Douglas Garland triple-murder trial hears victims' DNA found on hacksaw, rubber boots, accused's truck

DNA from a five-year-old boy and his grandparents was found on a pickup truck, a hacksaw and rubber boots seized from the Calgary-area farm where a triple-murder suspect lived with his elderly parents, jurors heard Tuesday.

Douglas Garland, 57,is being tried on three counts of first-degree murder in the June 2014 deaths of Alvin and Kathy Liknes, and their grandson, Nathan O'Brien.

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Details of the evidence came as RCMPDNA analysis expertVivianMohrbuttertestified about the results of tests doneat theLiknes' home and the Garland farm, near Airdrie, Alta., where the Crown alleges the victims were killed.

Mohrbutter said DNA matches were found on the following items seized from the farm:

• A shoe Garland was wearing at the time of his arrest: AlvinLiknes.
• A hacksaw: Nathan O'Brien and AlvinLiknes.
• Biological material found in the grass: Kathy Liknes.
• A fragment from ashes found in a burn barrel: Alvin Liknes.
• Meathooks: Kathy Liknes.
• A pair of rubber boots: Alvin and Kathy Liknes, and Nathan O'Brien.
• The bed of a green pickup truck and its licence plate: Kathy Liknes.
• A blood stain found on the wall of an outbuilding: Alvin and Kathy Liknes.

Though Kathy Liknes's DNA was found on meathooks Garland had recently purchased, Mohrbutter confirmed to defence lawyer Jim Lutz that they tested negative for blood.

The analyst also said that under certain conditions, DNA can be preserved for "a very long time" and that she was unable to give a timeline for when DNA is left on an item.

Court also heard that blood from all threevictims was found throughout the home of Alvin and KathyLiknes.

Walls, bedrooms, blankets and the kitchen were covered in the victims' blood, jurors were told. Blood swabs taken outside the home came back as a match to Nathan and his grandmother.

Earlier in the trial, court heard none of Garland's DNA was found at the Liknes' home.

Jurors shown images of bodies

The prosecution alleges that the couple and their grandson were taken after a violent struggle.

The five-year-old had been dropped off at the home in southwest Calgary for a sleepover on June 29, 2014. When his mother arrived the next morning, all three were gone and the house was smeared with blood.

The prosecution's theory is that the victims were taken to theGarland farm, where they were killed and their bodies were burned.

On Monday, jurors were shown photos of what appearedto be the bodies of two adults and a smaller figure, laid out near three small sheds on the farm. The photos also depicted smoke coming from aburn barrel, as well as the shadow of a person standing nearby.

The images were taken by chance by an aerial-mapping plane on July 1, 2014 the day after the trio was discovered missing.

Two weeks after a massivesearch for Nathan and his grandparents began, Garland was arrested and charged.

• 'Most painful torture': Douglas Garland triple murder trial hears of internet search

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Garland is connected to theLiknesfamily through his sister,Patti Garland, who was in a common-law relationship with AlvinLiknes'sson, Allen.

Patti Garland, her parents and AllenLiknes all testified earlier that Garland harboured a grudge against AlvinLiknesafter a business relationship soured years earlier.

• Investigators collected teeth, bone and bloody bedding, Garland trial hears
• Garland murder trial hears burnt circuit board would have worked on victims' truck
• Jewelry and a piece of a shackle found in burn barrel, Garland trial hears
• Trial hears cadaver dog indicated human remains found in several spots on farm
• Garland had book on how to dispose of dead bodies
• Bloody footprints 'correspond' with shoes missing from Garland's home, trial hear