Canadian True Crime - 33 Dellen Millard and the Murder of his Father

Episode Date: October 15, 2018

[Part 6 of 6] He's already in jail for two consecutive life sentences for two murders - Tim Bosma and Laura Babcock. In this final episode, we find out what happened with the murder of Dellen Millard's father, Wayne Millard.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 Bosma08 - Dellen Millard - Part 109 - Dellen Millard - Part 219 - 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/sponsorsPodcast recommendations:Uncover: NXIVM from CBC, the network behind Someone Knows SomethingJoin my patreon to get early episodes - without any of the ads! - and more: www.patreon.com/canadiantruecrime  Credits:Research assistance: Eliot K Waddingham Audio production: Erik KrosbyWriting, research, narration and music arrangement: Kristi LeeDisclaimer voiced by the host of Beyond Bizarre True CrimeAll credits and information sources will be found on the page for this episode at www.canadiantruecrime.ca.Support the show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hi there. Before I begin, I just wanted to tell you about an amusing piece of feedback I got from the last episode. Well, to me, anyway. Among the indignation and downright furious type responses about what happened to the Shafia family women were quite a few polite complaints and corrections about my pronunciation of the word nissen. I do know what brand of car that is, in fact my husband owned one until right before we moved to Canada, a 180 if anyone that knows nissen's is listening. Yep, in Australia we pronounce it nissen, having lived in the Greater Toronto area since 2009 and listened to all of the local radio ads. I assure you I am more than aware that you pronounce it as nisan. But on this occasion,

this was not my personal error in pronunciation. It was a product of my accent. I thought about trying to pronounce it the way it's pronounced here in North America, but I couldn't do it without laughing. So whenever you see a nissen, please think of me and feel free to continue to correct me on errors. It's all good information for me. And thank you so much for listening to Canadian True Crime. This podcast contains course language, adult themes and content of a violent and disturbing nature. Listener discretion is advised. Please note this episode is a final in a series. It started with episodes 7, 8 and 9 and then continues with episodes 19 and 20 and now this episode 33. If you haven't listened to all of

these previous episodes I do recommend that you pause this one now and go and listen before coming back to this episode. It is a long and twisted story. I have put the exact episode numbers that you need to listen to in the show notes. But first, a quick recap. Dylan Millard was the sole heir to a well-known Toronto aviation family, a spoiled little rich kid who hadn't really done anything with his life except spend his family's wealth on partying, buying cars and other toys. He was also known for buying the company and loyalty of much younger friends with drugs and accommodation. One in particular was Mark Smitch, an aspiring rapper, drug dealer and general dropkick around the town of Oakville. Mark and the group of younger friends

would help Dylan with what he called his missions. Typically petty criminal acts like stealing ride on lawnmowers, cars and other items. Dylan likely could have afforded to buy these items thanks to his family's wealth but it seemed he just enjoyed the thrill of it. What very few people knew was that this wasn't all that was going on. Dylan Millard's need for a thrill was getting darker and it seemed he didn't care what price had to be paid. It all busted wide open when 32-year-old Tim Bosmer put his truck up for sale on Kijiji. Two men walked down the married father's home driveway at 9pm at night. He went off for a test drive with them and never came back. The dark, tangled web of Dylan Millard's life began to unravel. The police tracked the whole

thing back to him and Mark Smitch. He wanted the model of truck that Tim Bosmer was selling because it was more fuel efficient than the one that he had but also he didn't want to have to pay for it because it seemed that his company was becoming asset rich and cash poor and he had a giant customized incinerator called the Eliminator that he was itching to use again. Tim Bosmer was murdered by gunshot in his own truck while still on the test drive and his remains reduced to no more than dust and a pile of bone fragments, leaving behind a shattered wife and toddler daughter. But this wasn't the first time that Dylan Millard had used this incinerator. After Tim Bosmer, the police started taking a good hard look at him and came across a few

startling things. The year before Tim Bosmer went missing, so too did Dylan's on-off girlfriend Laura Babcock. Laura had mental health problems that had escalated and was living a transient life just before her disappearance as well as working for an escort agency. When her friend and parents reported her missing and her friend alerted the police to a possible role played by Dylan Millard, they didn't give the case any preference because Laura was living what was deemed to be a high-risk lifestyle. She'd be back, just wait and see. We've all heard that before. It wasn't until a year later, after discovering Dylan Millard's role in Tim Bosmer's death, that police paid much more serious attention to Laura Babcock's file. As it turned out,

when they searched Dylan's ex-girlfriend's house and his personal electronic devices after Tim Bosmer went missing, they found a whole pile of startling evidence. It suggested that Dylan's girlfriend, Christina Nudger, had a rivalry with Laura Babcock. In fact, Christina was quite the mean girl. Dylan decided to get rid of the problem, get rid of Laura, so he purchased an industrial incinerator, customized it so it could be transported on a trailer and worked out a plan to lure Laura Babcock. Finally, as her mental health took a sharp turn downwards, when she was literally homeless and had nowhere to stay, she reached out to Dylan in desperation, who took this opportunity to silence her once and for all. Like Tim Bosmer, Laura Babcock's life

was snuffed out without a second thought, and all trace of her was destroyed in the incinerator. These two crimes were tried separately, and Dylan Millard and Mark Smitch were each found guilty and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences, and that is the last we would hear from Mark Smitch. But we aren't done with Dylan Millard yet, because in between the murders of Laura Babcock and Tim Bosmer, Dylan's own father died. At the same time as the police announced he was going to be charged with the murder of Laura Babcock, they also announced that he would be charged with the murder of his own father, Wayne Millard. This is Christy, and you're listening to Canadian True Crime, Episode 33, Dylan Millard and the Murder of His Father.

