The Mother Left Her Son With Her Parents Then She Found the House Covered In Blood

The Alberta tragedy

Jennifer walked into her parents’ house.

It was eerily quiet inside.

There were pools of blood on the beds, pillows, cabinets, and floors. There were also drag marks from the bedrooms down the hallway and the stairs to the outside door.

The most heartbreaking discovery was a little bloody handprint imprinted on the wall, which possibly belonged to Jennifer’s son.

Neither Jennifer’s parents nor her son were anywhere to be found.

“A violent crime occurred in that residence…I would say that somebody would be in medical distress.” — The police stated.

Nathan Was a Five-Year-Old

Nathan O’Brien was a five-year-old little boy born to Jennifer and Rod O’Brien.

He lived in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with his parents, along with his elder and younger brother.

Nathan was an adorable blonde, very friendly, and kindhearted little boy who loved superheroes.

The five-year-old also loved spending time with his grandparents, Kathryn and Alvin Liknes. The trio shared a special bond.

Kathryn and Alvin were the glue that held the family together.

Kathryn was so full of love. She was very welcoming to people, she adored animals, and she loved dancing. She was also brave, a hard worker, and an entrepreneur at heart.

Kathryn and Alvin had a similar entrepreneurial mindset, and together they were unstoppable.

Kathryn loved how Alvin was smart and sensitive. He was also fun and adventurous.

Kathryn and Alvin’s love was so strong. Their lives revolved around their children and grandchildren.

Kathryn and Alvin Were About to Start a New Chapter in Their Lives

In June 2014, Kathryn and Alvin retired, bought a new home in Edmonton, and planned to move in two weeks.

The grandparents had an estate sale.

Jennifer, Rod, and Nathan visited the couple on the weekend after the sale.

On June 29th, 2014, Jennifer and Rod headed back home, leaving Nathan with his grandparents.

On June 30th, Jennifer returned to her parents’ home to pick up Nathan. But she stumbled upon an odd scene.

Jennifer discovered that the front door was open. She made her way inside.

She was met with pools of blood everywhere, especially in the bedrooms. There was blood on the bed, the pillows, the walls, and the floor.

There were also bloody footprints and drag marks in the hallway.

Nathan’s tiny bloody handprint was imprinted on the wall. It appeared that the little boy placed his hand against the wall in a bid to resist being dragged out of the house.

There were no signs of Jennifer’s parents and son.

The back door appeared to have been broken into.

Jennifer panicked and called the police. “I think my family’s been killed.” She stated.

The Police Found No Bodies

The investigators searched the house, but they found no bodies.

An Amber Alert was issued for Nathan.

Jennifer and Rod appeared on the news pleading for the safe return of their son and Jennifer’s parents.

The local community and the online community were invested in the case. Hundreds of tips poured in, but they didn’t give any significant leads.

The reality that the disappearance of the trio was a possible triple murder slowly sank in as the days passed.

The attacker had entered the house through the back door by disengaging the lock in a way that showed that he or she had some knowledge about it.

The police looked at the surveillance cameras around the area to see if they could find anything.

They found surveillance footage of a suspicious green truck that was near the Liknes home on the night of the disappearances.

They released the pictures of the truck to the public.

The Police Received a Useful Call

A woman called the authorities, telling them that she recognized the truck.

It belonged to her brother, Douglas Garland.

The police tracked down Douglas. They arrested him on a previous charge of false identity. Then they questioned him about Nathan and his grandparents.

Douglas was very uncooperative.

The police obtained a search warrant for the farm where Douglas lived. The forty-acre piece of land belonged to his parents.

Meanwhile, Douglas was released on bail and was warned to stay away from the property.

The farm was thoroughly searched.

The investigators found a computer hard drive inside the farmhouse’s basement.

The hard drive revealed searches done by Douglas on violent topics.

There were downloads on how to attack victims and painful ways to torture them.

There were also searches for instructions to break into the exact lock that was disengaged on the Liknes’ back door.

Douglas Had a Fetish for Adult Diapers

There were disturbing images of men and women restrained, killed, and dismembered wearing adult diapers.

There was a library in the house with books titled — Kill Without Joy: The Complete How To Kill Book, The Death Dealer’s Manual, and The Joy of Killing, etc.

There were prosthetic breasts and two women’s wigs on mannequin heads in the basement. Then, there were many women’s clothes in Douglas’s size.

There were also eighty-nine pairs of women’s and men’s shoes.

The authorities found an empty shoe box of size thirteen Dr Scholl tennis shoes in the closet.

The prints of the type of shoes matched the bloody footprints that were found on the floor of the crime scene.

The investigators seized boxes and boxes filled with weapons.

There were handcuffs ranging from child to adult size, blades, hacksaws, leather straps, bone saws, knives, guns, meat hooks, and a straight jacket, etc.

The DNA Evidence And Motive

Kathryn's DNA was found on a meat hook. Then Alvin and Nathan’s DNAs were found on a bone saw.

There was a barrel outside with a fire smoldering inside.

A closer look at the contents in the barrel, through sifting every layer, revealed a baby tooth, a small piece of burnt flesh, and bone fragments.

Tests that were performed on the items concluded that the tooth and bone fragments belonged to Nathan while the flesh belonged to Alvin.

Douglas had destroyed Alvin, Kathryn, and Nathan’s bodies to the extent that the family had almost nothing to bury.

It turned out that Douglas and the Liknes grandparents knew each other. Douglas’ sister was married to the couple’s son.

Plus, Alvin had once employed Douglas to work on an oil and gas pump invention. Douglas dropped out during the project.

Alvin continued working on the pump. He patented the pump, and it was approved. He didn’t make any money from his invention. But Douglas was enraged, feeling that he didn’t receive the compensation that he deserved.

That’s when he began plotting his murder scheme.

The Aftermath

The police caught Douglas trying to sneak into the farm.

Pictures that were captured by chance by a mapping plane that flew over the farm on the day after the disappearances were presented in court.

The photos showed two headless adult-sized torsos facing down on the grass near the burning barrel and dressed in diapers. A smaller figure lay next to them.

Douglas was found guilty of the three murders, amongst other charges.

He was sentenced to three consecutive life terms with the possibility of parole after seventy-five years.

Nathan’s parents started the Nathan O’Brien Children’s Foundation.

“Nathan loves sports so we have an annual decathlon where we have children come out and learn how to play hockey.

Nathan’s spirit certainly lives on.” — Nathan’s mother stated.

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Sources: Wikipedia.org, True Crime Daily