Douglas Garland triple murder trial jurors begin deliberations

• For the latest updates, see: Douglas Garland found guilty of murdering Calgary boy and grandparents

After 50 witnesses and 89 exhibits presented throughouta five-week triple murder trial, Douglas Garland's fate is now in the hands of 12 Calgary jurors who have begun deliberating.

Court of Queen's Bench Justice David Gates delivered his final instructionsto jurors on how to apply the law to their deliberations and what potential verdicts they can arrive at.

"You are the sole judges of the facts," said Gates. "Ignore anything you heard or read about this case outside this courtroom. "Use your common sense."

"You must not speculate."

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Garland, 57, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of five-year-old Nathan O'Brien and his grandparents, Alvin, 66, and KathyLiknes, 53, of Calgary.

Gates told jurors they can find Garland guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder or manslaughter. Or, if the Crown has failed in its burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt thatGarland killed the family members, they must acquit.

Jurors finished deliberations at9 p.m. Wednesday and are scheduled to return at 9 a.m. Thursday.

Thebodies of Nathan and his grandparents have never been found, and prosecutors believe they were taken from the Liknes's home alive, then killed onthe farm near Airdrie, north of Calgary, where Garland lived with his parents. The Crown's theory is that Garland burned the bodies.

Because there were 13 jurors ahead of sequestration, one was randomly selected to be excused because only 12 can participate in deliberations.

Crown prosecutors Shane Parker and Vicki Faulkner as well as defence lawyers Kim Ross and Jim Lutz made closing arguments to the jury on Monday.

Jurors had heard earlier in the trial that Garland was angry at Alvin Liknes over a business relationship formed and broken years earlier.

Gates told jurors Garland is entitled to the presumption of innocence.

The defence team did not call any witnesses to testify.

Internet searches found on a hard drive that was found hidden in the farmhouse where Garland lived with his parents showed obsessive research on the Likneses, killing, torture and weapons, according to the Crown.

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Nathan was sleeping over athis grandparents' on the night of June 29, 2014, when the three family members disappeared.

Surveillance video gathered from area homes and businesses show an older model green pickup truck, just like the one Garland drove, parked on the Liknes's street in the early hours of June 30.

After about 90 minutes, the truck was seen driving off with a large white object inside the truck bed the Crown claims that it was a cover placed over the boy and his grandparents.

In what the Crown has called a "dumb luck," a mapping planeflew over the Garland farm on July 1 and took aerial photos of what appears to be two adult bodies laid out on the property near three sheds. A smaller, less clear figure is next to them.

Two weeks after the search for Nathan and his grandparents began, it ended when Garland was arrested and charged with three counts of murder.

Key evidence presented by the prosecution during the trial:

• DNA from all three victims was found on the Garland farm, including on items the accused had recently purchased like a hacksaw and meat hook.
• A small piece of human remains belonging to Kathy Liknes was found in the grass on the farm.
• A fragment of Alvin Liknes's remains was found in ashes on the Garland property.
• Kathy Liknes's DNA was found in Garland's truck.
• Alvin Liknes's DNA was found on a shoe Garland was wearing at the time of his arrest.

Jurors will remain sequestered, cut off from the outside world, until they reach a verdict.

A first-degree murder conviction comes with an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years. If convicted, Garland could potentially face a sentence that would not allow him to apply for parole for 75 years.

• Seethe latest updates in live tweets from CBC reporters in the courtroom. On mobile? Click here to seetheliveblog.

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