During its cross-examination of the chief forensic investigator in the Douglas Garland triple murder case, the defence found that there is no DNA evidence or fingerprints that linked the accused to the crime scene in Calgary but additional testimony indicated blood and DNA were present in Garland's truck.
Garland is charged with three counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Alvin and Kathy Liknes and their five-year-old grandson Nathan O’Brien in the summer of 2014.
The Crown contends that he forcibly took the three from their beds on June 29 and drove them to his parents’ property near Airdrie where he killed them.
** WARNING - GRAPHIC DETAILS FOLLOW **
On Day 9 of the triple murder trial, Sgt. Sarah Robison, the member of the CPS forensic crime scene unit who processed Douglas Garland's pickup truck, took the stand.
Robison said that on July 5, 2014, when she began examining the truck, she was aware the vehicle may have ties to the Liknes and O'Brien disappearances.
After photographing the truck, Robison says she traced the vehicle with multiple swaps in an attempt to locate DNA evidence. The forensic examination garnered positive results within the cab of the truck, on the bed liner, along the driver side door and on the steering wheel. Robison told the court that a presumptive test for blood, a blue star chemical, elicited positive results.
Earlier in the ninth day of testimony, the defence questioned Cst. Ian Oxton, the lead forensic investigator in the case. regarding the hundreds of pieces of evidence collected by police from the Garland property in 2014.
In the black bag, Oxton told the court that all of the items had Garland's DNA on them, but there was no trace of DNA from any of the victims. The collection of handcuffs, that included a pair of youth-sized restraints, also had no DNA on them, Oxton said.
Despite finding hundreds of parts for firearms, Oxton admitted that there were no guns on the property at all. Of all the shoes that were seized from the property, he told the court that not a single pair matched the tread pattern left by the bloody footprints in the Liknes' garage. The shoes from the box discovered in the Garland home were never found.
The court also heard that police were unable to determine who owned the glasses found in the burn barrel at the Garland property because they didn't have any lenses intact.
Following Oxton's cross-examination, the court heard from Kimberly Warren, a forensic hardware engineer and civilian member of the RCMP, who was enlisted to help examine a piece of fire-damaged electronics found at the Garland property.
Warren told the court she was asked to help in the case in October 2015. She managed to trace the item with an electronic number, telling the proceedings that it was likely for a 2013 Toyota Tundra, simliar to the one at the Liknes home, but could have matched a number of other models.
Thursday's proceedings included the testimony of Brian Kalmbach who lives south of the Garland farm. Kalmbach recalled noticing a light had been on in a greenhouse on the Garland property in the early morning hours of July 2, 2014, stating it was an unusual occurrence. Later that morning, Kalmbach said black smoke emanated from the burn barrel area and the fire appeared large. According to Kalmbach, besides the light and the fire, nothing unusual on the Garland property caught his attention in early July 2014.
Cst. Kyle Lees, a member of a specialized RCMP tactical team took the stand Thursday afternoon and discussed his search of the Garland property. Lees said he entered the basement of the Garland home and noticed something square hidden in the rafters. Lees says closer inspection determined a computer hard drive had been placed along the beam and the hard drive was collected as evidence.
The final witness called on Thursday was Sgt. Quentin Blindenbach, a senior search manager who was brought on to assist with 'Operation Amber' on July 8, 2014.
Blindenbach told the court that he was aware of the hidden computer hard drive that was found during the July 9 search of the Garland home. Blindenbach added documents in the name of Matthew Hartley were also located in the basement.
The trial proceedings concluded Thursday afternoon and are scheduled to resume on Monday morning.
