Close X
Monday, November 25, 2024
ADVT 
National

Smell From Richard Oland's Office Was 'Nauseating,' Witness Tells Murder Trial

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 21 Sep, 2015 11:07 AM
    SAINT JOHN, N.B. — A man who was among the first to arrive after businessman Richard Oland's body was found told Dennis Oland's murder trial Monday the first thing he noticed was a sickening smell.
     
    Preston Chiasson was at Printing Plus below Richard Oland's office in Saint John, N.B., on July 7, 2011, when the victim's secretary, Maureen Adamson, came into the shop looking for help.
     
    "I immediately thought Richard was in trouble and I went to help," he testified.
     
    Chiasson said he noticed the smell:  "It was nauseating."
     
    Asked by Crown attorney J.P. Veniot what he saw when he went further in the office, Chiasson replied: "Richard on the floor, slaughtered."
     
    Justice John Walsh of the Court of Queen's Bench warned the jury and those in the public gallery that pictures from the office would be graphic. They showed the 69-year-old Oland face-down on the floor, his head and upper body in a pool of blood.
     
    His 46-year-old son, Dennis Oland, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.
     
    One of the first police officers to arrive at the offices of the Far End Corp. was Const. Duane Squires of the Saint John Police Force, who got a call at 8:52 a.m. to go to 52 Canterbury St.
     
    He also noticed the smell when he arrived.
     
    "One that I am familiar with," he added. "The smell of a decaying body."
     
    Squires said he saw a lot of blood spatter in the room and that he, another officer, and a police cadet left after about a minute and were careful not to disturb anything.
     
    Paramedics left after less than a minute in the office as well, Squires said, telling the police officers that rigor mortis had set in and the man had been dead for some time.
     
    Veniot told the jury in his opening submission last week that Oland was killed in a violent outburst that resulted in 40 blows to his head and neck.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    11-Year Sentence Means Neil Snelson Guilty Of Manslaughter Will Serve Less Than 2 Years

    11-Year Sentence Means Neil Snelson Guilty Of Manslaughter Will Serve Less Than 2 Years
    Family and friends of a 19-year-old woman who was strangled and beaten to death reacted angrily outside court in Kamloops, B.C., after a judge sentenced her killer to 11 years in prison.

    11-Year Sentence Means Neil Snelson Guilty Of Manslaughter Will Serve Less Than 2 Years

    Victoria Police Investigate Suspicious Death Of 18-Month-Old Girl

    Victoria Police Investigate Suspicious Death Of 18-Month-Old Girl
    Officers were called to a home around 6 a.m. Wednesday to check on the welfare of people inside.

    Victoria Police Investigate Suspicious Death Of 18-Month-Old Girl

    Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette Murder: 'The Loss Of A Child Is The Most Difficult Sorrow A Family Can Bear

    Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette Murder: 'The Loss Of A Child Is The Most Difficult Sorrow A Family Can Bear
    Some quotes about the killing of two-year-old Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette and her father Terry Blanchette:

    Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette Murder: 'The Loss Of A Child Is The Most Difficult Sorrow A Family Can Bear

    Vancouver Police Ask For Help Identifying Victim And Suspect Recorded In Violent Attack

    Vancouver Police Ask For Help Identifying Victim And Suspect Recorded In Violent Attack
    Investigators are looking for a white man, aged 25 to 40, with a medium build.

    Vancouver Police Ask For Help Identifying Victim And Suspect Recorded In Violent Attack

    BC Ferries Fares To Rise Again In April And For Next Four Years: Commissioner

    Ferries commissioner Gord Macatee confirmed Wednesday that price increases will be capped at 1.9 per cent per year from 2016 to 2020, as proposed earlier this year.

    BC Ferries Fares To Rise Again In April And For Next Four Years: Commissioner

    Parks Canada Scales Back Search For Calgary Hiker Believed Killed When Swept Over Twin Falls

    Parks Canada Scales Back Search For Calgary Hiker Believed Killed When Swept Over Twin Falls
    A Parks Canada spokeswoman says staff have conducted an extensive search of the Twin Falls area for the 19-year-old Calgary man.

    Parks Canada Scales Back Search For Calgary Hiker Believed Killed When Swept Over Twin Falls