Wayne Millard's parents, Carl and Della, started their own charter airline in 1956, called Millard Air. Della was the savvy businesswoman, and Carl was the guy who flew the planes. They only had one child, Wayne, who received early flight training and was flying planes by himself from a young age. The company Millard Air was most successful during the 60s and 70s, when the planes delivered auto parts to and from Detroit, a major auto hub. Wayne Millard met flight attendant Madeleine Burns in the 70s when he was flying for Air Canada. They got married, and on August the 30th 1985, their only child was born, Dylan Millard. His grandmother Della had died the year before he was born,

and Della's name was a tribute to her. Millard Air as a company had seen the last days of its great success, and in fact things had started to go downhill. In 2006, Carl Millard passed away, and his son Wayne Millard took over as president. He wanted to ramp up the business and transform it into what's called an MRO venture, maintenance, repair and operations, essentially a hotel for planes. But at the same time, he wasn't a natural businessman and appeared to many to be turning into a bit of a recluse. An old aviation business associate, Cam Harrod, would say that this wasn't his experience with Wayne. The two first met in 2008, four years before Wayne's death. Cam described Wayne as a good guy, a great guy, not your typical wealthy aviation guy.

Quote, I don't want to say he was slovenly, but he didn't really care about his appearance. Four years later, in the summer of 2012, the two men reconnected when Wayne visited Cam unexpectedly at his hangar near Kitchener, Ontario. Wayne said his company now operated a new hangar in the same area, and thought he'd see who else was around in the industry. At the time, Cam noticed that Wayne was positive, upbeat, and offered him the opportunity to visit the hangar any time. This was just months before Wayne died. Also in the summer of 2012, Wayne Millard reconnected with an old friend of his, Janet. They were actually cousins by adoption and had dated when they were in their teens and early twenties. They drifted apart as they each got

married and then eventually divorced before they got back in touch in January of 2012, when Wayne emailed Janet to wish her a happy new year. From this email, they started chatting and started speaking more and more frequently as the time went by, talking about music, books, and all sorts of things. Janet would say the two had grown quite close, talking to each other quite often for hours at a time. They also met up for a few trips to the Millard Air Hangar in Waterloo, which was a big deal for Wayne as he was a homebody. He was quite proud of the hangar and the family business he was helming. Janet knew that he was in business with his son at the time, but didn't know much else about their arrangement and she'd also never met Dylan.

She said that she knew Wayne had taken out loans for the ailing aviation business and was experiencing some stress because of that. Quote, the business was sucking the life out of him. But to Janet, he seemed fine otherwise. He was emotionally guarded, she said, but over time he began to share details of his life with her, like the fact that he had a drinking problem. In November of 2012, they slowly began a romantic relationship and he stayed over at her house one night and into the next afternoon. He told her frequently that he loved her, that he adored her. Janet said that Wayne was generally in good spirits. He was 71 years old now, but in generally good health, no illnesses apart from debilitating back problems which

caused him to use a motorized scooter sometimes to get around in, although he could walk without it. He would often be bedridden for days from back pain. The last time Janet spoke with Wayne was the night of November 28th, 2012. It was a long phone call that lasted into the early morning hours of November 29th. They talked about his business and how Wayne was setting up the hotel for planes. He told her about enhancements he'd made to the hangar that he was exceptionally pleased about. It was Janet's birthday in just a couple of days on December 4th and Wayne was excited about it. He told her he was going to her house and was planning a special cake and present.

He'd taken the day off work and warned his associates in advance not to bother him on that day. In the summer of 2012, Dallin Millard contacted gun dealer Matthew Ward Jackson, or Big Issue as he was also known, to buy a gun. By September 2012, Dallin had purchased three guns from the sky, one of them being the Walter PPK handgun that would be used to murder Tim Bosmer. Another one was a .32 caliber revolver with an old school looking wooden handle. About two weeks before Wayne Millard died, Dallin Millard uploaded a photo of himself to a social media account. The photo was of him with a bloody eye. It wasn't real, it had been taken in 2005

after Dallin had completed a course in special effects makeup. But it might possibly come to mean something else. Marlena Manasas was the former girlfriend of Mark Smith and often hung around with Dallin and Mark while they completed what they like to call their missions. You know, stealing cars, ride on lawn mowers, trucks, testing out industrial size incinerators. In the lead up to Wayne's death, Marlena said she saw Dallin with a gun, quote, a Western looking gun with a wooden handle. She'd never seen that gun before and she never saw it again after that. One day in late November 2012, although Marlena couldn't remember exactly what date, Dallin went over to Mark's mother's house in Oakville arriving there in the afternoon

