Nathan O’Brien murder case: Douglas Garland appearance draws gasps in courtroom
CBC News | Posted: September 17, 2014 2:23 PM | Last Updated: September 18, 2014
Garland accused of killing 5-year-old boy and his grandparents Kathy and Alvin Liknes
Douglas Garland, the man accused of killing five-year-old Nathan O’Brien and his grandparents Kathy and Alvin Liknes, kept silent and hung his head as he appeared in a Calgary courtroom today.
The boy and his grandparents disappeared at the end of June from a house in southwest Calgary. Their bodies have not been found.
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- Douglas Garland charged with murder of Nathan O'Brien, Kathy and Alvin Liknes
Garland, 54, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder.
Members of the O’Brien family seemed surprised that Garland showed up in person for Wednesday’s hearing, rather than through closed-circuit television as in the past.
There were gasps as a sheriff escorted the accused into the courtroom.
Garland silent in court
Garland hung his head as he entered. He never spoke and didn't look at the victims' family members seated in the gallery.
CBC News earlier learned there were soured business dealings between Garland and Alvin Liknes, including a patent dispute.
Garland, whose sister is in a common-law relationship with Alvin Liknes’s son, was arrested on July 14 following an extensive search of a property north of Calgary that is owned by Garland's parents.
During Garland’s last court appearance in August, Crown lawyers said there was still a substantial amount of evidence to be disclosed to defence counsel, prompting the judge to put over the case until this month.
The Crown expects to have all case files ready by the end of the year, and should have all lab results from evidence collected by police at that point.
"We've been through a large bulk of it, but I understand there's still a lot more that's going to come. I understand that we won't have full disclosure until sometime later in November, early December," said defence lawyer Kim Ross.
Preliminary trial set for May
The evidence against Garland will include statements from civilians and police officers, and the forensic evidence that led to the charges.
At Wednesday's hearing, a provincial court docket judge set a preliminary trial date for May next year.
"I like the idea of a preliminary inquiry, it gives us a chance to test drive some of the evidence — make sure where we're at in terms of some of the behind-the-scenes work," said Crown prosecutor Shane Parker. "It gives us more time to make sure we're ready once the jury trial is slated to go."
The Crown won't say when an actual trial could take place or how long it would run.
Bail application possible, says lawyer
Calgary police aren't commenting on the investigation or efforts to locate the victims' bodies because, they say, the matter is before the courts. But Parker said the search should still be on.
"We always want the investigation to continue on an ongoing basis, all the way through, in any case," he said.
Garland will remain in custody, but his lawyer is not ruling out a possible bail application.
"I'm still going through the disclosure, we'll make decisions once I get through all that and get instructions from my client," said Ross.