The Richard Oland Case : Murder in the Family - the fifth estate 

As a kid I knew a few people who grew up with very wealthy parents. The one consistent thing about them all was their sense of alienation. Going to their houses as a kid I couldn't help but notice how little attention these parents showed their kids. Each person in the family seemed to just do their own thing. And their houses, although beautiful, always felt cold and unwelcoming. Like a museum. It was a massive difference to the way my working class family functioned. Seven of us living in a three bedroom house on a single income, I always felt I was a part of something. Everybody ate together at the dinner table. We'd all gather around the TV every Sunday night to watch the movie of the week. We weren't well off but none of us ever went without. Those rich kids had a lot of material things that my folks could never afford to give us but I wouldn't have traded places with them for anything.

No one is 'capable of such horrific acts' until the moment that they are.

If it was true that "to know Richard Oland was to dislike Richard Oland," there would have been numerous possible suspects.

If they have CCTV footage of Dennis at his fathers business surely it shows whether or not anyone else entered the building around that time.

"This just doesn't happen in this community," is my biggest pet peeve - as if somehow they should be immune to violent crime, smh

"It doesn't happen in this community" 🤔🤔. Murder happens EVERYWHERE.

Sometimes "tough love" is just a smoke screen for "mean spiritedness" and the need to be "in control".

Seriously? I don't care how inept of a cop you are, but using the bathroom at the crime scene?! Common sense would dictate maybe... just maybe... that's not a wise thing to do. Idk if he killed his dad or not, but the gross mishandling of the crime scene/evidence should have gotten this case thrown out.

I had well-to-do, controlling, unpleasable parents who consistently tried to bring their money to bear whenever, as a young adult, I made choices for myself that they disapproved of. I moved far away, broke off communication with them and took on a lifestyle that suited me but didn't necessarily make me rich, but I was free. Sure, it was hard work and it meant taking on a learning curve that most middle class kids go thru in their teens (rich kids are sheltered from such "awful things" as how to balance a checkbook or take a menial job or even how to just clean a bathroom), but I look back on my life and realize that, of all of the people in my birth family, I'm the most well-adjusted and happy. Rich kids need to stop murdering their overbearing parents and just hit the bricks and find any job that will gain them their first foothold to freedom.

I love that I'm able to watch programs that are outside of the U.S. CBC News, this program is very well done, shows both sides and as a criminal justice nut, (former Criminal Justice student, lover of all show, books and movies in this venue), I appreciate the time and effort all of you put forth to bring these well-crafted episodes to the public.

I've run out of dateline and 48 hours to watch thank you CBC for providing crime addicts good shows!

Sounds like the whole family had a problem with the old man.

"He would be the last person to get murdered" Listening to all the details earlier; "Nope he would be the first"

Dennis Oland has since been released. There was a second trial which ended in a mistrial. During the third trial in 2019, he was a acquitted.

Those of us who have trouble in face-to-face confrontations are in awe of that talking detective. Like a bulldog.

imagine hurting the dog over and over then be surprised when it finally leashes back

He may had a difficult father but has great friends

Only in Canada where you are summoned in a hockey rink for jury duty. Man I love my country

I'm sorry, but holding the jury selection at an ice hockey rink...that's almost too Canadian!!!

It never ceases to amaze me how there can be a perfect crime scene, and then comes along PC Plod followed by a team of incompetent forensics and it's all destroyed. How can there be so many unprofessional experts in this field of work. Even i can figure out (as can most people with an interest in true crime) what should or shouldn't be done at a crime scene, and i have no training whatsoever in this kind of thing.......most of it comes down to common sense, and of course a certain degree of expertise on the part of forensics and police. But time and time again they stuff up and evidence is lost/destroyed and even stolen by the very people who are supposed to solve it. It's mind boggling. Thanks for a great upload, i can't get through the day without a good dose of true crime to solve.👍

If someone says "to know him is to hate him", the police needed to take into account that this man had many enemies. And the list of suspects includes anyone that knew him, not only his son because he did not show the emotion they think he should have when he found out his overbearing father is deceased😒

It;s stories like these that make me NOT envy the rich and powerful (sometimes)

I have never met a rich or wealthy family EVER in my life that was really and genuinely HAPPY. All they do is put on a mask and live like hell .So sad .

