SAINT JOHN, N.B. -- Dennis Oland choked back tears and wiped his eyes with a tissue Wednesday as he told a courtroom he misses his father, who was found bludgeoned to death in his office in July 2011.

Oland told the jury in New Brunswick's Court of Queen's Bench that he and his father had an "old school" relationship and shared interests in skiing, boats and genealogy.

"He wouldn't say every day, 'I love you,' but he would say it time to time," said Oland, 47, who has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.

Asked by defence lawyer Gary Miller if he loved his father, Oland said: "Absolutely, yes."

"Do you miss him?" Miller continued.

"Yeah, yeah," Oland answered as he choked back tears.

Richard Oland, a prominent 69-year-old businessman whose family founded Moosehead Breweries, was found face down in a pool of blood in his Saint John office on the morning of July 7, 2011. The jury has heard he was killed the evening before and suffered 45 blunt and sharp-force wounds to his head, neck and hands, though no murder weapon was ever found.

In his cross-examination, Crown prosecutor P.J. Veniot focused on Oland's financial problems and money he owed his father at the time of his death, highlighting his escalating debt and mounting expenses. The jury has heard Richard Oland gave his son a $500,000 loan, and he was expected to make interest-only payments of $1,667 a month on that debt.

Veniot questioned Oland about the money he owed his father, his child-support payments to his first wife, bank accounts that were empty or in the red, and a line of credit that stood at $163,000. The prosecutor also read from emails between Oland and a supervisor discussing Oland's request for an $8,500 advance in each of the next two months.

He said an option for Oland to get out of his financial problems was to ask his father for help. Oland agreed but said he didn't speak to his father about his financial situation in July 2011 and he wasn't concerned, adding that his income as an investment adviser had dropped because of downturns in the market.

"I've been down this road before," he said, telling the court he wouldn't have a problem getting money from the bank and subsequently did. "The down cycles don't last that long."

Veniot also pointed out inconsistencies between Oland's statement to police on the day his father's body was found and his testimony in court.

Oland told the court he visited his father's office three times on July 6, 2011, but he told police he was there twice. On his third visit, Oland told jurors he retrieved a logbook.

Veniot said in the transcript of his police interview, Oland says his father was sitting at his desk when he left. But in court Oland said when he went back for the logbook his father was near his secretary's desk.

Referring to the transcript of his police interview, Oland said: "Nothing in this book was an attempt to mislead anybody."

Earlier Wednesday under questioning by Miller, Oland said he made a mistake when he told police he was wearing a navy blazer the last time he saw his father.

Oland said he had been wearing the navy jacket for a short time that morning and that's why he got it wrong during the police interview.

Security video from July 6, 2011, showed the younger Oland wearing a brown sport coat.

Veniot revisited the discrepancy, saying there was "quite a difference" in the appearance of the two coats and asking Oland if he was nervous when he spoke to police.

"I was nervous, I was in shock, and I was sad," Oland said.

The jury has heard the brown sport coat had three blood stains on it that were barely visible to the naked eye and DNA samples taken from the jacket found at Dennis Oland's home matched the profile of his father.

But a defence expert testified that the person who killed the senior Oland would have had a significant amount of blood on their hands and clothes.

Oland said there was always a big handshake or his father would have a hand on his arm or back when they met. Richard Oland would chew his cuticles and often would have scabs on his bald head, he added.

He also said when he met his father on July 6, the two men didn't discuss his finances, a bounced cheque or Diana Sedlacek, the woman Richard Oland was having an extramarital affair with. He said they never discussed Sedlacek.

Veniot asked Oland how he felt about his father's affair.

"I certainly couldn't say I liked it," said Oland, who finished his testimony Wednesday after two days.

But Oland said he had never seen any evidence of the affair and it was more of a concern for his older sister, Jacqueline.