A date has been set for Dennis Oland’s new murder trial in the death of his father, prominent Saint John businessman Richard Oland.
The new trial will begin on October 10, 2018 — that date will mark almost two years since the New Brunswick Court of Appeal released Dennis Oland on bail pending his retrial, following the overturning of his second-degree murder conviction over the trial judge’s instructions to the jury.
Dennis #Oland heads into courthouse for pre-trial conference. A retrial date could be set today. Background here: https://t.co/TNdsolhbnh. pic.twitter.com/WmKJeh3I73
— Laura Lyall (@LauraLyall) November 2, 2017
The date will also mark more than seven years since Richard Oland’s bludgeoned body was discovered in his Canterbury Street investment firm office in uptown Saint John on July 7, 2011. He was found face down in a pool of blood and had suffered 45 sharp and blunt force injuries to his heads, hand and neck. His son, Dennis, was arrested in November of 2013.
Pre-trial hearings will begin on March 6.
The date for the new trial was set after a pre-trial conference at the Saint John courthouse, where a publication ban was put into place by Justice Terrence Morrison, who will preside over the new trial. Chief Justice Ernest Drapeau said back in October of last year that this new trial would be shorter than the original trial — which ran from September of 2015 to late December.