"Tough love". What a joke. He couldn't LOVE his own son! Another bad father. The crap that sons endure for a parent.

I do think he very well could have done it (his dad sounds horrible) BUT the prosecution did not provide enough evidence to convince me that he was guilty without a doubt. I'm Canadian and after watching this, I am truly disappointed in our justice system.

I was raised by my grand parents who were upper middle class ,my mom and her brothers and sisters were middle class workers . We all came from Harlem, N.Y. but own a home in an upper middle class town in Queens ,N.Y. It was Holy hell living in that home and I found my own way out of that narcissistic and violent situation. When I got big and strong from playing sports and became vocal about what I was experiencing there and started doing my own thing like buying my own stuff and paying my way they asked me to leave . They played the yo-yo game a few times but I made my own family by then and life went on etc.........

punishment for crimes in Canada is the equivalent to: standing in the corner and thinking about what you have done - worthless.

Watching these Canadian based stories, keep hearing over and over how investigators, etc. were inadequate, messed up, etc.

Having discovered Fifth Estate only recently, I prefer this program to 48 Hours and Dateline. Thank you!

On July 19, 2019, Dennis was found not guilty on retrial.

July 2019, he was found not guilty in a judge only retrial, and released.

As someone who has served on two juries, I can't imagine how horrid this jury selection was. 5,000 people? Really?

Oh god what a way to treat the crime scene. Such amateurs.

the son was retried in July 2019: Not Guilty

I watched his interrogation and was surprised. I'm in the US and not familiar with Canada's legal system, but after the police said they though he committed the crime, Dennis said he wanted a lawyer and didn't wish to speak to them anymore. They continued brow beating him for hours, with Dennis slumped quietly in his chair. I don't get how they're allowed to do this. Are the police allowed to continue questioning suspects for as long as they want to or is there a time limit? With all the talk recently about false confessions, this seems wrong to me. It made me uncomfortable just watching it, much less being accused, so I could see someone saying whatever they had to just to get it to stop.

Hello Sherlock Holmes here: He visited his fathers office a couple of times on the day of the murder, he was filmed leaving the office the last time and his father did not have any more phone calls or internet activity at all from then on. that's a big clue and taking everything else into account I think the son did it.

The fifth estate rocks.

My freedom to live without fear of dealing with my critical parents began after they both died. Their voices constantly in my head made it impossible to have any real joy in my life despite my successes. I received a substantial inheritance which I don't spend. It's there for when I finally don't feel it's somehow tainted.

Denis Oland has been acquitted when he had a second trial (appeal) ! He's a free man.

The police actually used the bathroom. What the hell?

Their interview of him should have STOPPED the minute he had an attorney. Typical crooked cops.

When you commit a crime, even if you are from a filthy rich powerful family, once you're in that interrogation room, a mere police constable, who you would probably never given a glance, is in the high chair and you're in the hot one! smh

it would be interesting to see how this case would be handled if money and power and prestige weren't involved. Would it be a clear acquittal or clear guilty? This is why preservation of evidence and crime scenes is literally number 1

A financial advisor, that far in debt, must not have been a very good financial advisor.

New Brunswick is still a remote mercantile colony, with three families running the place.

Almost 3/4 of a million dollars in debt.. taking an advancement on his salary. He had severe financial complications. Went to dad and asked for money or to forgive past debt of the $500,000 dad said no, an altercation arises and in a blind fit of rage killed dad with a hammer.

The family came to his defense because they knew that a murder conviction within the family would be bad for branding and business.

