Douglas Garland
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The murders of Nathan O'Brien, Kathryn Liknes and Alvin Liknes occurred on June 29, 2014. Five-year-old Nathan O'Brien and his grandparents, Kathryn and Alvin Liknes, disappeared from the Liknes'
Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
,
Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
home after what police called a "violent incident." An amber alert was issued for Nathan. The alert was lifted on July 14, 2014, after the arrest of a person in relation to the disappearance. On July 14, 2014, police stated that they believed O'Brien and the Likneses were murdered, although no bodies were recovered. Douglas Garland was charged with two counts of
first degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
in the deaths of the Likneses and a
second-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excus ...
for killing O'Brien. The second degree charge for Nathan O'Brien was upgraded by the court to first degree in May 2015. The initial disappearance led to a large outcry of support from the local community, with the disappearance prompting the longest amber alert in Canadian history as well as one of the most intensive ground searches in Calgary's history. The investigation involved multiple agencies including the
Calgary Police Service Calgary Police Service (CPS; ) is the municipal police service of the City of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is the largest municipal police service in Alberta and third largest municipal force in Canada behind the Toronto Police Service and the Mo ...
,
RCMP The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...
,
Canada Border Services Agency The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA; , ''ASFC'') is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for border guard, border control (i.e. protection and surveillance), immigration enforcement, and Customs, customs services in Canada. ...
, and
Crime Stoppers Crime Stoppers or Crimestoppers is a community program that assists people in providing anonymous information about criminal activity. Often managed by non-profit groups or the police, it operates separately from the emergency telephone number s ...
.


Background

Douglas Garland was the brother-in-law of Alvin's son Allen. Prior to the murders he had been convicted for running a meth lab on the rural property he lived on with his parents, and had used the stolen identity of a teenager who died in a car crash in
Cardston Cardston is a town in Alberta, Canada. It was first settled in 1887 by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who travelled from Utah, via the Macleod-Benton Trail, to present-day Alberta in one of the century ...
to evade the law throughout the 1990's. Garland had worked with the two after Alvin Liknes hired him to do wiring for a pump that Alvin and Allen were working on. Alvin was an inventor and had patented several designs since the 1970's. Garland had slightly altered the patent they had been working on and believed that he should have been included as one of the inventors, but Liknes disagreed. This, along with Garland being let go in 2007 caused him to develop a grudge against Alvin. When he learned that Alvin was planning on moving away he decided to act on his grudge. Police later found that Garland had searched up incriminating things such as "how to kill without emotion", "force needed for concussion" and "most painful torture". On the day of the murder, 5 year old Nathan O'Brien chose to see his grandparents with his mom over a visit to the
zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility where animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoology, ...
. His grandparents, Kathryn and Alvin Liknes had bought a house in
Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...
and were hosting an
estate sale An estate sale or estate liquidation is a sale or auction to dispose of a substantial portion of the materials owned by a person who is recently deceased or who must dispose of their personal property to facilitate a move. Reasons for an estate ...
on the day. Afterwards, Nathan asked if he could sleep-over at his grandparents to which his mother agreed. Initially his mother and one year old brother also stayed, but after the one year old woke up during the night, his mother decided to drive him home leaving Nathan asleep with his grandparents.


Murder

Many of the details of the murders remain unknown as Garland has remained silent since his incarceration. Sometime between Nathan's mother leaving the house and her return, Garland used a drill to access the house through a side door and then disabled the home’s router. Alvin was sleeping in the master bedroom and Kathryn and Nathan were sleeping in the front bedroom. Garland attacked the three and beat them until they were incapacitated and bloody. Evidence was presented in court showing that Garland attempted to clean blood off the floor using a mop before dragging the victims to his pickup truck and driving them to his rural property. There he murdered all three victims, likely after extended torture. DNA evidence found on multiple pieces of evidence including a hacksaw, meat hooks, and the shoes Garland was wearing when he was first arrested, matched the three victims. The theory presented by the Crown was that Garland then burned the bodies near his shed to dispose of them.


Investigation

At 10:00 a.m. on the day following the murders, Nathan’s mother, Jennifer, called Kathryn, who didn't pick up. Jennifer then went to her parents' house. Upon entering, she discovered the three missing, and saw blood throughout the house. Jennifer called the police and an Amber alert was issued for Nathan at 5:15p.m. Later that day, police announced that evidence in the house suggested that the disappearances were suspicious. On July 1, aerial imagery taken from a plane flown by Peregrine Aerial Surveys for the city of Airdrie showed two adults, believed to be Alvin and Kathryn Liknes, lying face down in the grass and a small body lying next to them near an outbuilding on Garland's farm. When the farm was flown over again the next day, the bodies were gone. On July 4, police asked for help identifying a green pickup truck seen on multiple CCTV cameras in the area of the Liknes home. Alvin's son Allen and his wife told authorities that the green pickup matched the green
Ford F150 The Ford F-Series is a series of light-duty trucks marketed and manufactured by Ford Motor Company since model year 1948 as a range of full-sized pickup trucks — positioned between Ford's Ranger and Super Duty pickup trucks. Alongs ...
driven by Douglas Garland, leading him to become one of three major suspects in the case. On July 5, police organized a ground search of the area around the Liknes house, one of the largest in Calgary history. That same day the RCMP executed a search of the Airdrie property belonging to Garland and his parents. During the initial search of the property, a green pickup truck matching the one seen in CCTV footage was found and seized. Douglas Garland was taken in for questioning, and after being released was charged with the
identity theft Identity theft, identity piracy or identity infringement occurs when someone uses another's personal identifying information, like their name, identifying number, or credit card number, without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. ...
from the 90s, which allowed him to be kept in police custody until July 11 when he was granted bail under the condition he would not return to the rural property. The police search of the Garland property lasted from July 5 to July 20, and the investigation at the Liknes home ended on July 13; in total, police collected upwards of 1,400pieces of evidence in what was called Operation Amber, the largest number of evidence items collected for a court case in Calgary history. Evidence collected from Garland's farm included a
Tyvek Tyvek () is a brand of synthetic flashspun high-density polyethylene fibers. The name ''Tyvek'' is a registered trademark of the American multinational chemical company DuPont, which discovered and commercialized Tyvek in the late 1950s and e ...
suit, face masks, boots, books about disposing of bodies, whips, lockpicking devices, chemical gloves, over fourteen pairs of handcuffs, dental anesthetic, and an assortment of knives, tasers, and other weapons. Eight pairs of women's shoes, two blonde women's wigs, and an adult diaper were also found in the basement of the house; photos of adults in diapers were also found on a hard drive which was hidden in the rafters. A search of the area around the sheds found three blood stains in the grass as well as burned material in the nearby firepit. Evidence found in the firepit included 17 teeth, two of which were thought to belong to a child, bone fragments, pieces of burnt flesh, jewelry, and buttons.


