Dennis Oland was less than honest with wife about cash crunch, jury hears
Accused told Lisa $8K salary advance was pay just weeks before millionaire father, Richard Oland, was killed
Dennis Oland was not being completely honest with his wife about his deteriorating financial situation just before his father was killed, the jury at his second-degree murder trial heard on Friday.
Email exchanges between the couple in June 2011 were entered into evidence by Crown prosecutor Derek Weaver and read aloud for the Saint John courtroom.
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"I had a good pay of $8,000 but I need a bit more to cover expenses so that they do not bounce," Oland wrote to Lisa Andrik-Oland on June 16.
"Would I be able to get $1,000 from you?"
Oland had requested on June 1 at least $15,000 to help him get through a cash "crunch," his supervisor, John Travis, testified. The firm ended up giving him $16,000 — $8,000 in June and another $8,000 in July, said Travis.
By July 6, 2011, the day police believe his father, Richard Oland, was beaten to death, the accused was spending about $14,000 more a month than he was earning, according to a forensic accountant.
Richard Oland's bludgeoned body was discovered lying face down in a pool of blood in his investment firm office on July 7, 2011.
The 69-year-old prominent businessman, whose investments were worth about $36 million, had suffered 45 sharp and blunt force injuries to his head, neck and hands.
Eric Johnson, who works for Public Works Government Services Canada, assisted the Saint John Police Force with its investigation by reviewing the accused's finances, focussing primarily on the period between Jan. 1, 2011 and July 7, 2011.
Johnson found Oland had only earned $34,124 during that period and his spending had exceeded his income by $86,848.
Oland's $163,000 line of credit and $27,000-limit Visa were maxed out, and his investments and RRSPs had been cleared out.
Lead Crown prosecutor P.J. Veniot has previously suggested money was a possible motive, describing the accused as being "on the edge financially."
Oland was leaning heavily on cash advances from his overlimit Visa in the days before his father was killed.
The card was $4,200 over its $27,000 limit at the end of June, but there were $100 cash advances on July 1, July 2 and July 3 and then $800 on July 6, the records presented by Johnson show.
The email exchanges between Oland and his wife, extracted from Oland's cellphone by police, suggest tension was mounting.
"Hi, there is no money on my Visa card anymore so don't bother trying to use it," Oland told his wife in an email on May 31, 2011.
On June 1, the same day Oland had requested a pay advance, he and his wife were exchanging emails about their credit cards being overlimit and discussing strategies to get enough money deposited on one of the Visas to make it work.
As for Visa card, mine is overdrawn by $650 so I'd need to put more than that on the card just to get it to work. How much is your card overdrawn?- Dennis Oland in email to wife on June 1, 2011
"I should not have answered my phone earlier when u called, I cannot come across as pleasant cause I am not in a good place. Hannah [probably] has flu, and I am very off today!" his wife wrote.
"Deadline for Concordia registration is today. I have no money on my Visa and I had to wait til today to make a payment. If u add something to your card today will it work?" she asked.
"Well I'd like to at least try something to make you feel a bit better. As for Visa card. Mine is overdrawn by $650 so I'd need to put more than that on the card just to get it to work. How much is your card over drawn?" Oland replied.
"I am $200 over limit and it won't reach them within 48 hours. Internet does not work," she wrote.
"OK well I'll go to bank and deposit what I have and move funds to my Visa. I looked to see why my Visa was so bad and I had not realized the extent of the money that was spent for Montreal, it was $1,350," said Oland.
"Wait now, I can't afford to put the rent [cheque] on your card, that's got mortgage etc.," his wife replied.
| May 31 | Visa reaches $27,000 limit |
| June 9-July 6 | Visa remains and continues going over limit |
| June 9 | Collateral mortgage goes over $163,000-limit by $481.02 |
| June 17 | CIBC chequing account balance, minus $776.43 |
| June 30 | $481.72 payment on collateral mortgage rejected for non-sufficient funds |
| July 5 | $1,666.67 interest payment to Richard Oland reversed for non-sufficient funds |
| July 5 | CIBC chequing account balance, minus $1,135.82 |
| July 6 | Two $401.50 cash advances on overlimit Visa withdrawn, balance owing reaches $32,582.89 |
| July 7 | Collateral mortgage reaches minus $163,939.68 once overlimit fee and interest charge applied |
Trial schedule 'on track'
The trial adjourned early for the day and is scheduled to resume on Monday at 1:30 p.m. when defence lawyer Alan Gold will begin cross-examination.
Justice John Walsh told the jurors they will sit only the half day on Monday and Tuesday next week because the lawyers need time to work on some matters.
"What you see in the courtroom sometimes is like a duck in water," he said. The duck seems calm, but its feet are moving like crazy underwater.
The lawyers are working "extremely hard … They're tired and they need time to arrange this case," he said.
Still, the lawyers believe the overall schedule is "on track… as best as they can tell," said Walsh. "It's not a science."
The trial is currently scheduled to run until Dec 18.