Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon - 22 Oct

PRAISE FOR THE FIRST EDITION

[MacKinnon] keeps to the present moment... blending crime thriller pace with a barrage of details half Agatha Christie and half dutiful crime reporter.

Martin Wightman, Telegraph-Journal

Shadow of Doubt is a fast-paced account of one of the most sensational murder trials in recent history. Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon covered the case from start to finish and loads her story with new details and revealing anecdotes, briskly sketching how a family soap opera turned to tragedy. For Oland trial junkies, this is the big, satisfying hit theyve been waiting for by the only journalist who could have told the story so compellingly.

Jacques Poitras, author of Pipe Dreams

[MacKinnons] coverage of the trial was best-in-class.... The books relentless accretion of detail is impressive. It shows a laser-like focus.

Eric Andrew-Gee, Globe and Mail

Bobbi-Jean MacKinnons Shadow of Doubt provides a fly-on-the-wall viewpoint to one of Canadas most sensational murder cases. The reader is taken on a roller-coaster ride from the crime scene to the grieving family to the cops, the Crown, and the jury trial. Its an epic tale that both engages and teaches Canadas criminal justice system with all its twists and turns is in full view right from crime to verdict.

Kevin Donovan, author of Secret Life

MacKinnon offers up the Oland family history, guiding readers through the many twists and turns of the story, from the murder to the trial itself. A thorough journalistic investigation.

Andrew Armitage, Sun Times

Very impressive to read.... Fascinating, extensive coverage from Day One of the investigation nicely rounded out with details that only a dedicated insider like MacKinnon could glean.

James Fisher, Miramichi Reader

Copyright 2019 by Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence from the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). To contact Access Copyright, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call 1-800-893-5777.

Edited by Jill Ainsley.

Cover and page design by Julie Scriver.

Cover image: The Canadian Press/Andrew Vaughan.

Printed in Canada by Marquis.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Title: Shadow of doubt : the trials of Dennis Oland / Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon.

Names: MacKinnon, Bobbi-Jean, author.

Description: Revised and expanded edition.

Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20190151730 | Canadiana (ebook) 20190151749 | ISBN 9781773101668 (softcover) | ISBN 9781773101675 (EPUB) | ISBN 9781773101682 (Kindle)

Subjects: LCSH: Oland, DennisTrials, litigation, etc. | LCSH: Oland, RichardDeath and burial. | LCSH: Oland family. | LCSH: Trials (Murder)New BrunswickSaint John. | LCSH: MurderNew BrunswickSaint John.

Classification: LCC HV6535.C33 S3532 2019 | DDC 364.152/30971532dc23

Goose Lane Editions acknowledges the generous support of the Government of Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Government of New Brunswick.

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For Jean, Colleen, and Craig, for your unconditional love and support

T his is a book of first-hand research. As a reporter for CBC News, I covered this case from the day Richard Olands body was discovered. I attended press conferences, jury selection, numerous court proceedings, and the entire trial, which I live-blogged. Ive conducted interviews and combed through legal documents, financial records, and scientific reports. On occasion in the pages that follow, I draw from the work of other media or secondary sources, and I cite them when I do. Although I made every effort to speak to a member of the Oland family about the case, to my regret they declined to participate in this book. They have said that they will comment publicly only after the appeal.

Speech is reported substantially verbatim: most stumbles, repetitions, self-corrections, and verbal tics have been edited out. The result, I believe, accurately captures individual speech style without sacrificing readability. When quoting from emails and texts, a similar approach is used. Ive quietly corrected obvious typos rather than repeatedly (and pedantically) adding sic. Words enclosed in square brackets are additions Ive made for clarity.

Trials can be exercises in frustration. Rarely do the proceedings follow a clear narrative path. Lawyers pose questions that can seem random and unconnected, only to revisit the issue again days or weeks later. For this book, Ive eschewed a strictly chronological account of the trial in favour of a thematic approach that pulls together testimony from different witnesses at different times to provide coherent accounts of particular evidence and issues.

A t around a quarter to nine on the morning of Thursday, July 7, 2011, Maureen Adamsons husband dropped her off at work. She carried a tray of Tim Hortons coffee she had picked up en route. Her boss, Richard Oland, loved his coffee, and as his personal secretary for twenty-five years, she tried her best to anticipate his every need. It would be another busy day. The prominent New Brunswick businessman had been travelling most of the previous two months, and they had a lot of catching up to do.

Adamson, a sturdy and serious woman in her late middle age, usually arrived first at Olands investment firm office, located in a commercial building at 52 Canterbury, a narrow one-way street in the heart of historic uptown Saint John. She dug for her key and inserted it in the street-level door of the three-storey brick building, but it was already unlocked. Odd, she thought. The last person to leave at night was supposed to lock the door.

Adamson climbed the narrow, windowless stairwell to the second floor, only to find that door, also normally locked, not completely closed. Now she was irritated. Grumbling, Adamson pushed the door open and turned left into the foyer, which led to Olands Far End Corporation, marked by a modest brass plaque. As she opened the french door, a terrifically vile odour struck her. She couldnt imagine what it could be; she had never encountered anything like it before. She stepped inside the multimillionaires surprisingly modest, pack-ratty office full of stacked bankers boxes and electronic equipment, but nothing immediately seemed amiss; nothing, that is, but the air conditioner on full blast. It was normally turned off overnight. Adamson made her way to a long table in the centre of the room and set down the tray of hot coffee. Thats when, as she later recounted, she spotted two legs on the floor under Richard Olands desk. You couldnt miss it, really, she later said in court, her voice momentarily breaking with emotion.

In shock, Adamson didnt realize who was sprawled on the floor in a large pool of blood, and she didnt stay long enough to find out. She raced downstairs and burst into the print shop on the ground floor, calling out for help.

Somethings wrong, Adamson blurted out. I see feet upstairs.

She seemed panicked, Preston Chiasson, who didnt work at the print shop but was a frequent visitor, remembered later. His thoughts automatically turned to Richard Oland. Chiasson had known him for around twenty years and always enjoyed their conversations, which ranged from sailing to politics.