Canadian True Crime - 09 The Murder of Tim Bosma - Part 3

Episode Date: June 27, 2017

[Part 3 of 6] Conclusion to the Tim Bosma and Dellen Millard trilogy; you’ll hear what Dellen Millard and Mark Smich got up to after Tim Bosma was murdered, and how they went about covering up their crime. We’ll also go through the trial - and find out what their stories were about what happened the night Tim Bosma went missing. Finally, we’ll go through where the case is up to now - particularly with Laura Babcock and Wayne Millard. Is Dellen Millard on the track to being classified as a serial killer?This episode is part one in a multi-part series that covers three cases over six episodes. All episodes, in order, are:07 - The Murder of Tim Bosma - Part 108 - The Murder of Tim Bosma - Part 209 - The Murder of Tim Bosma - Part 319 - The Murder of Laura Babcock - Part 120 - The Murder of Laura Babcock - Part 233 - Dellen Millard and the murder of his fatherSupport my sponsors! Here's where the discount codes are:www.canadiantruecrime.ca/sponsorsLearn more about:Tim’s Tribute - registered charity dedicated to providing assistance to the families of innocent victims of homicideDark Ambition: The Shocking Crime of Dellen Millard and Mark Smich by Ann BrocklehurstPodcasts to check out:Already GoneQuid Pro QuoJoin my patreon to get early, ad-free episodes and more:www.patreon.com/canadiantruecrimeSocial media and contact information:Facebook: www.facebook.com/canadiantruecrime/Twitter: twitter.com/CanadianTCpodInstagram: www.instagram.com/canadiantruecrimepod/Email: [e-mail] Canadian True Crime podcast is researched, written and narrated by Kristi Lee with audio production by Erik Krosby.Music credits:We Talk of Dreams- Canadian True Crime loop (track created specifically for this podcast) Music below is used under an Attribution License - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Podcast theme music: Space Trip. http://www.dl-sounds.com/royalty-free/space-trip/Heartbeat Drone 2 fromhttps://www.dl-sounds.comThe tracks below from http://freemusicarchive.org/:Chris Zabriskie - Mario Bava sleeps in a little later than he expected to ROZKOL - If these Trans Atlantic Rage/Balogh - Space Sailing Soul Chris Zabriskie - Itasca It’s glowing red hot Vitus Von Degen - Black gloves ROZKOL - Antoine’s song Chris Zabriskie - There’s a special place for some people Chris Zabriskie - Cylinders 7 Chris Zabriskie - Fly Inverted Past A Jenny Chris Zabriskie - Brethren, Arise Chris Zabriskie - I’m a Man who will fight for your honour Main information sources:Dark Ambition: The Shocking Crime of Dellen Millard and Mark Smichby Ann Brocklehurst

This is Christy, and welcome to Canadian True Crime, Episode 9, Dylan Millard, Part 2. Please note, this is part of a multi-part story arc, so if you're new to this podcast, go and start listening to the previous two episodes starting from Episode 7, The Murder of Tim Bosmer. This podcast contains coarse language, adult themes, and content of a violent and disturbing nature. Listener discretion is advised. Before I start, I just wanted to thank you for your patience during the wait between

these episodes. I know it's a pain waiting for so long. Please know that I'm going as fast as I possibly can. In the previous episode... He was the heir to an airline company, the owner of multi-million-dollar properties. At 14, Dylan Millard even became the youngest Canadian to pilot a helicopter and airplane. All of those accomplishments disappeared when the 28-year-old was charged in the death of Hamilton father Tim Bosmer.

Dylan Millard, 28 years, has now been formally charged with first-degree murder in relation to the deaths of Wayne Millard and Laura Babcock. Millard, already in custody, is now charged with killing his father and ex-girlfriend. Laura Babcock went missing two years ago. Police initially believe Millard's father, Wayne, committed suicide. Millard's friend, 26-year-old Mark Smitch, was also named. He already faces murder charges in the Bosmer case. He was formally charged with first-degree murder in relation to the death of Laura Babcock.

We left the last episode the night of the test drive. Mark Smitch and Dylan Millard were at the hangar at Waterloo Airport, waiting while the body of Tim Bosmer was being incinerated nearby. While he waited, Dylan was texting with his realtor and love interest, Lisa Whiddon, about their pets. Like nothing had happened. At almost 6am, Dylan sent the text message to his Millard Air employees telling them not to come in that day.

Just before 8am, Mark Smitch had charged his phone and texted his girlfriend, Marlene Meneses. Hurry up, he told her. She was staying with her sister and had five minutes to get downstairs or they were leaving. She was annoyed as she'd been trying to get hold of him all night, and knowing about his plan with Dylan to steal a truck, she was worried that something had happened to him. Dylan and Mark picked her up and when she got in, they seemed excited and ready to celebrate. They told her their mission had gone well.

Dylan dropped them both off at Mark's house. He then texted his girlfriend, Christina, saying quote, Stage one complete, taking over spite. He then went back to his house for a nap. He'd been awake all night. The next day, Shane Schlatman, the Millard Air mechanic, arrived at work to find a black Dodge Ram truck with its interior completely stripped. Dylan said he bought the vehicle in Kitchener, the city next to Waterloo and wanted it painted

red. He said he was going to modify it for more power and fuel economy to really make sure it was up to speed for the Baja races later that month. Shane had been building a trailer specifically for the race. Dylan also asked Shane to take off the emblems, lights and exterior trim on the Dodge. He said he wanted to remove the windshield of his other Dodge and put it onto this one. Shane thought this was an unusual request and knew that this would change the vign of the truck.

At the time, he said he didn't know about the Tim Bosmer story that was unfolding because he didn't watch the news or listen to the radio. But his father-in-law Arthur Jennings did. He didn't want to tell Shane his suspicions about the truck because he knew Shane was tight with Dylan. But after the first time he called Crime Stoppers and confirmed the truck was Tim Bosmer's, he immediately called a family meeting. When he told Shane, his son-in-law was angry and shocked and said he was going to quit

his job at Millard Air the next day. Their thoughts at the time centered around wondering what Dylan had unwittingly gotten himself into. They agreed he was a nice guy and they were surprised that he would get himself into a situation like this. But whatever Dylan was involved with, whatever the cause, they also agreed they didn't want their family brought into it. The next day, Dylan asked his girlfriend Christina to help him on a, quote, tiny mission.

He pulled up to her house that night with a huge trailer hitched to the back of his red pickup truck, the gas-guzzling one. When she hopped in, he handed her a digital video recorder or DVR but didn't tell her what was on it. In fact, it contained the video surveillance footage showing Dylan and Mark's Mitch in the hangar the night Tim Bosmer went missing. Dylan asked Christina to keep it safe for a few days and she ran back inside to hide it in her bedroom closet, the same closet where she would later stash his prison letters.

From there, they drove to Kleinberg where his mother Madeleine Burns lived. They smoked a joint during the 40-minute drive. Just before 10 p.m. that night, Dylan texted with Shane Schlappman, who had connected with Dylan after the meeting with his father-in-law. I can't stop thinking about what that family's going through. I want to take it back, but I'm a little concerned about how that's going to play out. Yeah, that's a tough call, man. Have you considered going to the cops, telling me about this truck, but you think it's warm?

Hypothetically, if this is the same one, I'm in a lot of jeopardy. It's been suggested that this last text message was Dylan priming Shane on what to say in case he was ever asked about it. After leaving the trailer at his mother's house at around 11.50 p.m., Dylan and Christina drove back to Waterloo, where he left the red pickup and took back his Yukon. They then headed to his farm property where they used flashlights so they could see where they were going in the pitch black night. They hauled the eliminator out of the barn and towed it down a tree-covered laneway of

the property to hide it. They left the farm and at 4 a.m. they stopped at Matt Hageman's house in Etobicoke. Matt was the friend who had been introduced to Dylan through his grandmother, the housekeeper for the Millards. Matt was already standing on the driveway waiting for them to pull up. Dylan grabbed a yellow toolbox from the back seat and gave it to Matt. What was the toolbox about? Well, the previous day, Matt Hageman turned on his phone and saw he'd missed a series

of phone calls. They were from Christina, who he really only knew casually as Dylan's girlfriend. Surprised, he texted back but soon realized that it was Dylan, not Christina, who was texting him. Dylan wanted to ask him a favor. He said he was feeling some heat and wanted him to hang on to something for a few days. Dylan reassured him that it was nothing serious and said it was a toolbox. Matt would later say he was a little worried as it seemed like a shady situation.

When Dylan showed up at 4 a.m., Matt recognized it as the yellow party toolbox that housed the drugs. It was padlock shut. Matt didn't ask what was in it and Dylan said it was better that he didn't know anyway. Dylan and Christina drove off, went home and got a few hours sleep. Later on that morning, we know that two Hamilton police detectives showed up at the hangar looking for the wrist tattoo of the word ambition and also the canvas satchel bag. After they'd left with what they wanted, Dylan's mood changed.

He had a heated discussion with Shane Schlattman, presumably about the fact that Shane's father-in-law Arthur Jennings had called crime stoppers. When Arthur turned up for work, Dylan told him to pack up his stuff and go home. He was being fired. But Arthur said Dylan didn't appear angry. He was calm, the same way he always was. Arthur later said he felt like a, quote, mouse in a trap and feared even more for his family now.

After that interaction, Dylan assured Shane that he'd done nothing wrong and ever the loyal Millardair employee, Shane, didn't question what was going on. Dylan then called Mark Smitch and later on that afternoon, he hopped in his Yukon SUV and left the hangar. What he didn't know was that the police were already following him as part of their surveillance. They snapped pictures of him in a bank parking lot and followed him to Oakville to the apartment where Mark Smitch was hiding out. Then, while driving down Cathera Road in Mississauga, he was boxed in by undercover officers

and arrested with Tim Bosmer's truck keys in his possession. Christina Newtgar had been texting Dylan and had received no response. Finally, that night she was worried and called Andrew Mikowsky, Dylan's roommate. Dylan wasn't home. Then she texted Mark Smitch, who called her back saying that, quote, shit went down but you don't have to worry, everything is fine. Christina panicked and called Dylan's mum Madeline Burns, who told her to come straight away to Kleinberg.

When she got there, she learned the news, Dylan had been arrested. Christina and Madeline were distraught and were scared the media would track them down, so they checked into a hotel to hide out, stopping at Dylan's house to pick up documents and emergency cash that he'd stashed in his safe. Back at the hotel, Dylan Millard's mother and his girlfriend drank wine together and discussed the trailer that he'd dropped off in his mother's driveway. The one that he wouldn't divulge the contents of. They realized that the missing man's truck could be inside the trailer.

It dawned on them that their fingerprints could be on the trailer, so they headed back out in the middle of the night to wipe their fingerprints from it. From there, they went back to the hotel and continued drinking because they were unable to sleep. As soon as Dylan Millard was arrested, Mark Smitch became anxious and paranoid. After learning of the arrest, the first thing he did was call Andrew Mikowski. He said he knew that Dylan had drugs in his house and he wanted them, some to smoke, some to sell, and he predicted he would need money for a lawyer.

He asked Andrew to pack up the drugs and then meet up with Matt Hageman, who also had something that Mark wanted. Andrew went to Dylan's house and shoved all the drugs he could find into a blue backpack, and then he texted Matt Hageman, saying they had a situation and had to meet ASAP. At the meeting, Andrew told Matt that Dylan had been arrested. Matt assumed it was for stealing a truck. Andrew also knew that Dylan had given Matt something to stash, so together they drove to Oakville, and while driving they turned on the radio.

The news report came on, Tim Bosmer was still missing, and Dylan Millard was the prime suspect. Matt panicked and immediately pulled off the highway. They decided they needed to get rid of the bag of drugs and the toolbox immediately. Andrew texted Mark Smitch and told him they were going to drop off the items behind a shopper's drug mart store near the house, but in their panic they ended up at the wrong spot, a shopper's home health care outlet instead. They made do with where they were and dumped the toolbox and the bag at the foot of a concrete set of stairs.

Mark Smitch asked a close friend of his, Brendan Daly, to pick up the items, but he didn't answer his phone, so Mark asked another person. Brendan Daly ended up being a small but important part of the story. He noticed that something was up with his friend Mark Smitch three days after Tim Bosmer disappeared. He was waiting outside Mark's mother's house to buy some weed, and remembers Dylan's truck zooming by, Mark hopping out, running into the house and then got his girlfriend to tell him to scram.

Mark Smitch later told Brendan that Dylan had been arrested and that there was a gun in the toolbox and he needed to lay low. He was extremely paranoid and anxious that people were coming to get him. Brendan remembered Mark saying, quote, I fucked up man, I fucked up. Mark Smitch deleted his Facebook account and got rid of his phone. Brendan had never seen him like this. A few days after Dylan's arrest, it seemed Mark started to calm down. He told Brendan that he needed money and wanted to sell the gun and asked him to arrange a

meeting with a friend of his who might want to buy it. The meeting happened, but Mark wanted $1,000 for the gun and the friend only had $100. Mark ended up keeping the gun. As new information on Tim Bosmer continued to come out in the media, his girlfriend Malena put two and two together. She confronted Mark. He said, Del did everything, Del did everything, Bosmer was gone, gone. And he eventually told her that he'd gotten rid of the gun by burying it in the woods

where no one could find it. His story was that it was all Dylan. Mark said he was just there. Two days later, police discovered the trailer at Dylan's mum's house and then the incinerator. They had their prime suspect, Dylan Millard, but were still looking for at least one accomplice. Mark Smitsch was still at large. On May 19, 2013, just over two weeks after Tim Bosmer went missing, Mark Smitsch was a groomsman in his sister's wedding.

He and his girlfriend Malena smoke and drank and danced all night. There were many photos taken where he was elated, hugging and kissing, celebrating like he didn't have a care in the world. Three days later, Mark was arrested. The police ambushed him and his girlfriend Malena as they were going for a walk. As he and Malena were being put in handcuffs, he yelled to her, don't tell them anything, babe, don't tell them anything. Malena was interrogated at the police station and filmed a video plea that police promised

to take to Mark. She pleaded with him to just tell the truth and said she'd done the same. She told them that Dylan did everything. She said she loved Mark and she missed him and would wait for him. She said she'll get a pregnancy test and will tell him if she's pregnant or not. She said she was sorry that Dylan got him into this situation. Meanwhile, when Laura Babcock's ex-boyfriend Sean Lerner heard about Dylan Millard's arrest, he immediately contacted Laura's parents who contacted the police.

As we know, her phone bill had shown that the last eight calls she made before she disappeared were to Dylan Millard. He finally had the interest of the police. They picked up the search for Laura Babcock. After the police first scoured Dylan's farm looking for more evidence in the Tim Bosmer case, they went back three weeks after Tim went missing, looking for any clues that may help with the reinvigorated investigations for Laura Babcock and Dylan's father, Wayne Millard.

