Prior to the murders he had been convicted for running a meth lab on the rural property he lived on with his parents,[6] and had used the stolen identity of a teenager who died in a car crash in Cardston to evade the law throughout the 1990's.
Police later found that Garland had searched up incriminating things such as "how to kill without emotion",[9] "force needed for concussion" and "most painful torture".
His grandparents, Kathryn and Alvin Liknes had bought a house in Edmonton and were hosting an estate sale on the day.
[13] Evidence was presented in court showing that Garland attempted to clean blood off the floor using a mop[14] before dragging the victims to his pickup truck and driving them to his rural property.
[17] On July 4, police asked for help identifying a green pickup truck seen on multiple CCTV cameras in the area of the Liknes home.
On July 5, police organized a ground search of the area around the Liknes house, one of the largest in Calgary history.
During the initial search of the property, a green pickup truck matching the one seen in CCTV footage was found and seized.
Douglas Garland was taken in for questioning, and after being released was charged with the identity theft from the 90s, which allowed him to be kept in police custody until July 11 when he was granted bail under the condition he would not return to the rural property.
[18] Evidence collected from Garland's farm included a Tyvek suit, face masks, boots, books about disposing of bodies,[19] whips, lockpicking devices, chemical gloves, over fourteen pairs of handcuffs, dental anesthetic, and an assortment of knives, tasers, and other weapons.
Evidence found in the firepit included 17 teeth, two of which were thought to belong to a child, bone fragments, pieces of burnt flesh, jewelry, and buttons.
[24] Hours after being sentenced, Garland was sent to the Calgary Remand Centre located in the city's northwest, where he was physically assaulted by multiple inmates.
EMS said the victim of the assault (Garland) was transported to hospital in stable, non-life-threatening condition, with soft tissue injuries.
On July 15 after the announcement of Garland being charged with the murders, hundreds of Calgarians released green balloons as a tribute to the victims.