Testimony in the Douglas Garland triple murder case began on Friday with a homicide detective called to investigate the Liknes home in the summer of 2014.
Douglas Garland is on trial, charged with three counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Alvin and Kathy Liknes and their grandson Nathan O’Brien.
Proceedings began on the fifth day of the trial with CPS Detective Clark Budd, who was a part of the Homicide Unit when it was called to investigate the triple murder.
Budd told the court that he found a bloody footprint found in the garage of the home that did not match any of the shoes owned by the first responders or Jennifer O'Brien.
He said that later on in the investigation, when police were brought to the Garland property, he saw a photo of a shoebox.
Budd told the court that he attempted to find the same shoes at a store in order to possibly link Garland to the crime scene.
Afterwards, the court heard from CPS Sergeant Lynn Gallen, an expert in footwear impressions from forensic crime scenes.
Gallen, who has investigated footwear impressions at over 300 crime scenes, told the court that there was a 'sense of urgency' at the crime scene.
She confirmed to the court that the footprints found in the garage at the Liknes home were in blood and it was apparent early on that a blood stain expert would be needed.
Forensics uses a chemical that turns blood stains purple and helps identify them in crime scenes, Gallen told the court.
Gallen told the court that no shoes were found on the Garland property, but a shoebox for a pair of shoes that could have matched the footprint was found at the scene.
She told the court that another officer purchased the same shoes so she could determine if they made the impressions.
Gallen outlined the process that investigators took to match the prints, saying that 'test impressions' of the purchased shoes were made to compare to the footprints collected at the scene.
She told the court that the shape and size of the test impression corresponded with a footprint found at the front door of the Liknes home, but it was not a perfect match.
The test impressions, when placed on the bloody footprints in the garage, 'fit nicely' Gallen told the court.
Gallen testified that they were also matched to a number of other footprints found throughout the home.
On Thursday, the jury of a triple murder trial heard from a lock expert who was consulted by Calgary police and said that the lock at the side door of the Liknes’ Parkhill home could have been compromised in a matter of minutes.
Monte Salway, an Indiana-based locksmith, testified that he was asked to examine the lock on the side door of the Liknes home, a Schlage BE365 model lock.
The Crown says that Garland began to research the lock online just a few days before the murders took place.
Salway told the court that the cylinder of the lock on the Liknes home had been turned and two holes had been drilled into it.
The holes, he said, were not put there by an experienced locksmith and would have damaged a number of internal parts.
Additionally, Salway told the court that the lock on the side door could be opened in less than five minutes, depending on the expertise of the person involved.
The Crown alleges that Garland broke into the Liknes’ Parkhill home on June 29, 2014 and forcibly took Alvin, Kathy and Nathan from their beds.
They were then taken to his parents’ home near Airdrie where they were killed and their bodies disposed of, the prosecution says.
The trial will last five weeks.