with his dog, Peddo. Marlena noticed that he had two phones with him. Just after midnight of November the 29th, both of Dallin's phones pinged off towers near Mark's mother's house. Later that night, Marlena and Mark walked Dallin to a corner store just down the street. He said he was getting picked up from there to go on a date, telling them that it was with someone else other than his girlfriend at the time, Christina Nudger. As you'll remember, Dallin was known for having several girlfriends on the go at the same time. He left his credit card for Marlena and Mark to order some pizza and said he'd be back later on that night. Just after 1 a.m., one of Dallin's phones called a taxi near Mark's mother's house

in Oakville. When Marlena and Mark got back to his mother's house, they noticed that Dallin had left his other phone there. The pair went on to drink, smoke weed, and eat the pizza Dallin had authorized them to buy. Although Marlena couldn't confirm the date of all of this, Dallin's credit card statement shows a purchase for pizza the early morning hours of November 29th. That's the day that Wayne Millard was found dead. Marlena and Mark ate their pizza and then passed out on the floor. In the morning hours, phone records showed that one of Dallin's phones was now at his father's house. The other one was still back at Mark's mother's house, where Marlena and Mark lay passed out

on the floor. According to Wayne Millard's girlfriend Janet, she and Wayne were talking on the phone into the early hours of that morning. At around 6 a.m. the same morning, Dallin's phone, the same one, pinged off towers still near his father Wayne's house at Etobicoke. The evidence suggested he'd been at his father's house with one of his phones from around 1 a.m. until 6 a.m. on the morning of November 29th. That morning, Mark and Marlena both woke up to Dallin standing over them, saying that he was now back from his date. He got a blanket and pillow and fell to sleep on the floor beside the couple, crashed, as Marlena called it. She thought it was strange because Dallin had never slept at Mark's mother's place before. In fact, it was usually

she and Mark who stayed at Dallin's place. Dallin never told them who he was on a date with and didn't talk about what happened on that date. When they woke up, the three of them hung out for a bit and went out to get something to eat. And after that, Dallin drove them both back to Mark's mother's house and he left. That afternoon, cell phone records showed that one of Dallin's phones went to the Waterloo Airport and then back to Mark Smith's house and then finally back to his father's house just before 6 p.m. According to police statements, this is the time that he said he'd discovered his father's body. The first thing he did was send a panicked text message to his friend. Dallin texted Andrew saying, quote, Bro, please come over. I don't want to be alone.

Something terrible has happened. Andrew replied that he was coming. The next call Dallin made, though, was not to police. It was to his mother, Madeleine Burns. Andrew arrived just before Madeleine did but didn't stay for long. And soon after, he sent Dallin a text message saying, Dude, I'm sorry for not coming to see Wayne. I couldn't. If you need anything, let me know. On November the 29th, 2012, the body of 71-year-old Wayne Millard was found. Madeleine Burns was the one who called police to tell them that her ex-husband had passed away and there was blood all over. She was there with Dallin when the paramedics arrived. Dallin told one of the paramedics that he only stayed with his father three to four times a week and he'd tried to get a hold of his father

for a few days now before coming over to check up on him after he'd heard nothing back. He mentioned that Wayne had a long history of alcohol abuse. Paramedics found Wayne in his bed. His body was stone cold and starting to turn black. It was evident to the paramedics that there was nothing they could do. It had clearly been some time since the man had died. He was on his side, partially covered with blankets, with his head resting under his right arm and his left arm outstretched off the bed. His left arm had blood on the palm and forearm. He'd been shot through the eye. His head had a trail of dried up blood flowing from it. His head was resting on a blood soaked pillow which had a black sooty mark on it just inches away from his head. Next to the bed

was a black and white Lululemon carry bag that had a loaded 32 caliber revolver with a wooden handle on it. There was blood on the bag. The police came soon after to document the scene. One of the police officers said that Madeleine appeared very distraught and cried on and off during their conversation. In contrast, the officer didn't remember Deleine having any emotional reaction despite the fact that the body of his father was lying just meters away. Do you have a passion project that you're ready to take to the next level? Square Space 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,

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Speaking of Madeleine Burns, she was a mysterious character who was really seen in public and connection with the trials but she had supported her son Dellen in many ways and continued to do so. She helped Christina Nudgar wipe fingerprints off the trailer outside her house, the trailer that Tim Bosmer's truck was being hidden. After her son was first arrested she refused to speak with police on multiple occasions. She managed all Dellen's finances while he was in prison and even wrote a four-page letter in support of him at one of his sentencing hearings. The letter went on about how he was a gentle spirit, always generous, loyal to a fault and protective of those he perceives as marginalized, weaker or lacking in some way.