Arrest

On July 14 Douglas Garland drove to his rural Airdrie property in a rental car. Two police vehicles were dispatched to intercept him, but when they reached Garland's car it was parked outside the property. Due to the uneven terrain, police approached on foot, using assistance from a HAWCS helicopter to locate Garland in a thicket before arresting him at 1:25a.m.


Trial

The murder trial for Garland began on January 16, 2017, and drew to a close on February 16, 2017. Jurors took just over nine hours to reach a verdict of guilty on all three counts of first degree murder. The following morning, Garland was sentenced, with only the minimum sentence being determined, as first degree murder carries an automatic life sentence. After 10 of the 12 jurors recommended that Garland receive consecutive minimum sentences, Judge David Gates ordered Garland be required to serve 75 years before being eligible for parole. As Garland would have to live to 129 years of age to finish the term, he will effectively be incarcerated for the rest of his life. Throughout the trial, Garland showed no remorse or emotion. Hours after being sentenced, Garland was sent to the Calgary Remand Centre located in the city's northwest, where he was physically assaulted by multiple inmates. EMS said the victim of the assault (Garland) was transported to hospital in stable, non-life-threatening condition, with soft tissue injuries.


Reactions

Upon the announcement of the Liknes family's disappearance,
Cenovus Energy Cenovus Energy Inc. (pronounced se-nō-vus) is a Canadian integrated oil and natural gas company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. Its offices are located at Brookfield Place, having completed a move from the neighbouring Bow in 2019. Histo ...
, Nathan's parents' employer, sought to finance any ransom for the safe return of the family in the case one was demanded. Hundreds of people volunteered to search for Nathan in the days following the disappearance. On July 15 after the announcement of Garland being charged with the murders, hundreds of Calgarians released green balloons as a tribute to the victims. A Green Ribbon campaign was also started by a neighbour of Alvin and Kathryn Liknes. On July 19 a
silent auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition e ...
fundraiser was held for Nathan's family. On July 23 a vigil was held outside the
Alberta Legislature Building The Alberta Legislature Building, located in Edmonton, is the meeting place of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and the Executive Council of Alberta. It is often shortened to "the Ledge". The Alberta Legislature Building is at 10801 97 Ave ...
in Edmonton. A private memorial by the family was attended by over 200 people. Nathan's parents started the Nathan O'Brien Children's Foundation, which aims to help disadvantaged children. In 2015, a fundraiser game featuring the
Calgary Hitmen The Calgary Hitmen are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Hitmen play in the Central Division of the Western Hockey League (WHL), hosting their home games at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Bret "Hitman" Hart, a prof ...
was held at the
Scotiabank Saddledome Scotiabank Saddledome is a multi-use indoor arena in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Located in Stampede Park in the southeast end of downtown Calgary, the Saddledome was built in 1983 to replace the Stampede Corral as the home of the Calgary Flames ...
in
Downtown Calgary Downtown Calgary is a dense urban district in central Calgary, Alberta. It contains the second largest concentration of head offices in Canada, despite only being the country's fourth largest city in terms of population. The downtown is divided in ...
in Nathan's honour.


See also

*
List of murder convictions without a body A murder conviction without a body is an instance of a person being convicted of murder despite the absence of the victim's body. Circumstantial and forensic evidence are prominent in such convictions. Hundreds of such convictions have occurred in ...
*
List of people who disappeared {{Short description, Lists of people of unknown locations and statusLists of people who disappeared include those whose current whereabouts are unknown, or whose deaths are unsubstantiated: Many people who disappear are eventually declared dead ' ...
* Murder of Tori Stafford (another child whose murder in 2009 led to a reworking of Canada's amber alert system) * Killing of Lyle and Marie McCann


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Nathan, Disappearance of 2010s missing person cases 2014 crimes in Canada
Disappearance of Nathan O'Brien, Kathryn Liknes and Alvin Liknes The murders of Nathan O'Brien, Kathryn Liknes and Alvin Liknes occurred on June 29, 2014. Five-year-old Nathan O'Brien and his grandparents, Kathryn and Alvin Liknes, disappeared from the Liknes' Calgary, Alberta home after what police called a "vi ...
Child abduction in Canada Kidnapped Canadian people Murder convictions without a body Missing person cases in Canada Murder in Alberta 2014 murders in Canada Child murder in Canada