Oland defence won't present victim's mistress or her husband as suspects

Dennis Oland's defence team won't put forwardRichard Oland'smistress or her now-estranged husband as possible alternativesuspects in his 2011 bludgeoning death, the murder retrial heard on Tuesday.

The defence won't argue the Saint John Police Force's investigation into Diana Sedlacek'shusband, JiriSedlacek, was inadequate either, lawyer Michael Lacy told the Court of Queen's Bench.

He made the statements in objecting to the Crown calling Jiri Sedlacek as a witness.

Sedlacek testified at Oland's first trial in 2015 and faced a rigorous cross-examinationby the defence.

But Lacy argued against recalling him for Oland'sretrial on a charge of second-degree murder.

"It is our position that his evidence is not relevant and has no probative value," Lacy told Justice TerrenceMorrison.

The judge deliberated for about an hour before agreeing andrulingSedlacek'sevidence inadmissible.

Oland, 50, is being retriedfor his father's deathafter the Court of Appeal overturned his 2015 conviction, citing an error in the trial judge's instructions to the jury.

He is the lastperson known to have seen his multimillionaire father alive when hevisited him at his officeon July 6, 2011 around 5:35 p.m.

The body of the69-year-old was found in the office the next morning with 45 sharp- and blunt-force injuries to his head, neck and hands.

The retrial is scheduled to resumeWednesday at 9:30 a.m. with testimony from an unidentified Crown witness, followed by the videotaped testimony of a forensic video analyst from the first trial.

On Tuesday, lead Crown prosecutor P.J. Veniothad argued it was important for the courtto hear from JiriSedlacek because in order to convict Dennis Oland, the judge must be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt.

"Who more would have motive than a jilted husband?" said Veniot.

Allowing Sedlacekto testify would give the court the opportunity to hear him say,'Itwasn't me, I wasn't there, Ididn't do it," the prosecutor said.

It would also disprovethe defence's allegation that police had tunnel vision in zeroing in on Olandas a suspect within hours, Veniotargued.

Sedlacek told the first trial he had nothingto do with the death of RichardOland and only found out about his wife's affair about 15 months later, when his lawyer shared a media report about it with him.

Headmitted hewould have been "very upset" if he had known his wife of 24 years was cheating on him, but insisted hesuspected nothing.

Sedlacek, who retired in 1988 as director of corporateplanning forBata Shoes and was about 84 years old at the time of the homicide,was questioned twice by Saint John police and ruled out as a suspect.

Defence lawyer Alan Gold pointed out during the first trial that policenever asked to seeSedlacek'sbank or phone records, or the GPS for his car.

On Tuesday, Morrison said that if Oland was being tried by a judge and jury, there "maybe a temptation for lay juryto engage in the improper speculation that [Sedlacek]would have been involved in the homicide."

But he emphasizedhe is hearing the case alone, andhad seen no evidence that implicated either of the Sedlaceks in Oland's murder.

Lacy assured the court the defence has no intention of raising either of the Sedlaceks as possible alternative suspects.

In issuing his ruling, Morrison said if the defence attempts later in the trial to lead any such evidenceor invitethe court to make any such inference, the Crown can make amotion to call rebuttal evidence.

Mistress neverquestioned by defence

Diana Sedlacekdidn't take the stand at the retrial either.

The defence took no issue with the Crown playing a videotape Tuesday of hertestimony from Oland's first trial in 2015 instead of calling her to testify again.

His lawyers did notcross-examineSedlacekat the first trial a decision that surprised many observers in the packed courtroom at the time because she is a key witness in the Crown's case.

Prosecutors are using a series of text messages and phone calls between the couple to establish a timeline of when Richard Oland was killed.

The Crown contends it was around 6:30 p.m., shortly before the accused left his father's office. The defence, however, suggests it was sometime after 7:30 p.m., when Anthony Shaw told police he heard thumping noises coming from the office. Dennis Oland was captured on security video around that time shopping with his wife in Rothesay, about a 15-minute drive away.

Impatience turned to panic

Richard Olandand DianaSedlacekhadexchanged several messages earlier that day, mostly in relation to a trip theywereplanningtogetherto Portland, Maine, the courtroom heard.

They had been in a "romantic relationship" for about eight years, Sedlacek said.

At 6:44 p.m., hertext, "U there??" went unanswered. She tried calling him, then texted again at 7:19 p.m. "You've turned your phone off!! Why!!!!!!??????"

She believed he had turned his phone off because it went straight to voicemail when she called, she testified.

Cellphone records would later show that text was the last communication received by Richard Oland's cellphone. It pinged off a cell tower in Rothesay, near the Renforth wharf where Dennis Olandtold police he had stopped on his way home from visiting his father.

"I [have] a lot of men who would love 2 b with me !!!!!! Do stop this [expletive]around! And answer the damn phone!I [will]call at your house," Sedlacekwrote, referring to the Rothesay home Oland shared with his wife, Constance.

By the next morning, when Sedlacek still couldn't reach Oland, her impatience turned to panic, she said. She was"texting, calling, praying."

When she saw police outside his office and his car being towed away, she feltsomething horrible must have happened, but didn't know what. She thought he might have had a heart attack, she said.

When Dennis Oland was questioned by police later that day, hesuggested that Sedlacek might have reason to harm his father.

"The only person that comes to mind is this supposed girlfriend, because she really seemed to be a whack job. Like, they call her the Dragon Lady. You know she'ssomebody who you think could be that Fatal Attractiontype person."

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