Dennis Oland murder trial sees new Crown prosecutor appointed

The lead Crown prosecutor in the Dennis Olandmurder trial has been replaced, just weeks before thejurytrial is scheduled to start, CBC News has learned.

John Henhefferhas been handling the file since at least November 2013, whenOland was charged with second-degree murderinthe July 2011 death of his father, prominent Saint John businessman Richard Oland.

But Henheffer has had to step aside for personal health reasons, officials from theOffice of the Attorney General said in an emailed statement late Wednesday afternoon.

Retired Crown prosecutorPaul (P.J.)Veniot has taken over, as of Tuesday.

"We can confirm that P.J. Veniot has joined the prosecution's team for the trial ofR v Dennis Oland," the statement said.

"The trial will continue as scheduled."

Jury selection is scheduled to begin on Sept. 8 at Harbour Station. About 3,000 people have received summonses 10 times the normal jury panel.

The trial itselfis slated to start on Sept. 16 and is expected to last 65 days.

Gary Miller, one of Oland's defence lawyers, has previously referred to the Crown's file as "voluminous."

Veniotwon't be alone, however.There aretwo other Crown prosecutors involved Patrick Wilbur and Derek Weaver.

Oland, 46, is accused of killing his father, whose body was discovered in his uptown office on July 7, 2011.

Several pre-trial hearings have been held in recent months, including one on Wednesday,but details about them are subject to a publication ban.

Veteran prosecutor

Veniot, the former senior regional Crown prosecutor for northeastern New Brunswick, has handled other high-profile cases over the years, including the murder trial of Justin Bourque, who went on a shooting rampage in Moncton in June 2014, killing three Mounties and wounding two others.

Bourque, who pleaded guilty to three counts offirst-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder, wassentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 75 yearsthe longest sentence in Canadian history, and the harshest since the death penalty was abolished.

Veniotwas also the Crown prosecutorwho recommended fisheries officers lay charges in2011 against the brother of then-deputy premier Paul Robichaud,despite a directive that the case be dropped.

Veniottestified healso refused a request from the head of enforcement that he find a way to withdraw the charges against Donat Robichaudafter they'd been laid.

Robichaudwound up pleadingguilty in April 2012 to one charge of violating the Aquaculture Act at his oyster farm, was ordered to pay a $480 fine and a 20 per cent victim surcharge.

Veniot also servedas counsel to the coroner during the inquest into the death of Serena Perry.

Perry, 22,wasan involuntary psychiatric patient at the Saint John Regional Hospitalwhen herbody was discovered on Feb. 14, 2012,in the hospital's amphitheatre, which is located in another section of the facility.

No charges were ever laid in the case, but the coroner's jury deemed her death a homicide and made 11 recommendations to help prevent other similar deaths.

Among them was that New Brunswick follow the lead of several other provinces and introduce community treatment order legislation.

Oland continues to live in the community under several conditions, pending his trial. Hisextended family hasstood by him from the beginning, maintaining his innocence.