This case captured both local and national attention in 2014 both because it involved the disappearance & murder of a child but also how he and his grandparents were killed and bodies destroyed.
A quick summary from wikipedia:
The victims:
The killer:
The details that came out during the trial were horrific. The theory presented was that Garland (the killer) broke into the home in the middle of the night, assaulted the three victims, restrained them and then transported them to his parents farm 35km to the north of the city. It was there its believed he tortured the two adults and ultimately killed all three. To dispose of the evidence Garland dismembered them and burnt their remains in a barrel on the farm. The motive for this crime, Garland felt slighted because of a business deal ten years prior to the crime. He had thoroughly planned the killing of the adults, it was just terrible fortune that their grandson was spending the night and was wrapped up into the murders. That planning included the purchase of tyvek coveralls (as to not leave his own DNA at the crime scene), various restraints, adult diapers (for the victims to wear)
The trial also disclosed some incredibly good luck for the investigators. There just happened to be an aerial photographer taking high-res pictures for the county that just happened to include the farm on the day the bodies were present by the burn barrel and again the day after when they were no longer visible.
A disturbing note re charges is that Garland originally faced two counts of first degree murder (the grandparents) and one count of second (the kid) but eventually that second degree charge was upgraded to first. In Canadian law a significant different between first and second degree is that of premeditation. It was clear that he had premeditated the killings of Kathryn and Alvin but that originally Nathan was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. By upgrading that last charge to first degree indicates that Garland had an opportunity to not kill the child but actively made a decision to do so.
The jury only took eight hours to find Garland guilty on three counts of first degree and he was ultimately sentenced to three consecutive life sentences with no chance of parole for 75 years which at the time was the longest sentence ever handed down by a Canadian Judge. He appealed both the verdict and the sentence but failed.
Nancy Hixt is a crime reporter with a local TV channel and has a podcast and recently covered this case. If you're interested its here:
A quick summary from wikipedia:
The disappearance of Nathan O'Brien, Kathryn Liknes and Alvin Liknes occurred on June 29, 2014. Five-year-old Nathan O'Brien and his grandparents, Kathryn and Alvin Liknes, disappeared from the grandparents' Calgary, Alberta home after what police called a "violent incident." An amber alert was issued. This alert was lifted on July 14, 2014 after the arrest of a person in relation to the disappearance. Later on July 14, 2014, police state that they believe O'Brien and the Likneses were murdered, but they did not recover their bodies. Douglas Garland was charged with two counts of first degree murder in the deaths of the Likneses and a second-degree murder charge for allegedly killing O'Brien. The second degree charge for Nathan O'Brien was upgraded by the court to a first degree charge in May 2015.
The police investigation was textbook and included the most involved property search in the Calgary Police Service's history. At one point Garland, who had yet to be charged with homicide, was out on bail but under conditions not to return to his parent's farm. Out of desperation he violated those conditions and tried to return in the middle of the night. That violation allowed the police to rearrest Garland which was captured on video:The victims:
The killer:
The details that came out during the trial were horrific. The theory presented was that Garland (the killer) broke into the home in the middle of the night, assaulted the three victims, restrained them and then transported them to his parents farm 35km to the north of the city. It was there its believed he tortured the two adults and ultimately killed all three. To dispose of the evidence Garland dismembered them and burnt their remains in a barrel on the farm. The motive for this crime, Garland felt slighted because of a business deal ten years prior to the crime. He had thoroughly planned the killing of the adults, it was just terrible fortune that their grandson was spending the night and was wrapped up into the murders. That planning included the purchase of tyvek coveralls (as to not leave his own DNA at the crime scene), various restraints, adult diapers (for the victims to wear)
The trial also disclosed some incredibly good luck for the investigators. There just happened to be an aerial photographer taking high-res pictures for the county that just happened to include the farm on the day the bodies were present by the burn barrel and again the day after when they were no longer visible.
A disturbing note re charges is that Garland originally faced two counts of first degree murder (the grandparents) and one count of second (the kid) but eventually that second degree charge was upgraded to first. In Canadian law a significant different between first and second degree is that of premeditation. It was clear that he had premeditated the killings of Kathryn and Alvin but that originally Nathan was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. By upgrading that last charge to first degree indicates that Garland had an opportunity to not kill the child but actively made a decision to do so.
The jury only took eight hours to find Garland guilty on three counts of first degree and he was ultimately sentenced to three consecutive life sentences with no chance of parole for 75 years which at the time was the longest sentence ever handed down by a Canadian Judge. He appealed both the verdict and the sentence but failed.
Nancy Hixt is a crime reporter with a local TV channel and has a podcast and recently covered this case. If you're interested its here:
