Two paramedics and two funeral directors testifying on Day 5 at the second-degree murder trial of Dennis Oland in Saint John.
Oland is charged in the July 2011 death of his father, Richard Oland.
Phil Comeau was first on the stand and spoke of being in an ambulance at the corner of King and Germain streets on the morning of July 7th 2011, when he and partner Chris Wall got a page to respond to 52 Canterbury Street, Richard Oland’s office.
They were told by a police officer inside the building that no gear would be required.
Both Comeau and Wall noticed a strong smell while walking up the stairs.
Comeau on the patient: “He was lying on the floor, blood on the floor and blood spatter.” He couldn’t see any signs of life. To determine that he is looking for rigor mortis. He put his foot on the body and the whole body moved and that is a sign of rigor mortis.
— Tamara Steele (@tamarasteele1) November 28, 2018
Comeau calls it “the smell of death, a lingering odour that hits you in the face”. He determined the body was in rigor mortis adding they were both in the building for 30 seconds to a minute.
Defence lawyer Michael Lacy asked Comeau if it was nearly a year and a half before he gave a statement to police in this case.
He agrees and says he was surprised it took so long.
Michael Lacy of the defence is asking Comeau about blood spatter in the room and on a desk. Comeau says it was pretty much everywhere.
— Tamara Steele (@tamarasteele1) November 28, 2018
Chris Wall testifies that he saw the body and a lot of dried blood but he was not involved with patient care.
The Crown’s Jill Knee asks if he used any protective clothing and he says he wore gloves and it’s his practice to remove them when he gets back in the ambulance.
Funeral directors Sharlene MacDonald and Adam Holly both testified about being called by Coroner Andrew Cavanaugh to come to remove Richard Oland’s body from his office.
McConnell asks if she stepped in the blood in the office. She says she would be very careful to avoid stepping in it.
She is asked if the sheets used in transferring Richard Oland’s body from the floor to the stretcher come sealed. She says they are white bed sheets.
McConnell asks if they come from the Regional hospital and she replies, “yes”.
She is asked if the sheets used in getting the body onto the stretcher come sealed. She says they are bed sheets. McConnell says “you get them from the hospital?”. She says “yes”.
— Tamara Steele (@tamarasteele1) November 28, 2018
MacDonald was asked to give a police statement in March 2014.
She agrees with Jamie McConnell that it was harder to recall the details so much later.
— Tamara Steele (@tamarasteele1) November 28, 2018
