Dennis Oland preliminary inquiry date on murder charge delayed

A date for a preliminary inquiry for DennisOland, who is accused of killing his father, will not be set until early next year.

Olandmade a brief appearance in Saint John provincial court on Tuesday, just one day after being released from custody.

He arrived holding hands with his wife, Lisa Oland, andsat in the front row besidehis mother, Connie Oland,andabout five other supporters.

A hearing date was expected to be set, but defence lawyer Gary Miller requested an adjournment until Jan. 21 at 9:30 a.m. The Crown agreed.

Oland, 45, is charged withsecond-degree murder in the death ofhis father, prominent businessmanRichardOland, more than two years ago.

A preliminary inquiry will determineif there's enough evidence to proceedto a trial.

Outside the courthouse, Miller said the defence only received the disclosure file on Monday "and it's voluminous."

"Theyve had almost two and a half years with it, with all kinds of Crowns and all kinds of cops.And its only fair that we have the time toreview it and read this material before we decide how much time were going toneed for a preliminary andall of that," said Miller.

"This is not unusual," he said. "It wouldnt make sense to set a date now when you don't even know what youre talking about."

Oland, who spent six nights in jail, was granted bail on Monday by Court of Queen's Bench Justice Hugh McLellanon a $50,000 surety.

He was also ordered to surrender his passport, maintain his residence at 58 Gondola Point Rd., in Rothesay, advise Saint John police of any change in his address, and advise police of any travel outside of New Brunswick.

There is a publication ban on the evidence presented and reasons given during the bail hearing, which lasted about 3 hours.

Asked how his client is feeling after his release, whether he is relieved, Miller replied: "Ill let you answer the obvious."

RichardOland, 69, was found dead in his uptown office on July 7, 2011.

DennisOland, a stockbroker and investment adviser, was arrested last Tuesday and charged on Wednesday.

He has not yet entered a plea.

"A plea gets entered when youre before the court thats going to try you," said Miller,who is working with high-profileToronto lawyer Alan Gold on the case, but was alone in court on Tuesday.

"In this case, if hes ordered to stand trial, that would be before the jury," Miller said.

If the case does goto trial and the Crown proves beyond a reasonable doubt that Olandis guilty,he wouldfacea minimum sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years.