of evidence in the Crown's case should not have been allowed because the search warrant did not authorize the forensictesting.

They also allege that lead Crown prosecutor P.J. Veniot"engaged inspeculation"on several issuesduring his closing address to the jury, including an alleged spontaneous argument Olandhad with his father over money or his father's extramarital affair, "notwithstanding a complete absence of any evidence in support of such extravagant claims," andwithout questioning Olandabout the allegations during cross-examination.

Crown prosecutors could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Crown has15 days to file a notice of cross-appeal.

Would abide by any conditions

Affidavits by Oland, his mother, Constance (Connie) Oland, and his uncle, Derek Oland, have been filed in support of his request forinterim release.

Oland contends he is not a flight risk. He notes he took multiple trips out of the country following his father's slaying and always returned. He also abided by the conditions of his bail while awaiting trial.

"If this honourable court were to release me pending my appeal, I would keep the peace and be of good behaviour and comply with whatever reasonable conditions this honourable court may impose," the affidavit states.

If released,Oland says he would live with his wife, Lisa, at their home in Rothesay, and resume serving as director of his father's three companies.

I further believe that my son respects me and would not do anything to jeopardize my trust in him.- Constance Oland, convicted murderer's mother

His mother says she believes he would fully comply with any conditions if he is released.

"I further believe that my son respects me and would not do anything to jeopardize my trust in him," her sworn affidavit states.

"In the event that I learn that my son has failed to comply with any of the conditions of his release, I will contact the Saint John Police Force and advise them accordingly."

Derek Oland, who isthe executive chairman of Moosehead Breweries, has offered to provide a surety for his nephew again, saying he owns unencumbered assets of at least $1 million.

"I am aware of the responsibilities of being a surety and the potential for forfeiture should Dennis Oland fail to comply with the conditions of his release," the affidavit states.

Derek Oland provided a $50,000 surety inNovember 2013, when his nephewwas released, pending his trial.

The latestbail request is scheduled to be heard at Fredericton's Justice Buildingon Feb. 12 at 10 a.m., the day after thesentencing hearing.

"There will be no further comment at this time," theOlandfamily's lawyer, William Teed, said in an emailedstatement.

Nicole O'Byrne, an associate law professor at the University of New Brunswick, believes the chances of Oland getting bail pending appeal are "very slim."

"The public confidence in the administration of justice would likely be shaken if a convicted murderer were released pending an appeal process," O'Byrne has said.

But it's not without precedent. In a 1998 case in Manitoba,Mohamed Ameerulla Khan, who was found guilty by a jury of two counts of first-degree murder, was granted bail, pending an appeal of his conviction on the charge of murdering his wife and pending a new trial on a charge of murdering his sister.

Largely circumstantial case

The Crown's case against DennisOland was largely circumstantial.

He was the last known person to see his father alive, after attending a meeting at his office the night before.

Oland told police he was wearing a navy blazer when he visited his father that night, but video surveillance and witness testimony showed he was wearing a brown jacket.

A brown Hugo Boss sports jacket seized from his bedroom closet a week later had three smallblood stains on it and the DNA extracted from those areas matched his father's DNA profile.

The estimated probability of selecting an unrelated individual at random from the Canadian Caucasian population with the same DNA profile isone in 20 quintillion, a Crown DNAexpert testified.

No weapon was ever found.

The Crown had suggested Oland's financial problems and his father's extramarital affair were possible motives.

Sentencing suggestions

Second-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence, butparole eligibility can range between 10 and 25 years.

The jury unanimously recommended the minimum 10 years before Oland can become eligiblefor parole, but Justice Walshdoes not have to follow that recommendation.

Walsh ordered a pre-sentence report on Oland, who has three children and a stepson.

Oland'sextended family has stood by him from the beginning, maintaining his innocence.

The trialtook about three months, making it one of the longest criminal trials in New Brunswick history.

Police investigation probed

The New Brunswick Police Commission is now reviewing the Saint John Police Force's handling of the high-profile murder investigation.

Oncecompleted, the results and any recommendations will be sent to the minister of public safety for consideration. No timeline has been indicated.

The inquest was requested by the chair of the Saint John Board of Police Commissionersafter several problems with the four-yearinvestigation were raised during the trial.

The jury heard evidence that police failed to protect the crime scene from possible contamination, used the bathroom located in the foyer outside the victim's office for two days before it was forensically tested and never tested the back door for evidence.

Police also failed to ask the pathologist whether a drywall hammer was a possible weapon.

Theblood-stained brown sports jacket was also handled by the former lead investigator with his bare hands and rolled up into a 30X30-centimetre paper exhibit bag by another officer, the court heard.

The New Brunswick Police Commission is also investigating allegations that Saint John Police Force'sDeputy Chief Glen McCloskeysuggested another officer lie to the court about McCloskey's presence at the crime scene.

McCloskey denied the allegations under oath, but admitted he entered the crime scene twice once to "observe the body" and a second time out of "curiosity."

Saint John police Chief John Bates requested the commission look into the matter.