She went on about his childhood and how he was always a very good boy, accomplished in many things and never got into any trouble, until of course grade 10, where quote, a couple of students set Dellen up for removing chemicals from the science lab. She got power of attorney the day after Dellen was arrested and accepted his transfer of three properties for one dollar each, which she sold straight away to pay a milliardaire debt. And she acted as a prime delivery person for Dellen's letters inside jail to Christina outside, despite their no contact order. One letter from Christina to Dellen included nude photographs, the transport of which was facilitated by his mother. One time Madeline even organized a phone

call between them. She went to a pay phone with Christina and held the phone up to her ear. Dellen reportedly sang the song Wonderwall by Oasis to Christina. Ann Brocklehurst, author of the acclaimed book Dark Ambition, the shocking crime of Dellen Millard and Mark Smitch, said that Madeline Burns quote, really believes he's being framed. She's in complete denial. Back to the scene of Wayne Millard's death. The house on Maple Gate in Etobicoke was Dellen's primary residence and now the place where his father had suddenly died. But the police believed that it was a suicide and investigated it as a coroner's case for sudden death, not a murder

investigation. The gun was moved before it was photographed by investigators and it was seen to have been picked up and held by the coroner first before being put back on the floor and then photographed. The pillow with the black sooty mark on it was not taken into evidence and therefore not forensically tested, nor were the blankets partially covering Wayne's body or the bag the murder weapon was found in. The police found several medications in the room, painkillers and muscle relaxers, but these were not taken as evidence. There were no rulers placed in photographs for size comparison and no measurements were taken of anything. If the case had been deemed a murder investigation, the police would have come back with a search warrant and conducted

a thorough search of the house, but this didn't happen. One of the police officers went outside and found Dellen waiting in his car with his dog Peddo. He told Dellen that found a gun. Dellen asked if it was a revolver. This question struck the officer as odd because they had not discussed anything about a gun before this point, let alone a revolver. Dellen was not searched because at this point he was just being treated as a witness. He was not suspected of any wrong doing at the time and there were no grounds to arrest him for anything. The next night, after he'd finished his police statement, Dellen sent a text message to his official girlfriend, Christina Nudger, quote, my dad shot himself. My world has never been so upside

down. The last time I spoke to him, I told him the company's financial troubles were his doing and that he was a failure. Usually he tells me not to worry, but this time he said maybe I was right. Dellen then moved on to the topic of suicide, quote, he's always had depression, but he's never been suicidal. I've dealt with suicidal people. It doesn't fit. On December the third, four days after Wayne was found, Dellen Malard texted one of his employees at the hangar and asked him to discreetly change the locks. He asked that the employee be there in the morning, saying to keep an eye out if anything gets put in someone's trunk. And later on that day, Dellen emailed a business contact of his father's named Al-Sharif saying, my father has died,

the business is unable to continue. Effective today, Malard is closed. He then texted Mark Smitch, quote, I have to go to the airport tomorrow morning to sign papers and give a speech telling the employees they are out of work. The next day, an unknown number texted to Dellen, quote, can I ask how your dad died? Dellen replied, suddenly in the night. When Cam Harrod, Wayne's business associate who had visited just months before his death, found out about what happened. He was shocked that Wayne had died by suicide. This is not what he would have expected based on their last interaction and Wayne's open invitation to visit. Janet Campbell, Wayne's romantic interest in the months before his death and the person he'd been

talking to on the phone the night he died had tried to get in touch with him over the following days and couldn't reach him. She began to panic and emailed Dellen to see if he knew anything. She hadn't actually ever met Dellen in person, so emailing him was a fairly big deal. After two unanswered emails, she finally received a reply, quote, my father is dead and it would appear by his own hand. Janet was stunned. After Wayne's death, a gathering was arranged for his family and friends. Janet attended where she met Dellen for the first time. They spoke for 10 to 15 minutes and Dellen presented her with the gift his father had bought for her birthday, flying lessons. The trial started on May the 31st, 2018,

with 33-year-old Dellen Millard pleading not guilty for a third time. The judge presiding over the trial was Justice Maureen Forstell. Dellen Millard represented himself at his trial for Laura Babcock's murder, but for this trial, he chose to retain Raven Pillay, the same lawyer who represented him during the Tim Bosmer murder trial. The crown attorneys were Jill Cameron and Ken Lockhart, who tried Dellen for both the murders of Tim Bosmer and Laura Babcock. Dellen requested a judge-only trial, because the extensive media coverage of his previous two trials would have made it almost impossible to find a jury that wasn't biased to some extent. His preference was to put the

entire decision in the hands of one person, a judge. While at the last trial, Dellen shackles were hidden by table curtains so the jury wouldn't be able to see he was already in custody, and therefore risk bias. This time, there were no pretenses. He sat inside the prisoner's box. On the first day of the trial, he wore jeans, a dress shirt, and a blazer. And as you'll recall from the last trial, he exhibited a number of different hairstyles, with his hair getting shorter as the trial progressed. At this trial, his hair was still cropped short, but he retained that one long braid behind his right ear that he had at the end of the last trial. Always confident, Dellen looked at the people packing out the courtroom, smiling.