Unfortunately, the police announced at the time that the search had yielded no new evidence. As you know, though, a year later, in April 2014, the police announced three new charges were being laid. Firstly, they announced they were charging both Dylan Millard and Mark Smitch with the first-degree murder of Laura Babcock. As for Laura Babcock, police would only say they believed she was killed around July 3, 2012. This means that she was likely dead for about 11 days before she was reported missing.

It should also be noted that this was the same time that Dylan Millard had purchased the incinerator that he called the Eliminator, as confirmed by a representative of the company who manufactured it. Thomas Ryan, Laura Babcock's uncle, spoke to the media and said the family had no new information from police on whether they had actually discovered Laura's remains. We've been dealing with Laura's disappearance for 15 months. It's been a rather helpless 15 months. And every time her face is back up on the news again, you really can't go to work that

day. Well, there's no information. There hasn't been any changes of information since she disappeared. So how are they coping? Well, I want to say the best they can. It certainly is difficult, but we try to just carry on with their lives if we can. You cope any way you can, really, until you're in a situation like this, it's hard to describe what it feels like.

I'm just an uncle. I can't even tell you what my sister and brother-in-law and nephew are going through. The last thing we knew, she was looking for someplace new to live and left home with a fairly positive note, right? And I guess maybe it gave me an impression she'll be gone for a little while and come back. She seemed just fine. At the time, Laura's uncle said, quote, there is no closure by any means.

Do we have a memorial? Do you have a memorial without a body? To this day, the police have not shared any details of what happened to Laura with even her own family. They haven't even been told if her remains were actually found. The Ontario Provincial Police said they chose to keep the details confidential until the trial. Her family released a statement to the media, saying that without remains or any information

from the police as to her whereabouts, they felt there was still hope of her safe return, as slim as it may be. Laura's ex-boyfriend, Sean Lerner, spoke to the media, saying he wanted people to know the real Laura. He said she was over the top bubbly, effervescent and creative. She was at her best when she was with children. In fact, it was at the mastermind toy store where she worked that they met. Sean said he asked her out that day, and they began a romance.

Of her sudden change of lifestyle, Sean said, quote, she wasn't this drug addict career prostitute. She was this totally different person. And then all of a sudden, in a matter of weeks, this multitude of things in her life happened and she'd just totally lost grip of it. Mental health issues, drugs, all these things precipitated each other. Moving out of her parents' house, it was a perfect storm. Despite the police being tight-lipped as to what they thought happened to Laura Babcock,

the media continued to investigate. They contacted the provincial coroner's office, who confirmed that they'd never uncovered or examined the remains of Laura Babcock in Ontario. They could not comment on the possibility that her remains may have been found in another province or country. Kevin Bryan, a retired detective who worked with the York Regional Police Forensic Unit, told the media that if Laura's remains were found, her family would have been told. So the inference was that it was likely she had not been found.

However, he said, quote, now they've laid a murder charge, which means they do have some evidence that she's dead. What that is, I don't know, and they're not going to tell us that either. They don't go out and lay the charge in a situation like this without extensive consultation with the prosecution's office. In Toronto, many questions have arisen about the police's handling of the disappearance of Laura Babcock. Would Tim Bosma and Wayne Millard have still been alive if there'd been a proper follow-up

on Laura's phone bill? What about if the concerns of her ex-boyfriend Sean Lerner had been taken seriously? All the while, the media continued to try to find out why Dylan Millard was never questioned by police at the time of Laura's disappearance. They pressed detective Mike Carbone, the latest detective to have been assigned her case. He said police only received Laura's phone bills after Dylan was charged in Tim Bosma's death. The family maintains they turned over the phone bills before Dylan was charged.

Other attempts by media to get comment from police were unsuccessful because the case was still before the courts. Do you have a passion project that you're ready to take to the next level? SquareSpace makes it easy for anyone to create an engaging web presence, grow a brand and sell anything from your products to the content you create and even your time. When I launched this passion project six years ago, I needed some kind of online hub to manage all the non-podcasting tasks that come with podcasting. I chose SquareSpace because it's an all-in-one platform that seamlessly helps me achieve

multiple goals. It's important to have a website that looks good and I was inspired by SquareSpace's wide selection of clean and modern templates. They can be easily customized with pre-built layouts and flexible design tools to fit your needs and you can even browse the category of your business to see examples of what others have done. I use the built-in blogging tools to create a new page for each episode and there are so many intuitive options from embedding an audio player so listeners can stream episodes

to scheduling posts to be published on a certain date, an easily moderated comment section and automatically displaying recent episodes on the home page. Every SquareSpace website and online store includes SEO tools to help you maximize your visibility in search engines. And I love the powerful insights I can get from the analytics tools, helping me better understand who's visiting the site, where they came from and how they're interacting with it. Do you have a passion project or business idea or something to sell?

Go to squarespace.com.ctc for a free trial and when you're ready to launch, use offer code CTC to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. That's squarespace.com.ctc with offer code CTC and get your passion project off the ground today. As you know, the second announcement from police was that Dylan Millard on his own would be charged with the first degree murder of his father, Wayne Millard, who died on November the 29th, 2012, at the age of 71. At the time, Wayne's death was quickly deemed a suicide, an open and shut case, and his

body was cremated, so obviously there's no further information or evidence to be gleaned from his remains. Again, as police held their cards very close to their chest, the local media went looking for answers. They found out that the gun that had shot Wayne Millard was alleged to have been a trafficked gun. A source told a reporter at the Hamilton Spectator that homicide detectives believed Dylan bought a gun illegally and used it to murder his father.

And in fact, shortly before it was announced that Dylan Millard had been charged with the death of his father, three men connected to Dylan were charged with gun trafficking. Matthew Warickowitz, Matthew Odlam, and Matthew Ward Jackson. You'll recognize that last name, Matthew Ward Jackson. He was the gun dealer introduced to Dylan by Mark Smitch, the one who had the dirty girl conversation with Dylan about the gun that you heard in the last episode. The three Matthews were charged in Toronto Court two days before the new charges against Dylan Millard and Mark Smitch were announced.

All three pleaded not guilty. The other two Matthews were released on bail, but Matthew Ward Jackson remained in custody for a prior arrest for a legal possession of narcotics and firearms, including an AK-47 assault rifle. This trial was supposed to have started in May 2017, but was delayed. As you'll remember, last time I played you some Toronto rap from Mark Smitch, and I heard from quite a few rap fans that it was not that good. This time, I wanted to play you some more Toronto rap from Matthew Ward Jackson.

If you saw my Facebook post, this is the guy with the tattooed face and head holding up a roll of money and what looks to be a gun to his face. Thanks to Josh, who pointed out that actually the gun is a bong. Anyway, here's the musical stylings of Matthew Ward Jackson, or Big Issue, as he's known by. Rap fans, I'd be really keen to hear what you think about that one. Back to Wayne Millard. The author of the book Dark Ambition, Ann Brocklehurst, reported some extra information on her blog.

