At the Oland trial on Friday, Dennis Oland was again portrayed as a man in dire financial straits, trying to borrow money to pay off other loans and obligations, a pattern that continued into the days and weeks before his father’s murder.
Eric Johnson, a forensic accountant, was called in by the Saint John Police Department to examine the financial status of Dennis Oland prior to his father’s murder.
Again on Friday, Johnson’s evidence painted a grim picture.
In the days leading up to his father’s death, Oland’s 163 thousand dollar line of credit had exceeded its limit by almost a thousand dollars.
In an email sent from Dennis Oland to his wife Lisa in May of 2011, he tells her, “Hi. There’s no money on my visa card anymore, so don’t bother trying to use it.”
The visa card balance was over its limit of $27,000.
It would be more than $5,000 over its limit the day before the murder.
One of the regular payments that Dennis Oland was trying to make was on a half-million dollar loan from his father Richard Oland.
It was an interest only loan at four per cent, and it required monthly payments of $1,667.
The court heard how Dennis Oland earned about $34,000 in his job as an investment advisor, during what has been described as a lean time for the industry, from January to July 2011.
At one point Oland asked his wife for $1,000, saying, “Money is a bit tight this month, I had a good pay of $8,000 but need more to cover expenses so it doesn’t bounce.”
Meantime, there was no money in Oland’s investment account and just twenty dollars in his RRSP account.
Despite numerous delays, Justice John Walsh informed the jury on Friday that the trial remains on schedule.
The jury was sent home early to allow the defence time to prepare for Monday’s cross examination of Eric Johnson.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Mike Cameron.
