The man accused in the triple murder of Nathan O’Brien, Alvin Liknes, and Kathy Liknes, appeared briefly in a Calgary courtroom on Wednesday morning.
Douglas Garland appeared via CCTV from the Remand Centre in Calgary for just long enough for the Crown and police to compile their evidence and get their case together.
Shane Parker, Crown lawyer, says this case is a little more challenging because of the speed of the investigation and how it's progressed in the past two weeks.
"We've taken what would normally be a very large scale investigation and try to condense it down to a two-week period," Parker said. "So, the result is that the disclosure is one of the things that gets pushed to the back burner."
Parker says that the case ahead for the prosecution is more challenging as well. "Bodies provide evidence for a jury. They provide a whole lot of evidence from a forensics standpoint normally for the police. Without that, we're missing a few bullets."
He says that even without that key evidence, he's confident the prosecution will be able to prove the offence beyond a reasonable doubt. As well, even though charges have been laid, Parker says the investigation is still far from over.
"Investigators are working tirelessly to continue this investigation, not to just find the bodies, but other sources of evidence as well."
Garland's defence, Kim Ross, says that he is just waiting for the disclosure from police so he can figure out how to proceed.
He says that Garland will be remaining in police custody until mid-August. "I'm going to wait until I see any disclosure before I make any determinations we'll seek any kind of release, but I can't answer any questions on that right now.
Allen Liknes, the nephew of Alvin Liknes, says that the family is surviving on the support of concerned residents. "Thank you for the search parties, thanks."
Liknes says the family is going through a tough time. "The balloons, flowers, cards, make all the difference. It helps. It's incredibly sad, but it helps."
He says the family is also very thankful for the teams of volunteers search the City of Airdrie and surrounding areas for any evidence.
The case has been adjourned until August 14.
Garland, 54, faces two counts of first degree murder and one count of second degree murder.
He was formally charged on Tuesday morning following his arrest early Monday in a field near his parent’s rural property near the community of Airdrie.
The home is still being searched by police, who’ve said they expect to stay there until at least the end of the week.
Investigators are scouring the residence, hoping to find some clue as to where the bodies of the three victims could be.
Meanwhile, ordinary citizens are taking it upon themselves to organize their own searches.
Nearly 200 volunteers took part in a search of several areas near the City of Airdrie on Tuesday night.
The group gathered at Nose Creek Park and then broke off into 13 separate groups.
They pledge to not rest until they’ve searched every part of the community and surrounding area.