Laura Babcock's mother, Linda, was there. Dellen was observed sharing a long look with his mother, Madeline Burns, who mostly stayed away from previous court proceedings. Photos were displayed of the body of Wayne Millard, the way it was found in his bed. The photos were described by members of the media as gruesome and extremely graphic. From the prisoner's box, Dellen alternated between looking up at the photos of his dead father and taking notes on a laptop. The crown opened by saying that they would present evidence that proves that Dellen killed his father, Wayne, because he didn't like the legacy his father was trying to leave for him. The defense counted that Wayne Millard killed himself, because he was a

reclusive alcoholic with depression. The first witness was Wayne's girlfriend, Janet, who said that she racked her brain for a reason as to why he might have died by suicide, and the issues with the business was the only thing she could think of. Quote, I was grasping at straws. When asked if he suffered from depression, she said that he suffered from the same sort of depression that anyone might have, but that it wasn't clinical. And he didn't seem depressed to her in November in the lead up to his death on the 29th. A captain in the Armed Forces Reserve, Tracy Ruddy, testified, saying that in September of 2012, just two months before Wayne Millard died, she contacted him. She was organizing a command ceremony there in the spring of 2013,

and wanted to inquire about potentially hiring his hangar as the venue for it. He was excited and offered for her to hold the ceremony there free of charge. This witness was called to present evidence that Wayne had future plans in his life beyond the date that he died, and therefore likely wasn't suicidal. Same is with his girlfriend, Janet, and his excitement about planning her birthday party, which was just days after he died. A business associate testified that Wayne Millard was getting ready to open a new phase of his company in 2012. Chris Wood, region of Waterloo International Airport manager, testified that Wayne told him he was building the business to leave for Dellen and was excited about future prospects. But he

testified that after Wayne died, it became clear that Dellen didn't want to continue with that plan and only kept light aircraft, our helicopter, lots of older cars and other junk in the hangar, instead of continuing with the business. John Barnes, another business associate of Wayne's, testified that he started working at Millard Air in July of 2011. He said that he and Dellen didn't see eye to eye, going on to detail how there were some problems with parts of the hangar that were not being cleaned, and also how Dellen's growing collection of cars kept taking up valuable hangar space. A couple of days after Wayne died, Dellen and his mother Madeleine called a meeting of all Millard Air employees at the hangar. They were all told that the business was being shut down

and that Wayne Millard had died of an aneurysm. Another employee testified, saying that to him it seemed Wayne had some financial issues. Court records reveal he had taken out a bank loan and had mortgaged both his hangar and his home. The employee testified that Wayne Millard said he had $10 million available to spend on creating the MRO business venture. But problems started when the cost got up to over $5 million. Quote, it was apparent that there wasn't $10 million to start with. Malena Menacis, Mark Smith's former girlfriend, testified. By now she had substantial experience as a crown witness, having testified at both the Tim Bosmer trial and the Laura Babcock trial. As you'll recall, she was asked to wait in the truck with headphones on while Dellen and Mark

dealt with Laura and put her body in the incinerator. In this trial, Malena spoke about how she met Wayne Millard at his house a handful of times. She said he was polite but seemed to have been a little ill, sick and weak. She noticed that he had body odor and looked like he hadn't washed in a while, but she said she never saw him drink or look drunk. She said she never saw Dellen and Wayne have any arguments, but knew that Dellen didn't like the way his dad ran the business. He preferred the way his grandfather Carl ran it. Malena spoke about what happened the day Dellen was hanging out with Mark and her at his mother's house, said he had to leave for a date, came back in the early morning hours and then slept, which he'd never done before. She said just a few days

later she learned that his father Wayne had died. She spoke about seeing the western-looking gun with the wooden handle and on cross-examination was asked to clarify which gun she was talking about and told her testimony contradicted previous testimony she'd given. Raven Pillay pointed out multiple inconsistencies between what she'd said in court and what she'd said in earlier statements and testimonies. She had admitted that her memory wasn't great, she was doing drugs around this time and that she had lied in previous testimony because she was young. It was clear that this line of questioning was designed to attack her credibility as a witness. Dr David Evans, the coroner who originally deemed Wayne's death a suicide,

testified. Coroners investigate any death that is non-natural. Originally, he said that he looked at the trajectory of the bullet, the powder on the pillow and the general scene, quote, it would appear this death was consistent with suicide. However, on the stand, Dr Evans admitted he wasn't an expert in crime scene reconstruction or bullet trajectory. He testified that his rulings on the case were influenced by statements that he'd received from Della Millard and Madeleine Burns, who told him about Wayne's business problems and depressive episodes. In his experience, it wasn't common for someone to shoot themselves through the eye, but at the same time he thought the way Wayne's hand was found might have been consistent with pulling the trigger with his thumb.