She said a source who was on the scene at the Millard family home the night police investigated Wayne's death, said that Dylan Millard was present, as was his mother and Wayne's ex-wife Madeleine Burns, as well as Dylan's ex-fiancé, Jennifer Spafford. Lastly, it was known that at the time of Wayne's death, Mark Smitch was living in the basement of the house. As to what these facts all mean in a quest to find the truth as to what happened to Wayne Millard, I'm not going to speculate, but they are interesting. And lastly, the police also announced they were charging Dylan's girlfriend, Christina

Newtga, with being an accessory after the fact. Just three months after the police announced these three new charges, the Attorney General's office signed off on a direct indictment for the trial of the murder of Tim Bosmer. As you'll recall, this meant that the proceedings would skip the preliminary hearing, something that's only granted in the most serious and complicated of cases, and when the Crown believes it has a strong likelihood of conviction. With the charges against Dylan Millard piling up, it's easy to see why that happened. This forward to just over a year later, and in September 2015, it was announced that a

direct indictment was also granted for Laura Babcock's trial, meaning that the police are in possession of some pretty serious evidence there too. Meanwhile, some changes were happening in Dylan Millard's representation. Firstly, it was announced that Dylan would be getting a new lawyer for Tim Bosmer's trial. Deepak Paridkar, the flashy Toronto lawyer who first spoke out to the media, had passed the case down to his underling Raven Pillay. Deepak Paridkar, who had always been almost eager to speak to the media, would only say

that Raven Pillay had been on the case from day one. A couple of months later, in November 2015, it was announced that Dylan had retained the services of a local Hamilton lawyer, Peter Bushey, for Laura Babcock's murder trial. Peter was said to have built his reputation around his strong Catholic faith and spent more than half his time doing legal aid cases. It certainly indicated that Dylan Millard's seemingly never-ending source of funds was finally running out. In February the 1st, 2016, the trial for the murder of Tim Bosmer started.

Hundreds of people, including hordes of media, lined up around the block to get a seat in the courtroom. After the courtroom was packed, many of those remaining in the line filled up a designated overflow room. There were three sets of legal representation for this trial. Three crown attorneys prosecuted the case, while Dylan Millard and Mark Smith were each represented by two lawyers. They both pleaded not guilty and were seated together at a table behind their legal teams.

Dylan Millard was now 30 and Mark Smith was now 28. Looks wise, they seem to have swapped roles. Dylan was once described as the handsome, friendly toll guy and Mark described as the sketchy-looking, skinny accomplice with the hair buzz so short that you can see his scalp. But Mark Smith was now clean cut, described as handsome. He looks healthy, has a medium build, jet-black hair combed neatly and firing features. His dress throughout the trial is ultra-conservative collared shirts and v-neck sweaters. The national post described his look as choir boy chic.

In contrast, Dylan Millard is a far cry from the handsome, wealthy playboy the public knew him as. He had lost a lot of weight in prison, so much that his cheeks were sunken and there were dark circles under his eyes. Throughout the trial, he wore a rotation of serviceable un-ironed shirts paired with jeans. In his opening address, Assistant Crown Attorney Craig Fraser laid out the case. He said the evidence would show that Dylan Millard and Mark Smith went to Tim Bosmer's house with a plan and shot him in the truck shortly after they left together for the test

drive. They then got rid of Tim Bosmer's body by burying it in a livestock incinerator set up outside Dylan Millard's air hangar at the Waterloo Airport. As we know, the first to testify was Charlene Bosmer, who gave heartbreaking testimony of how she met Tim Bosmer, what he was like as a man, and described their hopes and dreams for their family. She also recounted what happened the night of the test drive. Over the next four months, over a hundred witnesses would testify, and Charlene Bosmer

sat in the front row of the courtroom gallery surrounded by family and friends, the Bosmer Army, for every excruciating detail of evidence. Every morning, the Bosmer Army set a prayer in a room reserved for their use. They came armed with water bottles, tissue boxes, and purple pillows that said Tim Bosmer remembered. The pillows were to make the wooden courtroom benches more comfortable for sitting on all day, and the colour purple was chosen because it was Charlene and Tim's wedding colour. The trial bordered on spectacle, with line-ups of people waiting outside the courtroom each

morning hoping to catch a glimpse of the proceedings. Witnesses included the many officers who investigated the case, and tracked down Dylan's ambition tattoo, the fake Lucas Bates cell phone, and other truck sellers. Various forensic analysts testified. So too did the other sellers of the Dodge Rams who had test drive interactions with Dylan Millard, but lived to tell the tale. Also to testify was Chas Main, the man on the ATV who led police to the incinerator at Dylan Millard's farm.

Here's some key testimonies given during the trial for the murder of Tim Bosmer. Arthur Jennings, the man who first called Crime Stoppers, gave his story about how he discovered the truck and eventually reported it to Crime Stoppers. Mark Smith's lawyer pressed him on why he didn't go to his son-in-law Shane Schlappman right away about his concerns. Arthur said that it had been made clear to him that Dylan Millard's business, including the fact that he never saw any airplane work at the hangar, was none of his business. Shane had told him that he didn't ask questions and didn't want to know.

Interesting fact, Arthur gave more information in his police interviews that the jury wasn't allowed to know. It was that his son-in-law, mechanic Shane Schlappman, was building a secret compartment in a trailer that may have been intended to smuggle in drugs from the US to Canada. Arthur Jennings said that Dylan was always very calm. He never saw any anger come out of him. About Mark Smith, he said, quote, Mark did whatever the hell Dylan wanted him to do. Another person to testify was an auto body shop owner, Tony DiCiano, who had known Dylan

for years. On May the 8th, 2013, barely two days after the Tim Bosmer test drive, he received a call from Dylan. He said he wanted to have a black pickup truck painted red. He said he would bring the truck in the next day or so, but called back the next day and cancelled the order. The court heard from the police officers who recovered Tim Bosmer's truck in the trailer at his mother's house.

They said the first thing they saw was the burned-out car seats covered by a green tarp. The cushions and the upholstery were gone. All that remained was the blackened metal frame. As you'll recall, when Tim Bosmer went out with Dylan Millard and Mark Smith for the test drive, Dylan was in the driver's seat, Tim was in the passenger seat, and Mark was in the back. Police evidence found a single bullet shell casing on the floor of the truck's back seat. This item was hotly argued several times during the trial.

Remember, when the truck was seized, it was missing its interior, including the front seat. It was evident that the strategies for the defense teams of Dylan Millard and Mark Smith was to point the blame at each other, called the cutthroat defense. So, the location of the gun casing in the back seat, where Mark Smith was last seen sitting, was a key point. Dylan Millard's lawyer suggested that the grooves and recesses and humps on the floor of the truck would be enough to stop the casing from rolling too far from the back

seat. The police witness said that was possible. Mark Smith's lawyer, on the other hand, suggested that the casing would have easily rolled from the front seat to the back seat during transportation. The police witness said that that was possible too. Throughout the trial, the defense teams for each accused stayed on the same track. Dylan was painted as either a friendly, trustworthy guy, or a controlling, manipulative schema. Mark was portrayed as either meek and easily led, or intense and sketchy.

Sergeant Robert Jones, a bloodstained pattern analyst with the Waterloo Regional Police, testified that there was a, quote, bloodletting event inside Tim Bosmer's truck. Because the truck's front seats and carpeting had been ripped up, there was too much missing for him to determine how big the event was or what caused it. But what he examined was consistent with someone having been shot in the passenger seat. Sergeant Jones also testified that there was strong evidence of spray from a pressure water or hose shot up under the truck on an angle from somewhere around the front passenger door, and he said that some of that diluted blood flow, dripping as it dried, was seen

back along the undercarriage of the truck as it drove. Assistant Crown Attorney Tony Leach asked if the pattern could be created by a cleanup followed by a drive. The analyst said yes. Michael Plaxton, a forensic video analyst, gave expert opinions about three videos that likely showed the whereabouts of Tim Bosmer's truck both straight after the test drive and later on that night at the hangar. The first video was obtained from a Bobcat business in Brantford.

The town where I mentioned in the first episode, the cars stopped to change license plates after the test drive. Michael Plaxton explained that in his expert opinion, the video showed two trucks being driven to the spot, then there was static and then two bangs. He wasn't asked what the bangs might be. The second video was security footage taken from a business next to the hangar shortly after midnight on May the 7th, the night of the test drive. It shows a truck pulling a trailer arriving, followed closely by the SUV.

