Dennis Oland’s defence team says it wasn’t unusual for his accounts to be overdrawn and maxed out.
Last week, forensic accountant Eric Johnson explained how Dennis Oland's $163,000 line of credit was overdrawn, and his Visa card maxed out in the days leading up to his father's murder.
But on Monday, defence lawyer Alan Gold questioned whether Oland was really was in desperate need for cash or additional credit.
"Nowhere in any of the material you examined, did you see any evidence that Dennis Oland had ever been refused an increase in his line of credit?" Gold asked Johnson.
Johnson replied that he didn’t.
Over the previous year, Oland was able to secure from the bank a large increase on his line of credit.
Johnson's evidence indicates that Dennis Oland was living on the edge financially. From day one of the trial, the Crown has said that Oland's precarious financial situation is one of the foundations of their case.
The defence contends that if Oland was living on the edge, it was nothing new. It took a look at Oland’s money trouble before 2011 and provided Oland’s financial documents for 2009 and 2010, showing a pattern of spending and debt very similar to that of 2011.
Gold told the court that Oland was accustomed to juggling debts.
"Certainly the jury can decide for themselves whether they pretty much see the same pattern over all three years," said Gold.
Though the crown countered today, the overall level of debt that Oland was carrying had increased about $120,000 in the year prior to the murder.
Dennis Oland has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in connection with the death of his father, Richard Oland, whose body was found in his Saint John office the morning of July 7, 2011.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Mike Cameron.
