The disappearance of Nathan O'Brien, Kathryn Liknes and Alvin Liknes occurred on June 29, 2014. Five-year-old Nathan O'Brien and his grandparents, Kathryn and Alvin Liknes, disappeared from the grandparents' Calgary, Alberta home after what police called a "violent incident." An amber alert was issued. This alert was lifted on July 14, 2014 after the arrest of a person in relation to the disappearance. Later on July 14, 2014, police state that they believe O'Brien and the Likneses were murdered, but they did not recover their bodies. Douglas Garland was charged with two counts of first degree murder in the deaths of the Likneses and a second-degree murder charge for allegedly killing O'Brien. The second degree charge for Nathan O'Brien was upgraded to a first degree charge in May 2015.
The murder trial for Garland began on January 16, 2017. The trial drew to a close on February 16, 2017. It took the jurors just over nine hours to reach a verdict of guilty on all three counts of first degree murder. On February 17, 2017, Garland was sentenced and the eligibility for his parole was determined as first degree murder carries an automatic life sentence. 10 of the 12 jurors recommended that Garland be served consecutive terms of parole ineligibility. The judge ordered Garland no parole for 75 years, until he is 129. Throughout the trial, Garland never showed any remorse or emotion. Hours after being sentenced, Garland was sent to the Calgary Remand Centre located in the city's Northwest where he was physically assaulted by multiple inmates. EMS said the victim of the assault was transported to hospital in stable, non-life threatening condition with soft tissue injuries.