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Triple murderer Douglas Garland's attackers will be charged, police say

Charges are pending against several inmates at the Calgary Remand Centre after Douglas Garland was so severely beaten he had to be taken to hospital just hours after being sentenced in the killing a five-year-old boy and his grandparents.

Garland, 57, was returned to the remand centre on the weekend following the attack late Friday night.

Since his arrest in 2014, Garland has been housed in the remand centre's Unit 3, an area for inmates facing serious charges who also require some level of protection. That's where he was beaten by up to four men, according to sources.

Garland's lawyer, Kim Ross, said he met with his client on Monday night.

"I have some grave concerns about what happened," said Ross. "I'm trying to get a hold of some people at the remand centre to determine what happened."

Garland was sentenced Friday to life in prison with no chance of parole for 75 years for the first-degree murders of Alvin and Kathy Liknes and their five-year-old grandson, Nathan O'Brien, all of Calgary. A jury found him guilty after deliberating for 8½ hours.

Calgary police said the investigation into Garland's beating is ongoing, and confirmed that charges will be laid against several inmates.

Incompatible inmates separated

"Correctional centres can be a difficult, sometimes volatile environment," a spokesperson for Alberta Justice wrote in a statement.

"Peace officers are trained professionals who both try to anticipate and prevent incidents when possible, and who react quickly and appropriately when an incident occurs."

Placement decisions consider security needs, according to Alberta Justice, adding that inmates who are known to be incompatible are kept separate.

Garland is expected to remain at the remand centre until being assessed for transfer to a federal institution, likely some time next week, according to Ross.