Dellen Millard and Mark Smich

Dellen Millard and Mark Smich are two Canadians from Toronto, Ontario, who together murdered Laura Babcock and Tim Bosma in separate killings in July 2012 and May 2013. They were both convicted of the murders in December 2017 and June 2016, respectively.[1] Millard has also been convicted individually of murder in the first degree for the 2012 death of his father, Wayne Millard, which was initially deemed a suicide. The verdict was delivered on September 24, 2018.[2]

Background

Dellen Millard

Millard was born on August 30, 1985, to Wayne Millard and Madeline Burns.[3] Wayne was a pilot who had worked at both Air Canada and Millardair, an aviation firm founded by his father, Carl.[3][4] Burns was a flight attendant at Air Canada when they met.[4]

Millard grew up in Toronto, the only child of his wealthy parents.[5][6] Millard owned several properties in the Toronto area, including a $1.2 million home in Etobicoke, a $500,000 condominium in an unspecified location, a $2 million residential rental property, and a $850,000 hundred-acre farm in Ayr.[7] In May 2013, he finalised the purchase of a $627,000 condo in Toronto's Distillery District.[3]

Mark Smich

Smich was born on August 13, 1987.[8] Unlike Millard, Smich's parents were middle-class.[9] Smich had a police record involving petty offences such as drug possession, driving impaired, mischief, failure to appear, and breach of conditions.[10] He sold drugs and cigarettes for a living, and occasionally worked odd jobs in Millard's hangar.[10][11]

Millard and Smich's relationship

Millard and Smich were introduced around 2006. Friends described their friendship as initially one-sided: "Mark worshipped Dell, but Dell hated him".[12] By 2011, they had grown closer, and in 2012 Smich and his girlfriend Marlena Meneses moved into the basement suite of the Millard family house.[12] Around the same time, Millard began to arrange for Smich and other friends to accompany him on what he termed "missions": night-time excursions to steal things such as Bobcat construction equipment, lawnmowers, and even trees.[13] A friend later described these "missions" as being strictly "for the thrill of it", as Millard had more than enough money to have purchased such things if he had wanted to.[14]

Murder of Tim Bosma

32-year-old Tim Bosma was a Canadian citizen from Ancaster, a small community within the city of Hamilton, Ontario.[15] Bosma had not previously known either Millard or Smich.[16] The pair contacted him by phone to arrange a test drive of a pickup truck he had been selling.[17] Millard and Smich arrived on foot for the test drive just after 9:20 pm on May 6, 2013.[18] They told Bosma's wife Sharlene they had been dropped off by a friend. Bosma told his wife he would be right back, but none of the three men ever returned.[19] After several hours, Sharlene contacted police to report him missing.[19]

The Hamilton Police Service (HPS) treated the case as "a missing persons investigation with unusual circumstances".[20] They conducted a ground search of the area around Bosma's home with the assistance of a canine unit and local search and rescue and held a press briefing on May 7.[21][20] Police quickly discovered that the phone used to contact Bosma had been a burner phone.[22] On May 9, Bosma's deactivated cell phone was found in an industrial area on the west side of nearby Brantford, Ontario.[23]

Using the call records from the burner phone, police discovered that the men had arranged two other test drives in similar vehicles in the days preceding Bosma's murder. The two failed to arrive on time for the first, so it never occurred.[24] The pair took the second vehicle on a test drive in Toronto on May 5.[25] The men from that test drive matched the descriptions of the pair who had left with Bosma. One of the men carried a small satchel bag and had a tattoo on his wrist of the word "ambition" inside a box, a detail the police released to the public hoping for an identification.[25][26]

On May 10, police from Peel and Toronto advised HPS about a Toronto man named Dellen Millard who was known to carry a satchel bag and had an "ambition" tattoo on his wrist.[27] On May 11, Dellen Millard was arrested.[28] On May 12, Bosma's truck was found inside a trailer in the driveway of Madeleine Burns, Millard's mother. The trailer was registered to Millardair.[29]

Police confirmed that Bosma was deceased on May 14.[30] Burned remains believed to be his had been located inside an incinerator on Millard's farm in Ayr.[31]

Following approximately a week of surveillance, Smich was arrested on May 22.[32]

Trial

During the test drive, Bosma was shot and killed. In court, Smich contended that he was actually in a separate vehicle following behind Bosma and Millard, and was not present for the shooting. The Crown contended that both Smich and Millard were in the vehicle and participated in the killing.[33] On June 17, 2016, the two men were convicted of first-degree murder in Bosma's killing and were sentenced to life in prison, with no parole eligibility for 25 years.[33][34]

Murder of Laura Babcock

In December 2017, Millard and Smich were convicted of the murder of Laura Babcock, who was last seen alive in July 2012. Her remains have never been recovered. Millard and Smich were again sentenced to life in prison, with the parole ineligibility period to be served consecutively with the previous sentence, meaning that they will not be released prior to 2063.[1]

Murder of Wayne Millard

On November 29, 2012, Dellen Millard's father, Wayne Millard, was found dead with a gunshot through the left eye. Wayne's death was initially ruled as a suicide.[35] It was later found out that Dellen and Wayne had disagreements over the family business.[36] After the murders of Bosma and Babcock, police looked back into Wayne's death. Dellen was charged individually with the death of his father.

