Richard Oland survived only 'minutes,' son's murder trial hears

New Brunswick businessman Richard Oland would have survived only "minutes" after being attacked, the pathologist who performed the autopsy testified Tuesday at Dennis Oland's murder retrial in Saint John.

The multimillionaire, Dennis Oland's father, suffered 45 sharp- and blunt-force wounds to his head, neck and hands, Dr. Ather Naseemuddin said.

"These injuries were rapidly fatal," he said, as graphic autopsy photos of the deep gashes were displayed on a large screen, and Oland family members averted their eyes.

Some of the "chop wounds" fractured Oland's skull, exposing his brain. Another part of his skull was caved in.

He was "incapacitated very quickly" and "passed away within a few minutes."

The cause of death was a combination of brain trauma and "extensive" blood loss.

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The pathologist was unable to offer an opinion about the type of weapon used, the courtroom heard.

In some cases, if an alleged weapon is known and brought along to the autopsy, he can compare it to the injuries, he said. But in this case, no weapon was ever found and police only asked him for his opinion several months later.

"It would be conjecture, really, to suggest what caused this."

Naseemuddin did say the majority of the injuries were made by a tool with a sharp edge, while the five blunt-force ones were caused by either a different tool or a second edge on the same tool.

He also noted the blunt-force ones, which were circular and measured between 2.0 and 2.5 centimetres in diameter, also left a cross-hatching pattern in the skin. He had never seen such a pattern before, he said.

During cross-examination, defence lawyer Michael Lacy showed Naseemuddin a photograph of a drywall hammer and asked if that type of tool could have caused the circular injuries with the cross-hatch imprint.

"It is possible," the pathologist replied.

Drywall hammers, also known as drywall hatchets, are hand tools that typically have a bevelled hammer head with a waffle design on one side to nail up gypsum board, and a sharp axe on the other side to score the drywall.

Lacy stressed that police never showed Naseemuddin any tools or photographs of tools to seek his opinion on a possible weapon, pushing the defence's argument the investigation was inadequate.

On redirect by Crown prosecutor Jill Knee, however, the pathologist clarified police did ask "in words, not pictures."

"A similar question was posed to me, but without actually presenting a picture," he said. "The word 'hammer' was used."

Dennis Oland, 50, is being retried for second-degree murder in the bludgeoning death of his father.

He was the last known person to see his father alive during a visit to the elder Oland's office at 52 Canterbury St. on July 6, 2011, from around 5:35 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

The body of the 69-year-old was discovered face down in a pool of blood in his office the next morning, shortly before 9 a.m.

A jury found Oland guilty in December 2015, but the New Brunswick Court of Appeal overturned the conviction in October 2016 and ordered a new trial, citing an error in the trial judge's instructions to the jury.

Earlier in the retrial, the court heard evidence that two men who had been working downstairs from Richard Oland's second-floor office on July 6, 2011, told police they heard "stomp" noises coming from the area around 8 p.m.

The defence contends the noises were of the victim being killed and has submitted security video of the accused across town in Rothesay at 7:38 p.m., shopping with his wife.

Naseemuddin said police asked him about the "survivability" of Oland's injuries because they were trying to determine if an injured Oland could have made the sounds before he died.

He told investigators the notion of Oland moving around or making noises hours after the attack was "beyond a possibility."

Oland had so many injuries, the pathologist numbered them using pieces of medical tape. Even so, he inadvertently counted one wound twice. He initially thought the wound was a laceration and assigned it No. 26 but later realized, when examining the skull, that it was a fracture and assigned it No. 45, he said.

Rapid succession

The defensive-type wounds to Oland's hands likely occurred first, either trying to ward off his attacker and grab the weapon, or reacting to a blow to his head and trying to protect himself, said Naseemuddin. They would not have been rapidly fatal, but would have caused "excruciating pain and a lot of bleeding."

Seven of the lacerations on Oland's head were parallel and closely spaced together, suggesting they were inflicted in rapid succession, he said.

The Crown asked about the most severe injuries being on Oland's left side, possibly laying the groundwork for future arguments about whether the killer was left- or right-handed.

During cross-examination, Naseemuddin acknowledged he could not say if there was more than one assailant or if one or more were left- or right-handed.

The court also heard a small amount of alcohol was found in Oland's urine and none in his blood, which indicates he consumed alcohol several hours prior to his death.

Oland's secretary previously testified he did not leave the office all day, and she did not see him drink any alcohol. He did not keep any alcohol in the office and she left only briefly over the lunch hour that day to pick him up a pizza, she said.

The retrial is scheduled to resume Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. AT with continued testimony from the head of the Saint John Police Force's forensic identification section.

Sgt. Mark Smith was slated to be recalled on Tuesday afternoon, but lead Crown prosecutor P.J. Veniot advised the court he was "seriously under the weather." The defence plans to cross-examine him once the Crown completes its direct examination.

Problems protecting crime scene

During Oland's first trial in 2015, Smith was in the witness box for about six days.

Last week, Smith testified about the challenges he faced protecting the bloody crime scene on Canterbury Street.

He said he conceded when some senior officers "wished to view" the body before he had finished processing the scene, and later had to order two officers to "get out" when they entered without his approval or supervision and without wearing any protective gear.

At least two officers who were guarding the scene used the washroom in the foyer outside the second-storey office before it was tested for forensic evidence. The back door was never tested because someone opened it and contaminated it, the court heard.

The court also heard Friday from Const. Daniel Weber, who was tasked with another officer on July 8, 2011, to search Water and Prince William streets, which run parallel to Canterbury. They were told to look for "anything out of the ordinary," but found no weapon and nothing suspicious, he said.

Report prepared only last month

Weber also participated in the search of Dennis Oland's home and the nearby Renforth Wharf area, the court heard.

Under cross-examination by defence lawyer Michael Lacy, Weber acknowledged he only prepared his report on his involvement in the case last month.

Lacy asked if it's normal police practice not to document events for more than seven years. 

"Normal, no," Weber replied. "However, this situation I was involved in was a search party that had higher authority that I was just working under."

Oland has maintained his innocence from the beginning and members of his extended family have stood by him, including his mother Connie, wife Lisa and uncle Derek Oland, the victim's brother and executive chairperson of Moosehead Breweries Ltd.

The judge-alone retrial began on Nov. 21, after Justice Terrence Morrison declared a mistrial of the jury retrial because a police officer had conducted "improper" background checks on prospective jurors and "irreparably" tainted jury selection.

The retrial is scheduled to last four months.