Upon questioning, Michael Plaxton couldn't say for sure that it's Tim's truck pulling the eliminator and he also couldn't say for sure that the SUV behind it was Delan Millard's Yukon SUV, but the court reporters there said it sure looked like it. The third video was the hangar footage obtained from the DVR seized from Christina Nudger's bedroom closet. The time reads 1.33am and shows two men and a dog walking into the hangar. One is tall with a satchel bag on his hip and the other man is shorter and dressed in oversized clothing.

The video then cuts back to the surveillance from the business next to the hangar. It's now 1.44am and it shows the dim shape of the trailer with what is believed to be the unique shape of the eliminator bolted onto it. And then a large flame appeared above it. At 3.54am, a figure appears in the hangar doorway and moves toward the incinerator. There is a brief flare of light from the bottom of the incinerator, followed by another flare from the top. The figure returns to the hangar.

There is some movement with the pickup truck and the SUV. Finally, at 7.02am, the SUV leaves the hangar and because it's now light outside, it was positively identified as a dark blue Yukon with no hubcaps. Dellens SUV. This testimony was obviously extremely difficult for Tim Bosmer's family to witness. In the front row of the packed courtroom, Charlene Bosmer was crying, as was Tim's mother Mary Bosmer. During the testimony, the assistant crown attorney allowed them some time for a break

before the testimony resumed. Dr. Tracy Rogers testified. The forensic anthropologist who looked at the incinerator and determined the bones came from a male under 40. There were many photos of bones shown at the trial. Dellen Millard and Mark Smitch gave no reaction to the pictures of the bones. Tim Bosmer's mother Mary left the courtroom during this testimony, as she didn't want to see the images of her only son's remains on the courtroom screens.

Charlene stayed and wept as the testimony was given. Dr. Rogers said that when she'd gathered anything she could from the incinerator by hand, she asked the police to purchase a small handheld vacuum cleaner to help her gather up the ash and bone fragments that she couldn't get manually. She said, it was for the family's peace of mind that they have all the remains back. The court heard from representatives from the company that manufactures the incinerator. One rep spoke of exchanges he and Shane Schlappman had in the lead-up to the purchase, and afterwards as Shane asked follow-up questions about how it was working.

Another rep testified that it would take about three hours to fully burn a 170-pound or 77-kilogram animal and said that all that would remain would be a dry powder that can be cleaned out of the device using a rake. Several DNA experts testified, but a forensic pathologist and forensic dentist both determined that the remains believed to be that of Tim Bosmer were too charred for any conclusive DNA analysis. However, the blood found in Tim Bosmer's truck was determined to be extremely likely his.

Blood stains were found on the glove box, the front cup holder, the dashboard on the rear passenger armrest, the rear passenger door, you get the picture, and most chillingly on a metal ledge below the loading door of the illuminator. Additionally, on the black gloves found in Dellen Millard's pocket when he was arrested, the expert told the jury that a mix of three DNA profiles were detected, two male and one female. Dellen Millard, Christina Nuttgart and Tim Bosmer could not be excluded as the sources of this DNA, meaning it's highly likely that the DNA belonged to them.

A bookkeeper for Millard Air testified, saying there was no income coming into Millard Air, and the business had taken out a $3.7 million loan the year before Tim Bosmer went missing to buy equipment to prepare for opening. She said the financial situation was, quote, very tight. The bookkeeper gave interesting details about the Baja race entry, it cost $18,000 just to enter, and remember the trip to the races cost $10,000 just in fuel to tow the Jeep, so that's already $28,000, not including accommodation and food for three adults. This testimony was intended to show that Dellen wasn't just a rich kid, he was in financial

difficulty by the time it came to go to the Baja races a second time, which may have been why he needed to steal a truck. Dr. Robert Burns testified, the vet and Dellen's uncle who he would supposedly going into the pet cremation business with. Dr. Burns is the brother of Dellen's mother, Madeleine Burns. He had been specifically instructed not to say in court what he'd said in his police interview that Dellen was a, quote, sick twisted prick. As he walked into the courtroom, he took one brief sideways glance at Dellen, who followed

his uncle's every move with what was described as a smirk on his face. Dr. Burns said he was, quote, absolutely blown away by the suggestion that he would go into business with Dellen. He said his relationship with his nephew was biological only and they were both quite distant, so distant that in fact the month before Tim Bosmer's murder, Dellen called his uncle's vet practice asking for his personal phone number because he didn't actually have it. It was very clear to all in the court that Dr. Burns's opinion of Dellen was not high. In fact, the defense chose not to cross examine him, perhaps recognizing that he would likely

have nothing good to say about Dellen. Shane Schlatman, the mechanic for Millard Air, testified in a scene described by those present in the trial as intense. Firstly, Shane described Dellen Millard as a friend and when he was asked to point Dellen out, Dellen waved back at him. Shane denied on the stand that he had any knowledge of where the truck came from at the time. He was questioned as to why he continued to work as a full-time mechanic at Millard Air

for almost a year after Dellen was arrested, even though there was no commercial activity there. He was asked about some strange items that showed up at the hangar and why he didn't question them. His consistent response was that Dellen was the guy with the money and as the employee Shane was there to do as he was told. On cross examination, the defense for Mark Smitch employed old school questioning tactics, often yelling questions.

Through his questioning, Shane admitted that Dellen had a temper which flared if anyone challenged him, so Shane always did as he was told. Quote, he controls you all the time? Shane replied, yes. It was established that Shane enjoyed the perks of working for Dellen, higher pay, the free trip to the Baja races and Dellen's offer for Shane to build a dream family home on his farm. The defense lawyer accused Shane of not questioning Dellen enough about the truck.

After Arthur Jennings told him he'd found out the black pickup belonged to Tim Bosmer, Shane said he believed Dellen and that everything was a blur. It turns out that at the time of the trial, Shane still wasn't talking to his father-in-law Arthur Jennings because he believed that he ratted Dellen out. That was the extent of his loyalty to Dellen. Dellen Millard's real estate agent testified. Lisa Whitton sold a house for Dellen and went on to become intimately involved with him while Christina Nudegar was his girlfriend.

At the time Tim Bosmer was murdered, Lisa was helping Dellen sell a condo. There were cash flow problems so it didn't go smoothly. It was clear that Lisa was still smitten by Dellen. As she walked up to the witness stand to testify, she flashed him a wide smile and the ensuing testimony was described as strained. The reason she was there was because police seized her phone and found texts between her and Dellen. When Tim Bosmer was first missing, she refused to talk to the police about texts Dellen had

sent her four days afterwards. They actually had to handcuff her to prevent her from leaving her phone, which they took as evidence. She was belligerent on the stand, flicking her hair back and giving nondescript responses. She said the handcuffs made her bleed. What the jury didn't hear was that when the police showed up, Lisa refused to hand over her cell phone and tried to drive off. Officers physically wrestled it away and handcuffed her.

It's worth noting that this investigation marked the largest seizure of electronic data in any Ontario homicide case, with the examination of 26,000 text messages from Dellen Millard's phone alone. It was during this questioning that the defence revealed that Andrew was arrested by police for first-degree murder of Tim Bosmer on May 13th. Police were looking for a second suspect and thought Andrew Mikalski was that person. He was questioned but not charged. Remember the truck conversation where Dellen asked him whether he should steal from the

asshole or the nice guy and then Dellen tried to get his girlfriend to convince Andrew to not tell the story? Well Christina didn't end up speaking to him about it, but Andrew didn't tell the truth to the police anyway because at the time he was trying to protect Dellen. But now on the stand he finally told the truth about that conversation. Andrew also said that he thought Dellen was involved with the crime and when asked why he thinks Dellen did it, he said quote, for the thrill of it. Mark Smith's girlfriend, Marlena Meneses testified.

