WATCH: Douglas Garland appeared in Calgary court by closed-circuit TV, wearing a blue jail jumpsuit, as a packed public gallery watched. Nancy Hixt reports.
CALGARY – The man accused of murdering a young Calgary boy and his grandparents made his first court appearance on Wednesday.
Douglas Garland, 54, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in relation to the deaths of Kathryn and Alvin Liknes, and one count of second-degree murder in the death of Nathan O’Brien.
READ MORE: Who is Calgary triple-murder suspect Douglas Garland?
He appeared in court around 10 a.m. via CCTV from the remand centre.
The case was put over till Aug 14th, to allow time for evidence to be disclosed to the defence.
Police haven’t yet been able to locate the victim’s bodies, but laid the charges on Tuesday saying there was sufficient evidence to support that a homicide took place.
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“Bodies provide a whole lot of evidence for a jury,” says Crown Prosecutor Shane Parker. “They provide a whole lot of evidence from a forensic standpoint normally for the police, and without that we’re missing a few bullets.”
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READ MORE: Who were Nathan O’Brien, Alvin and Kathryn Liknes?
Allen Likness, Alvin’s son, attended the hearing on Wednesday, telling media how grateful he has been for the support of Calgarians during this difficult time.
“The family has taken a lot of support from it,” said Likness. “It helps, it’s incredibly sad, but it helps.”
Garland will remain in custody until his next appearance.
The Crown says it will be opposed to releasing him on bail.
– With files from The Canadian Press
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