He said that at the time he thought it was more consistent with the suicide, but added, in retrospect, before Della Millard's lawyer quickly objected and cut him off. Dr Evans went on to say that the rigor mortis had set in to such an extent that he estimated Wayne Millard had been dead for at least 18 hours by the time he examined him. He said that he noticed bleeding from the left eye, but it was only during the examination that he noticed the left eye was absent, leading him to note that this was a gunshot wound to the head. There was no evidence of an exit wound. Dr Evans denied questioning that he moved the bag that contained the gun, saying he just shifted the side of the bag because he knew to leave the evidence at the scene as it was. A forensic officer

with the Toronto Police testified about the ways the coroner's office handled the crime scene and the mistakes they'd made. This officer testified that he saw the coroner move the gun before it was photographed. He also spoke about not testing the black soot mark on the pillow when that mark could, quote, possibly be gunshot residue, a substance that would almost always become evidence in a murder trial. Retired Toronto Police Detective James Hutchin also said he saw the coroner pick up the bag and take the gun out. During testimony he said there were several signs that caused him to suspect the death was suspicious, quote, the first thing Dalamala did when he found his dad deceased was not to call 911 but to call his mother

and they waited until she arrived at the home to call 911. He also said that Dalam had parked a large trailer at his father's house which also set off alarm bells. He said that sometimes people will take valuable items out of a deceased loved one's house before they call 911. He asked Dalam and his mother to come and give video statements. Neither of them objected. He also noticed Dalam's visible lack of emotion and calmness but ultimately said that none of these were enough to charge Dalam with anything. On cross Dalam's lawyer Ravin Pillay asked a lot of questions about the retired detective's note taking on the day suggesting that his testimony couldn't be trusted because he didn't have a notebook on him for most of the night and wrote the info down later on. This line

of questioning caused him to get agitated and at one point he raised his voice and spoke over the judge. At the end of questioning the crown apologized to the judge for this witness. A few more police officers testified with one saying that she didn't suspect that Dalam had anything to do with Wayne's death, quote, he was quiet, he seemed cooperative, he was kind of reserved. Another said, quote, he was calm, he was forthright with information. The video of Dalam's statement to police was played. If you remember over all of these cases so far we've seen many many photos of Dalam and we've heard Mark Smith rapping but we've never seen video of Dalam or audio of him speaking. He's remained somewhat of an enigma. That's why

when this video was released to the public in June of 2018 it was shared widely. In it Dalam is wearing a black leather or leather look jacket, a black tuk or beanie on his head and has his trademark canvas bag slung across his shoulder. For the interview he did not remove his bag or his jacket. In this clip he describes exactly how he came across his father's dead body and what happened next. And also sitting with us is uh Delan Lard. That's correct. Delan can you spell your first name please? D-E-L-L-E-N. And your last name? Lard M-I-L-L-R-D. Okay and you also have a middle name right? Evan. Can you spell that please? E-V-A-N. Okay great. Okay. That's a Thursday time between six and six thirty back to the house. I've been

working at our family business in Waterloo. I came in through the side door that's the door most everybody uses in the house and I opened up the next door which leads to the cat area of the house. It's the door from the kitchen to the hallway and then my dog Petto was waiting for me there. And I walked down the hallway and I walked to my room and I picked a sweater out of the closet. It had been a cold day and then I was on my way back to the kitchen to make a snack and I noticed that my father seemed to still be asleep in bed which was odd because it was late in the afternoon and so I pulled my head in and something didn't really seem right

about the way he was laying and was lying very still. And then I walked into the room and saw the blood on the pillow and for a moment I had to leave the room. I actually went back to my room and I got out my phone and I walked back into my dad's room and I called my mother and I told her what I was seeing. I literally said I'm standing in my dad's room and there's blood all over his pillow and he's dead. And she just started screaming on the phone. In the video, Dylan says the last time he saw his father alive was on the Wednesday at around lunchtime for a business meeting. He said that night he stayed the night at Mark's house. He brought up that his father had a drinking problem describing him as having a very strong

liver, someone who drinks every night. He said his father was stressed out and obsessed about his business and then went on to speak about his mental health. Dylan also brought up Janet, quote, about a week ago he asked me if I would be all right with him seeing a woman called Janet. He said he wanted his father to be happy. Now your dad's health. Well, he threw it his back. It's been a while now, nine months ago, between seven and nine months ago. That really, really restricted his mobility. He was bedridden for two or three months and then recently he's been able to drive himself out to Waterloo. His electric scooter there goes around the hangar. Any other medical problems? Heart, liver problems,

strong heart, very strong liver. I have to be. What do you mean? I said he'd have to be. Why? He's always liked alcohol. Now, would your dad a big drinker or a regular drinker or an alcoholic? How would you describe it? I don't like to say that we're an alcoholic, but it fits. He was a regular drinker every night more than I could drink. He was also a regular non-drinker during the mornings and days. He wouldn't drink at all. He was always just late at night. And how much would he drink at night? It changes over time, all the time. Okay, was your dad depressed at all? He had depression in him. Um, he carried some great sadness with him throughout life that I never really knew exactly

what it was. He never really wanted to share it with me. It wasn't like he was always sad either. Did he get treatment for depression? No. Was there a lot of stress with this new endeavor? Lots. Lots this year. Was there a chance the business was going to fail? Yeah, that chance is more than a chance. Is it still a chance or? Oh, yeah. Okay, how soluble is your dad if the business fails? I'm not sure I understand that question. Well, based on the fact that it was your grandfather's malaria company,

the big transportation company sold his hangers in Toronto. The house and some of his possessions, your dad had amassed a certain amount of wealth and looked like he was pretty successful. So if this business, this new endeavor, doesn't fly or it takes a longer time to get off, is your dad going to go bankrupt or? Yeah. Yeah, everything that we have is in this business. The court heard an agreed statement of facts that found that Wayne Millard had alcohol in his system when he died and was over the legal limit to drive. Forensic pathologist Dr. Jayantha Harris testified about the gunshot that caused Wayne

