Richard Oland's last computer use focus of son's murder trial

Dennis Oland's defence team spent Monday attempting to dismiss the significance of the Crown's evidence that human activity on Richard Oland's office computer stopped minutes after his son came to visit him on the day police believe he was killed.

Forensic computer expert Geoffrey Fellows testified that Richard Oland could have been using his computer "for hours" after Dennis Oland left his office on July 6, 2011.

Although the last trace of human interaction with the victim's computer was at 5:39 p.m., there are several computer activities that can't be detected, said Fellows, who travelled from the United Kingdom to testify.

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Richard Oland's bludgeoned body was discovered lying face down in a pool of blood in his investment firm office the following morning. The 69-year-old prominent businessman had suffered 45 blunt and sharp force injuries to his head, neck and hands.

Dennis Oland, 47, who was the last person to see his father alive, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and is standing trial before a judge and jury in the Court of Queen's Bench in Saint John.

Oland told police he went to visit his father at his office around 5:30 p.m. on the night in question, and left around 6:30 p.m.

The victim's computers were still running when his body was found, the trial has heard.

Fellows found the last human activity on the victim's main computer was opening a yachting website about the Southern Ocean Racing Conference.

Reading a static website does not leave any traces, provided the user doesn't change the page, Fellows said under questioning by defence lawyer Alan Gold. It could have been open for "10 to 12 hours," with no way to know, he said.

Other activities, such as closing a browser or a document, are also generally undetectable, said Fellows, who was deemed an expert by the court, qualified to give opinion evidence in the forensic analysis of computers, as well as the recovery and interpretation of digital data.

The defence also asked Fellows to analyze Richard Oland's computer usage history for previous days to determine how unusual it was for human activity to stop around 5:39 p.m.

The Crown has tried to suggest it "somehow proves something you are to consider important and significant," defence lawyer Gary Miller had said to the jury last week during his opening statement.

"But how can you do that unless you check the computer evidence to see what he did on previous days?"

Fellows looked at June 13-17, 2011, and found human activity on all three of Oland's office computers on those days ended between 3:05 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Web page open 'for hours' or '1 second'

Under cross-examination by Crown prosecutor Derek Weaver, Fellows agreed that while the yachting web page could have been open "for hours," it could have also been open for only "one second."

Fellows also agreed that it wasn't a very "content heavy" web page and to "read it once wouldn't take very long."

The web browser was closed by the time Richard Oland's body was discovered. Fellows could not say when it was closed, only that it was "at some point" prior to police taking a screen shot of the computer.

Weaver asked whether it was true that all three computers had been used frequently throughout the day, up to that point. Yes, replied Fellows.

Weaver also challenged Fellows' statement about the number of human activities on computers that don't leave traces, arguing they are limited.

Some of the more common types of human activities, such as opening a web browser, web page or an email, or updating, saving or deleting a document, for example, can be detected, submitted Weaver. Fellows agreed.

As to Richard Oland's prior computer history, Weaver asked Fellows whether the data he used in his analysis is frequently unreliable. Fellows said it is because it is constantly being altered and overwritten.

So you can't say for certain what occurred on those days? asked Weaver. Correct, said Fellows.

The trial is in recess until Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.

Dennis Oland will testify in his own defence in the days to come, his lawyers have said. His mother, wife, sister, uncle and a friend will also testify on his behalf.

The trial is scheduled to run until Dec. 18.