Airdrie’s Douglas Garland, the man charged in the triple murders of Calgary’s Alvin and Kathy Liknes and Nathan O’Brien, was back in Calgary Provincial Court on Aug. 14.
Garland, 54, appeared via closed-circuit television from the Calgary Remand Centre where he has been in custody since his arrest on July 14. He is charged with First-Degree Murder of the Liknes couple and the Second-Degree Murder of five-year-old O’Brien.
Crown Prosecutor Shane Parker asked Provincial Court Judge Terry Semenuk to adjourn the trial to Sept. 17 to allow his office time to turn over information regarding the evidence collected – called discovery – to Garland’s lawyer, Kim Ross, and to give Ross ample time to go through it.
“The police have done a great job getting a fair amount of disclosure ready for the defense. We just have to go through our final checks to make sure everything’s appropriate to go to them,” said Parker. “That should be done today (Aug. 14) or tomorrow (Aug. 15).”
“We’ve set the next date into September just to allow Mr. Ross to take an initial view of that disclosure and then we’ll in a better position to schedule the length of time for the next step, which is a preliminary inquiry,” he added.
Parker said the amount of evidence is “voluminous” and that his office continues to receive lab results. He said he expects the preliminary inquiry to take six to eight months because of the volume of evidence.
Garland did not speak during his brief appearance in court.
A massive search of his parents’ acreage northeast of Airdrie as well as of the Liknes home in Calgary was carried out by the Calgary Police Service (CPS) and the RCMP Special Tactical Operations from the time the trio were reported missing on June 29 to July 19. To date, no bodies have been found, however, CPS and the Crown Prosecutor’s office determined they had enough evidence to lay charges against Garland on July 14.
According to Parker, the Crown Prosecutor’s office will meet with the Liknes and O’Brien families in the next few weeks, where the family will be put in touch with victims’ assistance who will keep them up to date on court proceedings and dates.
“It’s a confusing time on so many levels for them,” Parker said. “If we can help them, explain the court process, then that’s helpful.”Airdrie’s Douglas Garland, suspect in the triple murders of Calgary’s Alvin and Kathy Liknes and Nathan O’Brien, was back in Calgary Provincial Court on Aug. 14.
Garland, 54, appeared via closed-circuit television from the Calgary Remand Centre where he has been in custody since his arrest on July 14. He has been charged with First-Degree Murder of the Liknes couple and the Second-Degree Murder of five-year-old O’Brien.
Crown Prosecutor Shane Parker asked Provincial Court Judge Terry Semenuk to adjourn the trial to Sept. 17 to allow his office time to turn over information regarding the evidence collected – called discovery – to Garland’s lawyer, Kim Ross, and to give Ross ample time to go through it.
“The police have done a great job getting a far amount of disclosure ready for the defense. We just have to go through our final checks to make sure everything’s appropriate to go to them,” said Parker. “That should be done today (Aug. 14) or tomorrow (Aug. 15).”
“We’ve sent the next date into September just to allow Mr. Ross to take an initial view of that disclosure and then we’ll in a better position to schedule the length of time for the next step, which is a preliminary enquiry,” he added.
Parker said the amount of evidence is “voluminous” and that his office continues to receive lab results. He said he expects the preliminary enquiry to take six to eight months because of the volume of evidence.
Garland did not speak during his brief appearance in court.
A massive search of his parents’ acreage northeast of Airdrie as well as of the Liknes home in Calgary was carried out by the Calgary Police Service (CPS) and the RCMP Special Tactical Operations from the time the trio were reported missing on June 29. To date, no bodies have been found, however, CPS and the Crown Prosecutor’s office determined they had enough evidence to lay charges against Garland on July 14.
According to Parker, the Crown Prosecutor’s office will meet with the Liknes and O’Brien families at the end of August or beginning of September at which point they will be put in touch with victims’ assistance who will keep them up to date on court proceedings and dates.
“It’s a confusing time on so many levels for them,” Parker said. “If we can help them, explain the court process, then that’s helpful.”