She was 19 at the time of Tim Bosmer's murder. She described Mark and Dellen as being like brothers and even said that Mark cared for Dellen more than he cared for other people. As we know, Marlena knew there was yet another mission since Dellen and Mark picked her up the following morning. She described them as being quote, just really happy saying they wanted to celebrate. They just said that their mission went well. But she didn't know what that mission was about.

On May the 10th, she and Mark were watching the news when Dellen's name flashed up on the screen with an arrest notice in the Tim Bosmer disappearance. Marlena freaked out and confronted Mark about it. Marlena said quote, he said Dellen murdered him. The night they did the test drive, he told me he did nothing that Dellen did it all. I believe he told me that they burned him. Dellen and Mark burned him. Marlena testified that Mark told her after he'd obtained the toolbox with the gun,

he'd wrapped the gun up in duct tape and buried it somewhere in the forest. She said she told him to go to the police, but he wanted to go to his sister's wedding the next weekend. But even after the wedding, he still wouldn't come clean. The crown pointed out that she also didn't go to the police, quote, I did nothing. I regret it. I should have. You remember she was scared she was pregnant when he was arrested and said she loved him

and would wait for him? Well, she wasn't pregnant, but she did tell the jury about a different side to their relationship. She said he was abusive. He hit her, called her nasty names and forced her to sell weed for him. And even though he didn't work himself and refused to get a proper job, he tried to get her to work as a stripper. Upon cross-examination by Mark Smith's lawyer, Marlena also said that Mark had helped her escape problems at home, got her to stop using cocaine and made her feel good about herself.

Obviously these questions were designed to paint Mark Smith in a more favorable light. Marlena said that Dylan Millard made her feel uncomfortable from day one. He would slap her on the butt, make sexual comments and hit on her. She agreed that his big thing in life was being out stealing and getting younger boys to help him steal. After the many testimonies of Dylan Millard and Mark Smith's in a circle, a clear theme had come through. They had each known something wasn't right, but not one of them did the right thing and

went to the police. In fact, several of them admitted to lying to the police when initially questioned. Next to take the stand was Dylan's girlfriend, 24-year-old Christina Nudger. She was also charged with accessory after the fact and would be tried at a later date. It was made clear that she could claim protection under the Canada Evidence Act, meaning evidence she gave at the trial could not be used against her at her own trial. This is Canada's version of what happens in US trials when witnesses say they plead the fifth, except in Canada they can still give evidence.

But for now, she was a key witness, the crown's last witness. The moment she took her place in the witness box, she looked at Dylan and he looked back at her, and over the next few hours they looked at each other frequently. She told the court that she'd loved him and she thought their relationship was exclusive. The reporters called her the least likable out of a generally unlikable bunch of witnesses. She was smug, condescending, and snippy from the witness stand. Many of her answers seemed recited and dishonest. She rolled her eyes and giggled a lot, and in response to many of the questions, she

claimed to not remember what happened, including when questioned about price statements she'd given to the police. She did say that Dylan was often dismissive or ambiguous when she asked him about his life outside of their relationship, so she just flat out stopped asking. When questioned about one of the last missions she helped him with, which was when she went with him to tow the trailer containing Tim Bosmer's truck to his mother's house, she said she didn't question Dylan because she was too busy, quote, performing sexual favors for Dylan as he drove.

She giggled, smiled, and shrugged, and insisted that mission was a word he used innocently and ambiguously to describe things like errands or shopping. Christina Nuttga was questioned about her going back with Dylan's mother to wipe fingerprints off the truck and why she didn't call the police. She said she was under extreme stress, duress, and was intoxicated, that they didn't want to be tied to all of it and have their lives destroyed by the media. The next piece of evidence was the letters that Dylan wrote to Christina from jail, the letters that they recovered from her bedroom closet.

These letters were transported to Christina via Dylan's mother, Madeleine Burns. At first, she would only let her read them and then take them back, but after a while she let Christina keep them. The letters were analyzed in depth. As well as the proclamations of love, descriptions of life in jail, and the peace with Dylan asking Christina to get Andrew Mikowski to change his story, there were many instances of Dylan scrambling to write down a story that would get him out of jail. Basically, in this version, he says that it was Mark and his sketchy friends who killed

Tim Bosmer, and when Dylan found out, the friends threatened violence against Mark and Dylan's families if either of them told anyone. Mark then begged Dylan to help him hide what happened. He also said that it was important for Christina to mention that Dylan does not own a gun, that it was Mark and his friends who owned the guns. At the end of this story, Dylan wrote, destroy this letter. Dylan had elected not to take the stand, but Mark smitch wood. The defense called Mark smitch to testify.

He spoke slowly, softly, and carefully, showing the jury a different Mark smitch than they had come to believe existed from what they'd heard so far in the trial. He said they were supposed to steal a truck, that murder hadn't been part of the plan. Here's what happened that night, according to Mark smitch. As you'll recall, Dylan told Tim Bosmer that the reason they arrived on foot was that their friend had dropped them off and went to Tim Hortons. When they first left, Dylan was driving, Tim Bosmer was in the passenger seat, and Mark smitch was in the back.

According to Mark, before they even pulled out of the driveway, Dylan pulled out his cell phone and pretended to get a text message from the supposed friend who'd dropped them off. He said the friend had gotten lost and was around the corner. Dylan then turned to Mark in the back seat and said, why don't you guys follow us? The Yukon was parked just around the corner, and there were no people inside it, only Peter, the dog. But taking the hint, Mark got out and climbed into Dylan's Yukon and started following Tim

Bosmer's truck. He followed them until they swerved and pulled over suddenly on a side road in Brantford. According to Mark's smitch, quote, Dal got out of the driver's seat and proceeds to walk towards the Yukon and he's pulling what looked like a gun in his satchel. I asked him what was going on and he said, I'm taking the truck. Mark said he looked like a, quote, lunatic, like something had come over him. That's when Mark got out of the Yukon and walked over to the truck and saw a bullet hole in the window and Tim Bosmer lying head first on the dashboard.

Mark said, quote, I was shocked, utter and complete shock, I was in disbelief. Tim Bosmer's family, of course, were in court for this testimony sobbing. His mother, Mary Bosmer, had to leave the courtroom in tears, accompanied by a victim support worker. Dylan Millard, who elected not to call witnesses or take the stand, was furiously taking notes. Mark said he was scared and in shock as he followed Dylan's orders to swap out the plates of Tim's truck and then stopped so Dylan could discard Tim Bosmer's phone. At that point, Mark said Dylan told him, everything's going to be all right, don't worry, just

follow me. Mark said Dylan was very forceful in his tone. He said at that point he felt he had no choice but to go along with everything. They headed to Dylan's farm where Dylan told Mark to hitch up the eliminator to Tim's pickup truck. Mark said he saw the body of Tim Bosmer lying on a sheet on the ground. When Dylan told him to put the body in the incinerator, Mark said he couldn't. He said he had a bad shoulder and also he didn't want to go anywhere near the incinerator.

According to Mark, he watched as Dylan single-handedly loaded Tim Bosmer's body into the eliminator, even though the hatch of the giant incinerator was four and a half feet above the trailer floor. They left the farm for Dylan's air hangar, Dylan driving Tim Bosmer's truck towing the eliminator and Mark following in the Yukon. When they arrived at the hangar, Mark says he continued to do as he was told, stripping the interior of the blood-soaked truck with a knife before hosing the whole thing down. Just as the forensic evidence had suggested.

