By CHAT News Today

Chief Medical Examiner testifies at Garland trial

Feb 1, 2017 | 4:19 PM

CALGARY — The province’s Chief Medical Examiner said there was a possibility Nathan O’Brien and his grandparents could have survived an attack in their homes, based on her observations.

Dr. Elizabeth Brooks-Lim took the stand Wednesday in the triple murder trial of Douglas Garland. The 57-year-old is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the death of O’Brien, 5, and his grandparents Alvin and Kathy Liknes. The trio was last seen June 29, 2014 after an estate sale in their southwest Calgary home.

Brooks-Lim said she saw three areas of bloodletting in the home, including drag marks, and told the court after looking at the evidence, “it is entirely possible the three missing individuals may have sustained non-fatal or fatal injuries at the home.”

Brooks-Lim also testified about charred bone fragments found in a burn barrel on the Garland property. Brooks-Lim said a forensic anthropologist determined the majority of bone fragments were from animals, but some could have come from a human.

Const. Brian Clark of the Calgary Police Cyber Crimes Team also testified on Wednesday, describing numerous documents found on a hard drive hidden in the rafters of the Garland home. Many of the documents on the drive listed ways to kill, the tools to use and how to dispose of a body.

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The trial is expected to last another three weeks.

-With Files from Global Calgary