Richard Oland's affair revealed at Dennis Oland's murder trial
Texts show prominent businessman was planning a trip to Maine with mistress, Diana Sedlacek
Details about an extramarital affair Richard Oland was having and a trip he was planning with his mistress just before he was killed were revealed at his son's second-degree murder trial in Saint John on Tuesday.
Dennis Oland, 46, is accused of killing the prominent businessman more than four years ago.
Neil Walker, a computer forensic specialist with the RCMP in Halifax, testified about chat log data extracted from Richard Oland's iPhone.
The iPhone itself was the only item that went missing from Richard Oland's investment firm office and was never recovered, but the data on it had been backed up on his office computer on July 6, 2011.
Text messages between Richard Oland and Diana Sedlacek during his last 48 hours of life suggest an intimate relationship and indicate the pair was planning a trip to Portland, Me., together in the coming days.
The two pages of text messages submitted into evidence by the Crown start on July 5, 2011 at 7:08 p.m., when Sedlacek asks: "Are U OK????"
Sedlacek sent another text about 30 minutes later, when she hadn't received a reply: "I'm here U call me."
Then at 10:02 p.m., she messages again: "Had 2 shower … Kisses. Snuggle me up I need your body."
Less than 20 minutes later, Richard Oland replies: "Snuggle up kkk in bed."
On July 6, Sedlacek asks whether he "found note? - re Our Trip."
He replies promptly: "Have in [office]," but says he has a meeting.
The final correspondence was at 1:57 p.m., when Sedlacek texts: "Let's leave at noon on Fri 15th … come back on 19th. Kisses."
It's unclear whether he ever read that final text message, the courtroom heard.
Walker testified that as of 4:44 p.m., he had not. That's when the iPhone was disconnected from Richard Oland's computer and there's no log of what happened after that, he said.
About an hour after the iPhone was disconnected, Dennis Oland stopped by the Far End Corporation office at 52 Canterbury St., for a visit, making him the last know person to see his father alive.
Richard Oland's secretary Maureen Adamson previously testified that she left for the day a few minutes later, leaving the two men alone together.
Dennis upset about affair
Lead Crown prosecutor P.J. Veniot told the jury at the beginning of the trial, during his opening remarks, that Dennis Oland was upset about his father's affair.
"Dennis did not approve," and had once described it as a "family concern," said Veniot.
Word about the affair had started to seep out and Dennis had asked his father's friend, Robert McFadden, to talk to him about it. "You need to tell Dick people know," Veniot recounted of the conversation.
On Tuesday, defence lawyer Alan Gold introduced additional information about correspondence and phone calls between Richard Oland and Sedlacek, including a text she sent on July 4 at 11:20 a.m.
Two seconds later: "Where are U???? Are u not coming back 2day????"
Then at 3:03 p.m.: "What's happening now? Are U here? Want 2C you."
They had two brief chats, each lasting less than two minutes. Then Sedlacek started texting again at 5:56 p.m., sending three more texts before Richard Oland responded with a call at 9:10 p.m.
So two days before the date we're all focussed on [when Richard Oland was killed] it took him over four hours from her first message to respond.- Alan Gold, defence lawyer
"So two days before the date we're all focussed on [when Richard Oland was killed] it took him over four hours from her first message to respond," said Gold.
The next day, "It's essentially eight or nine hours before Richard Oland gets back to her after she starts messaging him," he said.
Walker agreed Oland was "not prompt" in responding during that 48-hour period, based on the extracted data, but suggested it's possible Oland may have deleted some of his messages so they would not be seen "at home."
Gold argued, however, that there were other intimate messages still there that would have been good candidates to delete and Walker agreed.
It appears Richard Oland did attempt to conceal the affair though, said Gold. He noted that Sedlacek's number was listed under three different names in Oland's iPhone contacts list — Office Jones, Office One Dr Jones and Diana Sedlacek.
Her photo was not associated with any of them, said Gold, suggesting that was no surprise. If you're a married man having an affair, you wouldn't want your mistress' picture popping up, he said.
Last computer activity unclear
Walker said he first got involved with the case in March 2012. His supervisor had asked him to assist the Saint John Police Force in determining when Richard Oland's iPhone had been disconnected from his computer and when his email had been closed down.
There was no other activity until midnight, when what appears to be pre-programmed automatic updates were done, said Walker.
So the last known user interaction was at 5:38 p.m., he said.
But under cross-examination by Gold, Walker conceded that there was no way to know how long Oland continued to use the programs or when they were closed because those actions don't leave any traces. "Not that I'm aware of," said Walker.
Gold also argued there was no way to know whether the times were unusual or significant because Walker did not analyze Oland's usage times for any other days. Walker agreed.
Asked about the second hard drive in Oland's computer, which the court heard on Monday was not connected, Walker said it hadn't been used since July 16, 2010.
Gold suggested Oland had simply updated his computer with a newer, larger hard drive. "Nothing unusual about that?" he asked. "I would say you're right," replied Walker.
Accused's computers also analyzed
Another RCMP technological crime forensic analyst, Payman Hakimian, who is based in Fredericton, testified about his examination of three computers seized from Dennis Oland's home.
He started his analysis on Nov. 9, 2012 — about 16 months after Richard Oland's death. He said he put all of the extracted data onto a DVD, which he handed over to Const. Ray Coleman, of the SJPF, who was working in his tech crime unit.
Gold described it as being "a lot of ore" for the Saint John police to "mine."
Hakimian said Coleman prepared the final report, but it was done under his supervision and he supports the findings "100 per cent." No details about that report were revealed in court on Tuesday.
Trial delayed by 'unexpected issue'
The trial was scheduled to resume on Wednesday morning, but Justice John Walsh told the jury an "unexpected issue" had arisen and court would not sit again until Thursday at 9:30 a.m.
Walsh did not reveal any information and the reason for the delay, but told the jurors not to speculate.
"You have enough on your plate without speculating about anything you have no control over," he said.
Walsh said he understands it "can be frustrated for those not used to the pace of legal proceedings. But it's necessary. It has to be done."
It's unclear what, if any, impact the adjournment will have on the overall schedule of the trial, which is expected to run until Dec. 18.