PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Dennis Oland has been found not guilty of second-degree murder in the 2011 bludgeoning death of his multi-millionaire father, Richard. Justice Terrence Morrison of the New Brunswick Court of Queen’s Bench delivered his decision Friday to a packed courtroom in Saint John, N.B. Morrison said there were too many missing pieces of the puzzle to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. “More than suspicion is needed to convict a person of murder,” he said."
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STORY: "Updated: In retrial, Dennis Oland found not guilty of father’s 2011 murder." Oland, 51, was convicted of murder by a jury in 2015, but the verdict was set aside on appeal and a new trial was ordered," by reporter Chris Morris, published by The Canadian Press on July 19, 2019.
GIST: Dennis Oland has been found not guilty of
second-degree murder in the 2011 bludgeoning death of his
multi-millionaire father, Richard. Justice Terrence Morrison of
the New Brunswick Court of Queen’s Bench delivered his decision Friday
to a packed courtroom in Saint John, N.B. Morrison said there were too many missing pieces of the puzzle to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. “More than suspicion is needed to convict a person of murder,” he said....It was in one of those companies, the
investment firm Far End Corp., that the 69-year-old was bludgeoned to
death sometime during the night of July 6, 2011. His body was found by
his assistant the next morning. He had been beaten to death with a
weapon that was never found. From the start, Dennis Oland insisted
he had nothing to do with his father’s death. But he was the one and
only suspect for the Saint John Police Department from the day the body
was found. He is the last known person to have seen his father alive... The conduct of the Saint
John Police Department was central to the defence strategy in both
trials. Without a jury in the second trial, defence lawyers had tough
questions for police officers who took the stand and often admitted to
not being as careful as they should have been in protecting the crime
scene. Defence lawyer Mike Lacy said so many officers, both senior
and junior, visited the bloody scene, it was like “a tourist
attraction.” Gold also raised the issue of “confirmation bias” or
tunnel vision in the police investigation. He argued that Saint John
police decided early that Oland was the killer and they discounted any
evidence that may have pointed in another direction."
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/breaking-in-retrial-dennis-oland-found-not-guilty-of-fathers-2011-murder
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
