Dennis Oland's testimony differs slightly from police interview

Dennis Oland's testimony at his second-degree murder trial on Tuesday differed slightly from what he told Saint John police on the day his father's body was discovered more than four years ago.

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Oland told the packed Court of Queen's Bench courtroom that he went to his father's investment firm office three times on July 6, 2011. But in his videotaped statement to police, he only mentioned going there twice.

And while he told police he had driven the wrong way up a one-way street before meeting his father, he told the jury that wrong turned happened after the meeting.

​Oland wasn't asked about those discrepancies by his defence lawyer Gary Miller on Tuesday. He's scheduled to be back in the witness box today at 9:30 a.m. AT for his continued testimony.

It's not yet clear when he'll be cross-examined by the Crown.

The body of Richard Oland, 69, was discovered in his uptown office on July 7, 2011, lying face down in a pool of blood. The prominent businessman had suffered 45 sharp and blunt force injuries to his head, neck and hands.

Dennis Oland, 47, who was the last known person to see his father alive during their meeting the night before, testified that he left the office for the third and final time around 6:36 p.m., and headed home to Rothesay.

Their meeting to discuss family genealogy had actually ended around 6:12 p.m., but he realized as he was driving away that he had left a camp logbook he was supposed to return to his uncle in the office, he said.

So he looped around the block as he searched for a parking spot, ended up turning the wrong way up Princess Street, "about two car lengths" to pull into the gravel lot there, and went back up to his father's office to retrieve the logbook, he said.

'Short little zip' up one-way street

Oland mentioned going the wrong way up Princess Street to police on July 7, 2011, about two hours into the 2½-hour interview.

"You know what? I might've got confused when I was going along and I might've turned up Princess Street, into the gravel parking lot," he had said.

"OK. Now, why wouldn't you have mentioned that to me the first time?" asked Const. Stephen Davidson.

"I mean, that's a significant thing."

"I didn't realize that my route planning was … so significant," Oland replied.

At the time, he described the "short little zip" up Princess Street in the wrong direction as being before he met with his father — not after.

You've got me all confused now. No, it's not your fault, it's not your fault.- Dennis Oland to police

He had forgotten some genealogy-related documents he wanted to bring with him at his nearby office and was debating what to do, he said.

"There was three choices: go to my office and get stuff, go home, or go back to [my father's] office 'cause I had enough stuff," Oland told the officer.

Pressed further, he said: "You've got me all confused now. No, it's not your fault, it's not your fault."

"I know that the first time I went in, where I was parked, and after that … I'm having difficulty getting it straight," he said.

"You have me intimidated now, so now I'm getting a mental block."

When left alone in the interview room for a few minutes, Oland mumbled to himself and used his finger to try to retrace his route on the table in front of him.

Had a 'great time'

During his testimony on Tuesday, Oland said he realized he had forgotten the genealogy documents at work shortly after 5:18 p.m., as he was heading up the stairs to his father's office for the first time that night.

He said he left to go back to work to get them, but as he was driving there, he quickly realized he didn't have a passcard required to operate the elevator after hours, so he turned around to go back to his father's office a second time.

A time-stamped surveillance video played for the jury shows Oland parking his car on Canterbury Street, across from his father's office, around 5:25 p.m. He described his meeting with his father as being a "great time."

Oland was initially interviewed by police as a witness, but by the end of his 2½-hour statement, he was deemed a suspect, the court has heard.

Oland's mother, sister, wife, uncle and a friend are also expected to testify on his behalf.

The trial, which started on Sept. 16, is scheduled to run until Dec. 18.