The bloody car parts, including the front seats, were put into Dylan's red pickup, the gas guzzler that had towed his jeep to the Baja races. After the night was over, it was another two days before they met up again. Mark said he was alarmed at how normal Dylan appeared, back to his normal self, quote, which scared the shit out of me even more. This time they picked up some canisters of gas and took Dylan's red pickup back to the farm to burn, and this is what caused the burn marks found on the farmland. And while they were there, Dylan told Mark about his plan to have Tim Bosmer's truck

painted red. Essentially what he was doing was a truck swap. Tim Bosmer's truck would turn into the red gas guzzler that Dylan had, except it was diesel and would be cheaper for the Baja races. Mark Smith was asked why he didn't go to the police either straight after or in the days that followed, quote, I was in denial. I did not kill Mr. Bosmer. I was scared and confused.

I had so much going through my mind. Mark also had his sister's wedding coming up. He said that family meant the world to him and he didn't want to ruin that. As you'll recall, the gun that shot Tim Bosmer was put in the yellow toolbox, which eventually ended up with Mark's Mitch after Dylan was arrested. Mark thought there were drugs in the box and was shocked when he opened it and saw the gun. He thought Dylan was going to frame him.

Mark was asked what he did with the gun. He said he hopped on his bike, rode into the forest and buried it, but he couldn't remember where it was. It was through cross-examination of Mark's Mitch that Dylan Millard's defence team introduced Dylan's side of what happened to Tim Bosmer. According to Dylan Millard's defence, all three of them were in the truck in the same position as they left for the test drive. All of a sudden, Mark whipped out a pistol from the back seat.

He said we're going to take the truck, meaning he was going to use the gun to threaten Tim Bosmer to get him to give up the truck. But, according to Dylan's legal team, Tim Bosmer, who was sitting in the passenger side, tried to grab the gun and it discharged, killing him and shattering a window. So essentially, the whole thing was an accident, but Mark's Mitch was at fault. Dylan apparently had no knowledge of what was about to happen. Dylan's legal team then went on to say that Dylan swerved onto the shoulder of the road and stopped.

He was furious and said they should call an ambulance. Dylan panicked because he'd already been seen by Charlene Bosmer and their neighbour. They could identify him. The defence then suggested that the video surveillance of the cars backed up Dylan's story. Mark said that that was absolutely incorrect. Dylan's legal team then picked apart Mark's Mitch's testimony, making him look silly along the way.

They asked him what he used to dig the hole to bury the gun. He said he used a spade. The defence asked him how big a spade was. Mark said he didn't know. They asked him where he buried the gun. He was just as vague about that, saying he had no idea what road he took or where he went. Dylan's team said that the agreement was that, for trying to steal the truck, Dylan

would give Mark a vintage Cadillac he liked. Mark planned on moving to Calgary to start a new life afterwards, but needed money and a car. But Mark's Mitch deviated from the plan when he killed Tim Bosmer, meaning that he would now be ineligible for the Cadillac. Mark's Mitch denied that. He told the court he'd be promised the car for all the legal and illegal work he'd done for Dylan before they stole the truck.

For stealing the truck, he said he was supposed to get a couple of hundred dollars. In the days following the murder, Dylan gave him a bag of weed as an incentive for continuing to help after the murder. Mark said Dylan gave him money he owed him for previous work, but never actually gave him the money he was promised for stealing the truck. The defence suggested that after a year of methodically looking for a truck to steal, a truck that Dylan planned to keep and use for the Baja races, it just didn't make sense that Dylan would purposely soil it with murder.

The defence asked why Dylan would show his face to Tim and Charlene Bosmer and their neighbour. Like Mark's Mitch, who wore a hoodie pulled up over his head. The defence came back that Mark was trying to present himself as a, quote, ''victim of manipulation, a victim of domination. Poor old Smitch is what you're trying to communicate. Poor old Smitch.'' They said he can't have been in that much of a state of absolute shock since he'd been

smiling and celebrating at his sister's wedding barely two weeks after Tim Bosmer's murder. Then it was finally turned for the Crown to cross-examine Mark's Mitch. It was suggested that the two of them came up with a plan together to steal a truck and then kill and burn a body. They had been planning it for more than a year. It wasn't just about a truck though, because that would have been easy for them given their success with previous missions. The difference with this plan, the Crown contended, was that they needed a target to kill and incinerate.

It was two of them that planned it, and it was the two of them that executed that plan to perfection. The Crown suggested there was no real test drive, that Tim Bosmer only got as far as a field around the corner from his home before he was shot in the passenger seat of his truck. The Crown questioned Mark as to how they got Tim Bosmer's body into the incinerator, given that it was over four feet above the trailer floor and its opening was only 18 inches by 24, or 45 centimetres by 60. Quote, Mr. Smitch, it's a two-man job.

Tim Bosmer was six feet tall, 170 pounds. The two of you put Mr. Bosmer together in the eliminator. The Crown said that if Mark really was in fear of, quote, Lunatic Delan Millard as he said he was, he could have driven away, but instead he followed Delan to his farm and then his hangar and then worked with Delan for days after to cover their tracks. He also pointed to testimony from Mark's girlfriend Marlena Meneses, who said Delan and Mark were in a celebratory mood when they picked her up the next morning. All in all, Mark Smitch was on the stand for nine days.

And with this, because Delan decided not to take the stand or call witnesses, the evidence was now complete. The three teams gave their final address. Delan's team said that Mark Smitch was the sketchy one with the gun. He was tired of living on scraps Delan tossed him, so he tried to take things into his own hands and he, quote, fucked up. Mark's team said that scenario was just a suggestion from a lawyer. It was not evidence because no one had testified that it was the truth.

The only evidence the jury heard of the moment Tim Bosmer was murdered came from Mark Smitch himself. And the crown's closing argument was that who actually pulled the trigger doesn't matter because both of them are murderers. The jury deliberated for almost four days. During this time, the collection of family and friends called the Bosmer Army stayed either at the courthouse or nearby in the park across the street, prepared to be called back with little notice.

On June 17th, the jury announced they had a verdict. First was the verdict for Delan Millard, guilty of first-degree murder. Then for Mark Smitch, also guilty of first-degree murder. The courtroom erupted in cheers. The Bosmer family did not wish to make victim impact statements for the purpose of sentencing because the penalty for first-degree murder is already an automatic 25 years to life. They took a short break so Justice Andrew Goodman could prepare his sentencing remarks and when Charlene Bosmer entered the courtroom for sentencing, Delan overtly tried to make

eye contact with her. Courtroom onlookers jeered at him. In sentencing, Justice Andrew Goodman asked Delan Millard and Mark Smitch if they had anything to say. Both declined to comment. Justice Goodman called their crime incomprehensible and unimaginable and praised the Bosmer family for their strength of character. He said that despite what happened, Tim Bosmer's memory and spirit cannot be taken away.

The sentence was automatic mandatory term of imprisonment for life, or at least until 2038. After the verdict, Charlene Bosmer gave a statement to the media outside the courthouse. She was surrounded by many members of the Bosmer army. So, today has been a very long, awaited day for our families. For over three years, we have waited for justice for Tim. For three years, we have been in and out of this courthouse, forced to look at and breathe in the same space with the utter depths of depravity in our society.

We have had to endure being near the two men that walked down my driveway on May 6, 2013 and took away the bright life in our lives that was Tim. It is their own unspeakable evil acts that have taken away their freedom while saying it is unfair. What is unfair is that now that this chapter is over, we have to truly begin building our lives. What is unfair is that regardless of all that has transpired in the courtroom today, one thing will never change for us.