Millard's death. He testified that the bullet was fired into Wayne's eye socket at close range before coming to a stop in the right middle part of his brain. Graphic images of Wayne's face and exposed eye socket flashed across the screen again, showing that the gun had obliterated his eyeball and killed him either immediately or within seconds. People in the courtroom gasped and one person had to leave. Dr. Harris went on to say that Wayne's eye was likely closed when he was shot and that the gun was either partially touching or about a centimetre away from his eye. His physical exam revealed that Wayne did not have any drugs or alcohol in his system, which is, of course, contrary to the agreed statement of facts that he was over the

legal limit of alcohol consumption to drive. But this is likely explained away by the fact that the high level may have been due to decomposition alone since it had been 18 hours since he died. Dr. Harris went on to say that an expert panel had decided not to conduct a toxicology screen. Detective Constable Grant Sutherland, a crime scene reconstructionist, testified and when asked whether he thought Wayne Millard fired the gun at his own eye, he replied, I don't believe that he did. He said that in order for Wayne to have shot himself the way he was positioned when his body was found, he would have had to hold his hand in a position on the gun that no one would ever do. It's not a way that anyone really would hold a

gun. He did say that it would be technically possible, but very unlikely. He also testified that there was no gunshot residue on Wayne's left hand, the hand he would have had to use to shoot the gun. The court saw videos of Detective Constable Sutherland firing bullets into a Styrofoam mannequin head, trying to recreate the sooty gunshot residue pattern that was found on Wayne's pillow. He testified that he couldn't recreate it exactly, saying it was likely because a Styrofoam head would react slightly differently to a human head. Dylan's lawyer, Ravin Pillay, tried to discredit this crime scene reconstruction testimony, getting the witness to admit that some investigative techniques that police were supposed to have

followed weren't, and some parts of the recreation weren't exact, and that could have impacted his findings. Ravin Pillay then fought the judge to have the evidence excluded. Crown Prosecutor Jill Cameron argued back that there is nothing in this record that would disqualify Detective Constable Sutherland on the basis of bias or on his record. In comparison to the Tim Bosmer trial, Ravin Pillay had been going hard on Crown witnesses, but now went hard at the judge. He also argued that Dylan's statement to police should be inadmissible, suggesting that despite not having been arrested, Dylan was clearly not free to leave and had no lawyer present. The Crown replied that Dylan was only a witness at the time and not treated as a

suspect. This was backed up by the prior testimonies of various police officers who stated that Dylan was not forced to talk and wasn't intimidated in any way by the police. In the end, Ravin Pillay dropped the application. This evidence would remain, but what was ruled inadmissible was the testimony from the crime scene reconstructionist, with the judge saying that the testimony showed bias and lack of reliability. Major evidence and court documents submitted showed that there was DNA on the gun. But due to the fact that the death was originally ruled a suicide, it wasn't tested against Dylan's DNA until June 2015, two and a half years after Wayne Miller died. The results concluded that there is a one in five quadrillion chance that the DNA found on the handle of the

gun that killed Dylan's father Wayne belonged to anyone else except Dylan. CBC Hamilton journalist Adam Carter, whose thorough trial blogs have informed the majority of this series of episodes, wrote a great article about the small moments of humanity displayed during the court formalities. Laura Babcock's mother, Linda Babcock, attended the trial every single day, sitting on the opposite side of the courtroom to Dylan's side. Quote, I'm here to see justice done for Wayne Millard. We are there for him so the judge can see that his death means something to a lot of people. Linda also shared a hug with Dylan's uncle, Dr. Robert Burns, the brother of Madeleine Burns. You'll remember Robert as the vet who was completely

unaware that Dylan had been using him as an alibi for the reason needed to buy the industrial incinerator. Dr. Burns testified at the previous two trials, making it very clear that there was no love lost between he and Dylan. He even called his nephew a sick, twisted prick. Robert Burns played a small but similar role in this trial as he did in the previous trials. Everyone was back to see each other again in what would be the final scheduled trial and their interconnected sagas. About dealing with her grief after losing Laura, Linda Babcock said to the media, quote, it's a day-to-day thing. It will be for the rest of our lives. As we left the Tim Bosmer trial, it was announced that his family was going to be suing the

Millard estate for $14 million. But the assets were frozen until after this trial, so the Bosmers had in effect been waiting for over two years. The Slayer rule is a Canadian law that states a criminal is not to benefit from his or her crimes. So in this case, although Dylan was the legal benefactor of his father's estate, if he was found guilty of murdering Wayne, the fact that he would inherit the estate would be in itself a direct benefit of his crime. So the Bosmers had a lot to consider with this trial. If Dylan were found guilty, he would not inherit his father's estate, meaning the Bosmers would have had a much smaller pool of money to claim from. And if he was found not guilty, would it really matter anyway?

