SAINT JOHN, N.B. – Dennis Oland choked back tears and wiped his eyes with a tissue Wednesday as he told a courtroom he misses his father, who was found bludgeoned to death in his office in July 2011.
Oland told the jury in New Brunswick’s Court of Queen’s Bench that he and his father had an “old school” relationship.
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“There’s a properness about it,” he said.
“He wouldn’t say every day, ‘I love you,’ but he would say it time to time.”
The two men shared interests in skiing, boats and geneaology, and Oland described his father as adventurous and impatient.
“Mr. Oland, did you love your father?” defence lawyer Gary Miller asked, shortly before concluding his questions.
“Absolutely, yes,” replied Oland, 47, who has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.
“Do you miss him?” Miller continued.
“Yeah, yeah,” Oland answered as he choked back tears.
Oland was testifying for the second day in his own defence and explained he made a mistake when he told police he was wearing a navy blazer the last time he saw his father.
Oland said he had been wearing the navy jacket for a short time that morning and that’s why he got it wrong.
Security video from July 6, 2011 – the day Richard Oland was killed – showed the younger Oland wearing a brown sport coat.
He told police in Saint John the next day he had been wearing a navy blazer.
“Clearly I was mistaken,” he said.
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The jury has heard the brown sport coat had three drops of blood on its that were barely visible to the naked eye and samples taken from a jacket found at Dennis Oland’s home matched the profile of his father.
But a defence expert testified that the person who killed the senior Oland would have had a significant amount of blood on their hands and clothes.
The 69-year-old businessman, whose family founded Moosehead Breweries, was found face down in a pool of blood on July 7, 2011.
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The jury has heard he suffered 45 blunt and sharp-force wounds to his head, neck and hands, though no murder weapon was ever found.
During his first day in the witness box, Oland told the court he did not kill his father.
On Wednesday, Oland said there was always a big handshake or his father would have a hand on his arm or back when they met. Richard Oland would chew his cuticles and often would have scabs on his bald head, he added.
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The Crown has said Richard Oland gave his financially troubled son a $500,000 loan that he was to make interest-only payments on of $1,667 per month.
Miller asked Oland whether at his meeting with his father on July 6, 2011, there was any conversation about his finances, a bounced cheque or Diana Sedlacek, the woman Richard Oland was having an extramarital affair with.
“No,” Oland replied.
“Did you ever have a conversation about Diana Sedlacek?” Miller continued.
“No,” Oland said.
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