Dennis Oland walks with an unidentified friend at his trial in Saint John, N.B. on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015. Oland is charged with second degree murder in the death of his father.Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press
Richard Oland had a good relationship with his son, the businessman's secretary told Dennis Oland's murder trial Friday, and she never heard him complain about the money his son owed.
Under cross-examination, Maureen Adamson told the Court of Queen's Bench in Saint John, N.B., that Richard Oland was happy to see his son the last time she saw him alive on July 6, 2011.
Adamson says the pair was chatting about family history as she wrapped up for the day.
Defence attorney Gary Miller asked her about a newspaper article she read after Richard Oland's death that said the two men did not get along.
Adamson said she was surprised by the report, saying she had known them both for about 30 years and had never seen them argue.
"I had never seen that in all the time I worked for Mr. Oland," she said.
Oland, 46, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the death of his 69-year-old father, a well-known businessman.
In his opening statement earlier this week, Crown attorney P.J. Veniot characterized the relationship between Richard Oland and his son as more akin to that of a client and banker, citing the $500,000 payment Richard gave Dennis to help him keep his home after a costly divorce with his first wife.
Veniot alleged Dennis Oland was a man living beyond his means at the time of his father's death, and couldn't keep up with the monthly interest payments of $1,667.
But during cross-examination, Adamson said Richard Oland didn't micromanage those monthly payments.
She said Dennis had bounced a cheque to his father before another one was returned and marked not-sufficient funds from the bank shortly after Richard was murdered in July 2011.
A year earlier, Adamson said Dennis bounced a cheque and when she pointed it out to him, he simply wrote a new one.
Miller also suggested in his cross-examination of Adamson that the $500,000 payment to Oland was an advance on his inheritance and not a loan, as the Crown has described it.
He said Richard had Dennis make interest payments to be fair to his sisters, who were also heirs.
"I believe so," said Adamson, but suggested that Miller should ask Robert McFadden, who was Oland's right hand man at Far End Corp.
During the cross-examination Friday, Miller peppered Adamson with questions on everything from the nature of the relationship between the two men to a skin condition that often made spots on Richard Oland's bald head bleed and scab over.
Miller asked if Oland was a "touchy-feely" person who would get in close to someone he was speaking with, and usually put his hand on their arm or put his arm around their back.
Adamson said Oland wore hearing aids and would get close to anyone he was speaking with.
Miller showed photos taken of Richard Oland during social events that showed him in physical contact with other people and also asked Adamson about photos of the crime scene and surveillance video.
In the video, shown to the court Thursday, Dennis Oland and his wife are seen shopping at a market in Rothesay, N.B., at 7:38 p.m. on July 6, 2011 — about two hours after Adamson said he had dropped by his father's office in Saint John.
Adamson found Richard Oland's body in the office the next morning.
Veniot told the jury in his opening submission that Oland was killed in a violent outburst that resulted in 40 blows to his head and neck.
The trial resumes Monday.