Thanks heaps for the upload! It’s great quality unlike some I’ve seen elsewhere, and it’s an interesting case to watch. I’m already subbed but I’d be happy to do it again

Thanks CBC News! just found this Channel and subscribed :)

Son,arms crossed immediately, very unemotional... starts trying to build scenarios, instead of..."oh my god, my father, what happened'?

He literally got away with murdering his own father

Now he's been proven not guilty at the new trial, I'm not 100% sure but from what the evidence was it does look like he may have been innocent all along.

Why many of us are addicted to such shows?

killed the way he was suggests "whoever" did it , wanted to annihilate any sense of this man's identity, not some random who was in it for a robbery or for kicks, it was very personal. Dennis driving around alot before the murders also suggests he was building up courage to actually do it, and chickened out even after the first trip up the steps. Also attempting to hide his car. If only that pesky secretary hadn't have been there to see him as the last person who saw his dad, otherwise she would have been in the hot seat.

That father was a narc no doubt.

They, this show certainly didn't prove him guitly.

Dennis O, for a being a financial analyst, he did not manage his money very well.

There are quite a few shows to pick from but.......are they any good is the problem. This is a winner!

at 18:00, i love how they did god cop, bad cop. the one nice guy was there for 3 hours and the another cop comes in and just full out accuses him. LOL. classic.

You are most welcome! Oh yes! I do love Town & Country and forgot to add it, thanks! And also Canada's The Fifth Estate has some great episodes. Ireland only has a few episodes that I know of, of Crimes that Shook Ireland, but the two that I can think of are mighty vicious. But the winner of the most crazed, visious, and scary crimes goes to Australia!! No kidding, when I just hear the opening music to the show, I need a cuddle under my blanket! I can't watch it if I'm alone.

I love this guys voice especially I the colonel Russell Williams case! Such a good narrator.

He did not ask how his father died and sets up the alibi Guilty

Stop changing the tone of this interrorgation , he stopped talking because he lawyered up and these interrorgators still continued to talk with him without the lawyer present .

This show is awesome like Dateline

Koodos to the fifth estate, my opinion they create great content and the production top notch.

Love how those officers stood there at attention and saluted him when they walked by with the casket, That's respect and gave me goose bumps ,,,seen a Soldier standing outside his vehicle in the pouring rain and he stood there at attention and saluted when the last car went by which was the Hearst and the soldier had no idea who had died he just done it out of respect and somebody caught that on a cell phone and posted it on here on RU-vid and what a wonderful sight to see and an honor to watch that man that fought for our country and come back and do that to someone he had no idea who it was just a ton of respect for the military the Army and Navy the Marines all of them top notch God bless

"Things like this don't happen in this community..." But it did.

I love when the defense contests court findings in these situations it is always because they were obtained in an "improper manner", then never address how the item/knowledge/whatever in question directly points to their client as the offender.

The son talked too much initially, in the first Police interview.

The son was found Not Guilty July 2019.

So many simple straightforward questions left unanswered

Wow. Expert crime scene investigators should be on the scene as soon as possible. No matter where it happens in Canada. Especially for such a brutal crime and high profile crime. Apparently it wasn’t done in this case. It’s really unbelievable

What the hell does life in prison with no parole for a minimum of ten years mean?

theres no way he did it , the father had so many enemies

some financial adviser,can't even handle his own money.

Sometimes being middle class isn't so bad 😂 And like the person said below,I love this show and I've seen this one three times cause I can't find any newer ones so I'll rewatch alot of the older ones over n over and it's funny cause I keep finding stuff I never seen the last three times watching it lol. Anyways thanks for the upload 👍.it's great quality BABABOOEY the HTJ LMMFAO

What was in the red bag that he carried to his dad's office? I think he had bought similar clothes as those he was wearing to change after the murder so as not to draw attention. He killed his dad. He planned it meticulously.