Trial

During the trial which started in June 2018, by judge alone, Dellen did not testify; his lawyer insisted that the death was by suicide and that the Crown did not prove any motive. Evidence presented by the Crown included the fact that Dellen had purchased the murder weapon and that his cell phone had been at his father's home around 1 a.m. that night and stayed until shortly after 6 a.m.[37] On September 24, 2018, Dellen Millard was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Wayne Millard. Justice Maureen Forestell read the reasons for judgement over 90 minutes, including this statement: "I am satisfied that Dellen Millard killed his father by shooting him in the left eye as he slept. I can find no theory consistent with innocence".[38][39]

References

  1. 1 2 "Jury finds Millard and Smich guilty of first-degree murder in death of Laura Babcock". CBC.ca. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
  2. ↑ Casey, Liam (24 September 2018). "Judge finds Dellen Millard guilty of first-degree murder in death of father". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 "Suspect in Tim Bosma's death was always 'a little different' and did 'odd stuff' at private school, classmate says". National Post. 2013-05-17. Retrieved 2018-07-22.
  4. 1 2 Brocklehurst 2016, p. 47.
  5. ↑ Mandel, Michele (2018-06-02). "Mandel: Dellen Millard allegedly emotionless after discovering dead father in bedroom". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2018-07-22.
  6. ↑ Levinson-King, Robin (2017-12-21). "Dellen Millard: Fun-loving heir whose killings stunned Canada". BBC News. Retrieved 2018-07-22.
  7. ↑ Brocklehurst 2016, p. 44.
  8. ↑ Brocklehurst 2016, p. 85.
  9. ↑ Brocklehurst 2016, p. 91.
  10. 1 2 Brocklehurst 2016, p. 90.
  11. ↑ Brocklehurst 2016, p. 239.
  12. 1 2 Brocklehurst 2016, p. 92.
  13. ↑ Brocklehurst 2016, pp. 179-180.
  14. ↑ Brocklehurst 2016, pp. 196.
  15. ↑ "Did police miss chances to investigate Dellen Millard before he killed Tim Bosma? | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 2018-07-22.
  16. ↑ Brocklehurst 2016, p. 58.
  17. ↑ Brocklehurst 2016, p. xviii.
  18. ↑ Brocklehurst 2016, p. 5.
  19. 1 2 Brocklehurst 2016, p. 2.
  20. 1 2 Brocklehurst 2016, p. 6.
  21. ↑ Brocklehurst 2016, p. 3.
  22. ↑ Brocklehurst 2016, pp. 15-16.
  23. ↑ Brocklehurst 2016, p. 15.
  24. ↑ Brocklehurst 2016, pp. 37-38.
  25. 1 2 Brocklehurst 2016, p. 32.
  26. ↑ Brocklehurst 2016, p. 16.
  27. ↑ Brocklehurst 2016, p. 39.
  28. ↑ Brocklehurst 2016, p. 18.
  29. ↑ Brocklehurst 2016, pp. 50-51.
  30. ↑ Brocklehurst 2016, p. 56.
  31. ↑ "Remains found in incinerator could not be ID'd, Bosma trial hears | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 2018-07-22.
  32. ↑ Brocklehurst 2016, p. 86.
  33. 1 2 "Dellen Millard, Mark Smich found guilty of murdering Tim Bosma". CTV Kitchener. Retrieved 2018-07-21.
  34. ↑ "Tim Bosma Murder: Dellen Millard, Accused In Slaying, Charged With Additional Murders". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
  35. ↑ Dimmano, Rosie. "It's either murder or suicide in the case of the death of Wayne Millard". Toronto Star. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  36. ↑ "Dellen Millard called dad a failure, blamed him for family business woes, trial hears". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  37. ↑ "Dellen Millard found guilty of killing his father". Kelowna Now. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  38. ↑ Casey, Liam (24 September 2018). "Judge finds Dellen Millard guilty of first-degree murder in death of father". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  39. ↑ Casey, Liam (24 September 2018). "Judge finds Dellen Millard guilty of first-degree murder in death of father". National Post. Retrieved 24 September 2018.

Bibliography

  • Brocklehurst, Ann (2016). Dark Ambition: the Shocking Crime of Dellen Millard. Toronto: Viking. ISBN 9780670070145. OCLC 945719170.
  • http://www.cbc.ca/interactives/longform/news/wayward-son-dellen-millard-tim-bosma-trial
  • http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/tim-bosma-trial-verdict-1.3634213
  • http://www.thespec.com/hamilton-topics/2874624-tim-bosma-case
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