Judge lifts ban on search warrants in Richard Oland homicide investigation

SAINT JOHN, N.B. – A judge has lifted a publication ban on search warrants in the year-old homicide investigation of prominent New Brunswick businessman Richard Oland.

As a result, portions of five search warrants and related documents in the Oland case are expected to be released today after the CBC and New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal asked the provincial court in Saint John to make them public.

The Crown had initially argued that all of the search warrants and related documents should remain sealed because they contained evidence that only the person or persons responsible for Oland’s death would know.

But two weeks ago, prosecutors withdrew their request to keep all of the documents sealed, and instead asked the judge to determine what information can be released.

The 69-year-old Oland was found dead in his downtown Saint John office on July 7, 2011.