Douglas Garland will face a judge and jury on Monday, on trial for the murders of five-year-old Nathan O’Brien and his grandparents.
It happened two-and-a-half years ago when Nathan went for a sleepover at the home of his grandparents, Alvin and Kathy Liknes. When his mother came to pick him up that June 29, 2014, no one was there, sparking an Amber Alert.
“Stay strong and we are going to see you, we are going to see you, we love you so much," said Jennifer O’Brien at that time in a televised plea for Nathan’s safe return.
“Given that this is completely out of nature for the grandparents, we look at it and say, do we have reason to fear that foul play is involved and the answer to that question was obviously yes,” said Insp. Keith Cain, Calgary Police Service.
But in the end, the search ended with heartbreaking news on July 14, 2014 and the announcement that it had become a triple murder case.
56-year-old Douglas Garland, a relative of the Liknes family through marriage, was arrested and charged.
Two-and-a-half years later, family members say their pain hasn’t eased, saying in a statement,
“The next five weeks of this trial will be very difficult for us. We can only hope that at the end of this grueling time we will find justice for Nathan, Alvin and Kathy.”
The Crown will call about 60 witnesses during the trial. 14 jurors have been chosen, 11 men and 3 women. Another two women are alternates.
