Airdrie resident Douglas Garland, 54, charged with the triple murder of Alvin and Kathy Liknes and their grandson Nathan O’Brien, appeared in person in the Court of Queen’s Bench in Calgary on Sept. 17, at which time a date for the preliminary hearing was set from May 19 to 29, 2015, according to Crown Prosecutor Shane Parker.
Garland, who has been charged with the First Degree Murder of Alvin Liknes, 66, and his wife Kathy, 53, and Second Degree Murder of five-year-old, O’Brien, has been in custody at the Calgary Remand Centre since his arrest on July 14.
Garland last appeared in court on Aug. 14 at which time Parker asked Provincial Court Judge Terry Semenuk to adjourn the trial to Sept. 17.
The adjournment was intended to allow his office time to turn over information regarding the evidence collected – called discovery – to the defense, and to give Garland’s lawyer, Kim Ross, time to go through it.
“We’ve been through a large bulk of it, but I understand there’s still a lot more that’s going to come. I understand that we won’t have full disclosure until sometime later in November, early December,” Ross said on Sept.17.
Parker said the date of the preliminary hearing worked well for the Crown.
“It gives us enough time to make sure we’re ready when the jury trial is slated to go,” he said.
“(It) makes sure we can test drive some of our evidence and (lets us check) where we’re at with some of the behind-the-scenes work.”
The Crown is not releasing when the actual trial might take place.
The Likneses and O’Brien have not been seen since they disappeared from the Likneses home in the Calgary community of Parkhill on June 30.
An Amber Alert was issued after O’Brien’s mother, Jennifer, arrived to pick him up from his grandparents’ house on the morning of June 30, but found no one at the home and called police.
Tips from the public about a truck seen in the vicinity of the Liknes home around the time the three disappeared led the Calgary Police Service (CPS) and RCMP to search Garland’s parents’ acreage northeast of Airdrie. Garland was named by police as a “person of interest” in the case on July 5.
A massive search of the property began on July 5, carried out by CPS and the RCMP Special Tactical Operations. Police also returned to search the Likneses home in Calgary. Beginning on July 9 and running until July 12, a search for evidence was expanded to landfills in Calgary, according to CPS.
CPS and the Crown Prosecutor’s office determined they had enough evidence to lay murder charges against Garland on July 14 despite the absence of the bodies.
The Amber Alert was called off on July 14 and the search of the property near Airdrie was called off on July 19.
Parker said police continue to pursue their investigations.
A memorial for the Likneses was held in Calgary at First Alliance Church on 40 Street SE on Sept. 27
