On July 7, 2011, Richard Oland, a 69-year-old Canadian businessman and former vice-president for Moosehead Brewery, was bludgeoned to death in his office on Canterbury Street in Saint John, New Brunswick.

[9] His lawyers immediately began the appeals process, seeking the appellate judges to either overturn the guilty verdict, order a new trial, or enter a full acquittal.

[13] Richard and his older brother Derek were born and reared in Rothesay, New Brunswick, a suburb of Saint John.

Several families living in Rothesay, such as the Olands, the Irvings and the Crosbys, are considered "old money", claiming some of Canada's highest incomes per capita.

[13] Richard attended Rothesay Collegiate School, Regiopolis College, and the University of New Brunswick, obtaining a certificate of brewing technology.

[8] By 1980, Richard, then a vice-president of Moosehead Breweries, vied with Derek for leadership of the company in a public and legal feud.

[20] Richard was married to Constance "Connie" Oland for 46 years,[21][22] though he also been in an eight-year relationship with his mistress, Diana Sedlacek.

[25] On the morning of July 7, 2011, Oland's body was discovered lying face down in a pool of blood in his office by his personal assistant, Maureen Adamson.

Mark Smith of the Saint John Police Force testified that the office was "one of the bloodiest crime scenes of his career, with the most blows to a victim.

"[1] forensic pathologist Dr. Ather Naseemuddin counted 45 wounds to Richard's hands, neck and head during autopsy.

[32] Blood spatter was seen on his desk, computer, chair, filing cabinets, and on an empty pizza box in the garbage can.

"[34] Forensic analysts noted the blood pooling on the floor around Richard may not have occurred until after the attacker left the office, explaining why the scene contained few "transfer stains" and only one footprint, which was never connected to a suspect.

[35] Dr. Matthew Bowes, the physician who reviewed Dr. Nasseemuddin's autopsy report, believed Richard was alive for the duration of the attack.

[39] The trial revealed that members of the Saint John Police Force had failed to protect the crime scene from contamination.

[51] The police forensics unit concluded the three areas where Galen's blood was found were unrelated to Richard's murder.

David MacDonald visually inspected Dennis' brown jacket for blood, identifying five "reddish" spots, invisible to the naked eye, that required testing by the RCMP forensics lab in Nova Scotia.

[30][57] Dennis was also ordered to surrender his passport and advise the Saint John Police Force if he planned to travel outside of the province.

[59] He referred to the inquiry as a "screening mechanism" to review all of the evidence and rule whether or not he felt the case against Dennis was strong enough to warrant a trial.

[34] Forensic reports indicated the brown jacket contained four microscopic blood drops in the fabric, with DNA matching Richard or Derek.

LeBlanc indicated he felt the police presumed Dennis' guilt too quickly; "this conclusion on their part was totally unjustified and indeed irrational.

He also questioned why Dennis would keep the cleaning tag on after being told he was a suspect, along with the dry-cleaning receipt and his other clothing from the night of the murder did not contain any blood.

"[31] He agreed that Dennis had the opportunity to kill his father, that he had his father's DNA on the brown jacket he was wearing, that the brown jacket had been dry cleaned after Dennis was informed he was a suspect, that he told the police he was wearing a navy blazer, and that there were no signs the murder arose from a robbery or forced entry.

[61] Walsh reviewed the admissibility of a number of evidence items submitted to the Crown by police prior to the murder trial.

The case was very highly publicised in the Saint John region, leading to some concerns over the Court's ability to conduct a fair trial.

[34][66] Dennis Oland was convicted of second degree murder in December 2015 and sentenced to life in prison, with no possibility of parole for at least ten years.

[70] For the retrial, Dennis' defense team focused on several aspects of the case which mainly boiled down to the timeline of events.

Video evidence showed Dennis in Rothesay by about 7:30pm on the night of his father's death; two witnesses who had been in the building in a shop below Richard's office had testified hearing several thumping noises coming from upstairs between 7:30 and 8:00pm.

Another witness, who was sitting in a bar across the street, said he saw an unknown man exiting Richard's office building around the same time.

Finally, the defence team established the presence of a vehicle parked near the office and leaving seven minutes later, corresponding with the alleged time of the murder.

[73] Deputy Chief Glen McCloskey was also investigated for his conduct,[74] but was cleared by Halifax police and was not charged with any criminal offence.