There is one absolute constant for us. This does not bring Tim back, and he will still never come home. For Tim's murderers, their life sentence begins now, and hours began over three years ago when they murdered Tim. That being said, although we endure a life sentence without Tim, we have learned to collectively laugh again, to smile and embrace what we still have. We have memories, a lot of very beautiful memories. The day after the trial, Hank and Mary Bosmer, Tim's parents, were interviewed by the Hamilton

spectator. They said that the worst part was that at first, when they contemplated their son's death, they were horrified by the possibilities. They didn't know his last moments at the time. Did he suffer? Did they burn him alive? They said when they learned that Tim was shot in his truck shortly after leaving the house, the weight just went off their shoulders.

Not surprisingly, a couple of weeks after the trial, it was announced that Dylan Millard and Mark Smith would be appealing their sentences. Virtually all those convicted of the most serious crimes in the criminal code do, because they have nothing to lose. Dylan's appeal included a 13-point appendix laying out specifics of how he felt he was wronged by the trial. Mark wrote his grounds on a scrap of paper in handwriting. It says, quote, my trial was unfair.

The trial judge made errors in his charge to the jury and other rulings. It's worth noting a few interesting pieces of information from the trial. Here's some other things that the justice ruled the jury in this trial were not allowed to hear. The name Laura Babcock was not allowed to be uttered within earshot of the jury. The jury also wasn't allowed to hear a police statement by Andrew Mikulski, in which he said their whole group of friends did heroin, and Dylan Millard also used cocaine. And in the spring of 2013, just before Tim Bosmer's murder, Dylan Millard asked Mark

Smith's girlfriend Marlena Meneses to wear a fake pregnancy belly to smuggle bullets into Canada from the US. Mark Smith wouldn't let her get involved. And some anecdotes from the trial. At the end, Dylan Millard asked if he could bring a Bible in, but he never did. And Justice Andrew Goodman said, quote, the civility and professionalism in this trial is second to none. The lawyers all agreed, saying they'd never gotten along so well with their opposing

counsel. In most murder cases, the victim's family never speaks to the defense counsel. But at this trial, the Bosmer family were friendly with the defense teams and sometimes shared cake and other treats with them. In August of 2016, it was made public that almost a year beforehand, the Bosmer family launched a $14 million civil lawsuit against Dylan Millard and Mark Smith. The family said that Tim Bosmer's death was caused, quote, solely as a result of the horrendous, malicious, arbitrary, and reprehensible conduct of Dylan Millard and Mark Smith, but also named

Christina Nudgar and Dylan's mother Madeleine Burns as defendants. Charlene Bosmer provided a statement to the media, quote, for me, it's not about the money. It never has been. I just want another court to find them responsible for the actions that they took. Dylan filed a statement of defense several months later, saying he was not to blame and the family was being re-victimized by a flawed police investigation. It's not publicly known where this case stands right now. Two months later, in October of 2016, it was reported that Dylan had filed for legal aid.

Where was all his money? He had a 50% stake in Millard air and Millard properties with his father, Wayne Millard's estate, owning the balance. He already spent well over a million dollars in legal fees himself that couldn't access his father's estate because the outcome of his trial for his father's murder was still pending. Additionally, with the company's in court appointed receivership, it means their assets are effectively frozen.

The next month, in November 2016, Christina Nudgar was due to stand trial for being an accessory after the fact. By this time, she'd served four months in pretrial custody, followed by 2.3 years of house arrest while on bail, and had worn a monitoring bracelet for about ten months of that. But instead of going to trial, she accepted a plea deal and pled guilty to obstructing the course of justice just before her trial was due to begin. This plea deal was supported by the Bosmer family.

The Crown noted that there was no direct evidence that when Christina was assisting Dylan Millard, she knew that he'd killed Tim Bosmer. The plea deal meant that a court case scheduled to run for three weeks was cancelled, and so too would be the horrifying testimony that the Bosmer family would need to sit through yet again. Christina was sentenced to one day in custody, added to the time she had already served. By this time, she had her Bachelor of Science degree in the health science field with a minor in psychology, worked as a lifeguard and CPR instructor, and was involved as a

campaigner with human rights organizations. Through her lawyer, she said she had plans to reactivate her postgraduate medical education. She will, however, have a criminal record. So where do things stand today? Dylan Millard and Mark Smitch are awaiting their trial for the murder of Laura Babcock, which was originally scheduled for February 2017, but then moved to September. And Dylan's trial for Wayne Millard is scheduled for March 2018. If Dylan is convicted of both of these charges, he will be classified as a serial killer.

With that, we've come to the end of this series on Tim Bosmer and Dylan Millard. I'll be sure to update you as the trials for Laura Babcock and Wayne Millard happen. In the meantime, if you are looking for further reading on the case, I highly recommend the book Dark Ambition, the shocking crime of Dylan Millard and Mark Smitch by Anne Brocklehurst. I've made a valiant effort, but I couldn't possibly fit all the details into these episodes, so if you wanted more information, be sure to check out this book. As always, thanks for listening. A huge thank you to my two voice actors again.

Jordan Bonaparte from the Nighttime Podcast came back for a third time as Dylan Millard and Jack Luna from Dark Topic was this week playing Shane Schlatman, the Millardian mechanic. If you didn't know, I've started up a Patreon, and my patrons at the $2 a month level received this episode several days earlier and without the ad. And if you were curious about what cases I'm covering next, all patrons have access to my schedule of upcoming episodes. So if you think this might interest you, be sure to check out www.patreon.com forward slash Canadian True Crime.

And if not, I'm super happy just to have you as a listener. I also appreciate the time that you take to support the show in other ways, like leaving reviews on iTunes and my Facebook page. I read each and every review, even the crappy ones. And thanks to those who have emailed me, messaged me, or recommended this podcast to your friends or on social media. It all helps the show to find a wider audience. So thank you.

So before I get to the podcast recommendations, I wanted to give a shout out to all my lovely patrons so far. Lainey from the True Crime Fan Club podcast, Arielle M, Clay A, Rosie and Ben from They Walk Among Us, Christy T, Vivian V, Mark C, Ryn Nguyen, Heather K, Jordan from the Nighttime podcast, James H, Cambo from the True Crime Island podcast, Andrew E, and Anna. Thank you all so much for supporting the show in this way. And as always, here's a couple of other podcasts to check out. The first is already gone, hosted by the amazing Nina Instead.

Nina is a master storyteller. I'm Nina Instead, host of the Already Gone podcast. Each week, I share stories of the missing, the mysterious, the murdered, and the lost. Stories that I share tend to focus on Michigan or the Great Lakes region, and they're stories you may not have heard before. I hope you'll join us. And I also want to recommend QuidProQuo, an amazing forensic psych podcast that I've been binging on lately.

Hi, I am Elle, and this is QuidProQuo, your friendly neighborhood forensic psych podcast. I took my morbid teenage curiosity to the next level with a master's degree in forensic psychology. This podcast lets me spread a bit of that knowledge, presenting true crime topics from a psychological point of view with empathy, humor, straightforward language, and a fair number of movie quotes. Be sure to ask for the QuidProQuo cast by name wherever fine internets are sold. The Canadian True Crime podcast is researched, written, and narrated by me, Christy Lee.

And I'm super grateful to have audio production by Eric Crosby. Also, a big thank you to Maggie, the true crime queen for being generally awesome. I'll be back soon with another Canadian True Crime story, and next time we venture to Atlantic Canada for a crime from Nova Scotia. I'll see you soon.