Shadow of Doubt

Shadow of Doubt

By: Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon

336 pages • ISBN 978-0864929211

On July 6, 2011, Richard Oland, scion of the Moosehead brewing family, was murdered in his office. The brutal killing stunned the city of Saint John, and news of the crime reverberated across the country. In a shocking turn, and after a two-and-half-year police investigation, Oland's only son, Dennis, was arrested for second-degree murder.

CBC reporter Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon covered the Oland case from the beginning. In Shadow of Doubt, she examines the controversial investigation: from the day Richard Oland's battered body was discovered to the conclusion of Dennis Oland's trial, including the hotly debated verdict and its aftermath. Meticulously examining the evidence, MacKinnon vividly reconstructs the cases for both the prosecution and the defence. She delves into the Oland history, exploring the strained relationships, infidelities, and financial problems that, according to the Crown, provided motives for murder.

In this revised and expanded edition, MacKinnon takes the readers inside every stage of one of Canada’s most gripping murder trials. She addresses the issues with the original police investigation, Oland’s appeal and his subsequent appearance at the Supreme Court of Canada, new evidence, and witnesses brought forward at the retrial, and the sensational final verdict.

Shadow of Doubt is a revealing look at a sensational crime, the tribulations of a prominent family, and the inner workings of the justice system that led to Dennis Oland's contentious conviction.