The judge in this case clearly felt for Dennis and punished him as mildly as he possibly could do with someone of whom he at the same time felt (or rather, was convinced) that person in fact WAS guilty. He tried satisfying the common needs for justice by calling it a life sentence, but also gave 'young' Oland the chance of parole in just ten years. Mind you, if you ever spent a single day in custody you know what people who have never been put into the empty of the inside of a cell might not know - or at least be aware of: that just one year is a tremendously long time to spend being locked up, where you feel every single second creep by, where you are continuously craving - for sounds, colour, a human touch or just any friendly face, a laugh, for a breath of fresh air, a bite of food that is of your liking and in fact is fit for consumption - indeed, for a simple walk, the blue skies, and of being away. Especially if you have children, a family, and friends and living relatives, you feel every moment that you cannot share, cannot be there, it is as if you are declared dead, but you are still alive and conscious! Ten years of your life is a long, long time during which all the restrictions, tension, lack of quality sustenance (although Canada is like paradise compared to many other countries); absence of the freedom to move, lack of fresh air and sunlight (not even to mention your own feelings and especially your own inner frustrations) will eat away on you. If you recall, all of us have seen big, healthy men walk in to turn in to pale, meager wrecks... in just a year or two.

On Nov. 20, 2018 in a new trial on appeal, a N.B. Judge ruled Dennis Oland NOT GUILTY of murdering his father. After viewing this video and thinking about the implications of how the police handled the evidence, I am pleased that this man was declared Not Guilty.

I'm from the USA southern California and I absolutely love the fifth estate and love Canada even though I have never been there I plan on going there very soon and iam very excited to explore the land

ahhh good old saint John this is my hometown

Good cop, bad cop. They should have informed him of his rights in the very beginning. Handling of the evidence was a comedy of errors. To find a man guilty of murder on such flimsy evidence is ludicrous then what can you expect from an inept, police department, whom I believe this was the first case of murder to come across their paths. The father seemed like a beligerant, overbearing pos, whose name and money had even overwhelmed him. I feel sorry for the son and the rest of the family. I am sure he will not be behind bars for 10 years, his first parole hearing. Good video, excellent commentator, beautiful scenery in St. John's.

Good, he can teach the other inmates how to make a real good home brew while they're locked up.

The gross mishandling of evidence in and of itself should have gotten this man a not guilty verdict. Do I believe he did it? I do. But my beliefs are nothing in the face of the law, as it should be. It needs to be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he did it, and that was not accomplished at all. Shame on that jury.

Do they still make Moosehead beer, then? I don't think I've seen it anywhere for years. Be that as it may, Dennis could have had a clean, white Oxford shirt in the red bag, as well as an identical pair of shoes and pants. They don't mention ever finding the red bag? Or whether footage ever revealed anyone else entering building (I guess not.)

Each episode is full of interstate and information that take you just like in court hearing I must say most desirable and stunning realities which usually not easy to visualize in our daily life through this any one can understands because all this is part of our life

Excellent Reporting!

New sub! Class act Fifth Estate!🇳🇿❤from Little old New Zealand 😊.

My heart goes out to his family’ they need to open up this case again..

If they had all these evidences, why did it take 4 years to charge him?

very well done!

i can't stop watching these. i need my fix.

If you don’t like the rules, get an education and go prove yourself.

I don't think his son had anything to do with that man's murder. I'm sure that old rich man made a lot of enemies but his son was not one of them.

Why do people think out loud during police interrogation? They've GOT to know they're being filmed, or at the very least watched, especially when they're leaning up an obvious 2-way mirror. I just don't understand it.

Update: Wikipedia: "His lawyers immediately began the appeals process, seeking the appellate judges to either overturn the guilty verdict, order a new trial, or enter a full acquittal.[10] The appeal was successful, and Dennis' conviction was overturned on October 24, 2016. On July 19, 2019, he was found not guilty on retrial.[11]"

Bob McKewn(?) has a great voice. I think he’s done some reports for Dateline NBC and 20/20 in the States.

I'd be NEEDING to know what happened.

It' such a pity he drove his son to this point. Dennis should have moved very far away from him. Such a well spoken young man.

He got out in 2016 after a retrial. He was found not guilty.