He would already be in jail until his late 70s. Regardless, Tim Bosmer's family told the CBC that it wasn't about the money and more about the principle of going after Dylan in court. Quote, it's more just holding him accountable. We want to be able to move on with our wonderful memories of Tim. In closing arguments, the Crown stated they believed they had proved that Dylan murdered his father because he didn't want to be left the business that his dad was building for him and didn't like the fact that his father was using his future inheritance to fund it. Dylan's defense team, meanwhile, reminded the judge that not a single witness came forward to suggest any bad blood between Dylan and his father. The trial ended in June of 2018,

with Justice Forstell saying she was going to need until September to prepare her ruling. Three months later, the crowds gathered at the courthouse for the decision. The judge found Dylan Millard guilty of the first-degree murder of his father, Wayne Millard, saying that he carried out a planned and deliberate killing of his father. Quote, I am satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that Dylan Millard killed his father by shooting him in the eye as he slept. I can find no theory consistent with innocence. Dylan was described as being slumped over in the prisoner's box and now starting to cry as she read out her decision.

At the end, she referred to Dylan's false alibi, which was him saying he'd stayed at Mark Smith's mother's house. As she spoke, his jaw dropped and he stared at her, shocked. Dylan Millard was then led out of the courtroom in shackles, while many people stood up and clapped. The crown said it was going to seek a consecutive life sentence, meaning Dylan would end up with three life sentences, one after another. Sentencing is scheduled for November. I'll be sure to update you at the beginning of the next episode after sentencing happens. Outside the courtroom, Laura Babcock's father spoke to the press, saying that his family,

the Bosmers, and Dylan's own family would be forever linked as a result of these series of crimes. Quote, It's been proven that not only did the Bosmers and ourselves lose a loved one, but the Millard family must live with the fact that this heinous individual murdered his own father. Clayton Babcock went on to say, Quote, For all those out there who believe that the sentence of an additional 25 years to Mr. Millard's 50 years is too harsh, we say you haven't dealt with this kind of sorrow. We live with a cloud of sadness and loss over us every day. Like all people who have lost a close loved one through tragedy, there'll be not a day in our lives where the loss of Tim, Laura, or Wayne won't be felt.

At the end of September 2018, the Globe and Mail's Molly Hayes spoke to Charlene Bosmer, wife of Tim Bosmer, who we really haven't seen at all since her husband's trial. She goes by a different name today for the sake of privacy and said she didn't want to attend the other trials because it wouldn't have been best for her emotional or mental health. She said that she tries not to dwell on the what ifs anymore. Quote, I have fully thought about if they'd taken Laura Babcock's disappearance seriously at the time, there could be two people still alive, maybe, maybe, but what ifs don't change what is. Charlene has now moved to a new house and not long ago she got remarried to one of her late husband's closest friends.

Wes was a groom's man at Tim and Charlene's wedding and Tim was best man at his. During the Tim Bosmer murder trial, Wes was living in western Canada, but he moved back to Ontario after his divorce. He and Charlene reconnected and after a time their relationship turned into more and they got married on September the 8th, 2018. Charlene's daughter with Tim Bosmer is now seven and Charlene says she hopes that with the consecutive sentences, hopefully her daughter will never have to see Dalin Millard and Mark Smitch at a parole hearing. She says that how you go on in life is a matter of perspective. Quote, it becomes a choice about how much more you are willing to give them and for me, I'm done.

So finally, we come to the end of the final chapter of the saga that revolved around Dalin Millard. Well, I sure hope so. We are still waiting for sentencing and I'll be sure to update you on this next episode. Dalin Millard and Mark Smitch are serving two consecutive life sentences, meaning they won't be eligible for parole until 2063. Dalin will be about 78 years old and Mark about 76. Dalin Millard is still in the process of appealing his conviction in both the Bosmer and Babcock murders. The families of Tim Bosmer and Laura Babcock will continue going on with their daily lives. As for the Millards, who knows, Dalin's mother seems to be the only person left in his corner and even she was too reclusive to attend court

and show him public support. Thanks for listening. A big thank you to Elliot K Waddingham for their research help in this episode. This month, I'm saying a huge thank you to these patrons for their support via patreon.com slash Canadian True Crime. Kristen B, Taylor H, Sarah S, Laura F, Lisette S, Elise H, and Amanda H. Thank you all so much. You can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram just by searching for Canadian True Crime. This episode of Canadian True Crime was written by me with some research assistance provided by Elliot K Waddingham. Audio production was by Eric Crosby. The voice of the disclaimer was the anonymous host of the Beyond Bazaar True Crime podcast. The Canadian True Crime theme song was written

specifically for me by We Talk of Dreams. I'll be back soon with another Canadian True Crime story. See you then.