Face of Nation : Public Prosecution Services will not appeal Dennis Oland’s second-degree murder acquittal in the 2011 bludgeoning death of his father, multimillionaire Richard Oland, in Saint John. The decision, announced on Tuesday, marks the end of a legal saga that spanned eight years, included three trials and cost New Brunswick taxpayers more than $1.5 million.
New Brunswick Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Terrence Morrison found Oland, 51, not guilty on July 19. He said there was “much to implicate” Oland in the brutal killing, but there were “too many missing pieces” in the Crown’s case to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
After careful review of Morrison’s 146-page decision and assessment of “policy and legal considerations,” Public Prosecution Services “has determined that there is no basis upon which the Crown can appeal the acquittal of Dennis Oland,” it said in a statement.
Morrison, they said, was “impacted by the ‘alibi-like’ evidence relating to the ‘guesstimates’ of the time of death of Richard Oland,” when two men heard thumping noises coming from his office. “Consequently, his decision erects a complete barrier to an appeal by the Crown,” according to the statement. “Unlike other pieces of evidence, alibi evidence is determinative in itself of the final issue of guilt or innocence.”
“Morrison’s finding of reasonable doubt related to the alibi-like evidence and the resulting acquittal in this case are unassailable by the Crown.”Oland’s lead defence lawyer, Alan Gold, also said it was the prosecution’s “only possible decision as a matter of law and quite expected.” He described Morrison’s ruling as “legally impeccable.”
“Perhaps now the police investigation to actually solve the case if that is possible will move forward,” the Toronto-based lawyer said in an email. Saint John Police Force Chief Bruce Connell could not immediately be reached for comment. Oland’s three-member defence team argued at trial that police wrongly focused their investigation on him within hours of his father’s body being discovered and demonstrated “tunnel vision.”
