Canadian True Crime - The Murder of Tim Bosma [1]

Episode Date: May 22, 2017

A three-part series — In 2013, a 32-year-old family man took two potential buyers for a test drive in the truck he was selling. He never returned from that test drive. What happened? Was it about the man or the truck? This is a heinous, senseless murder that shocked the nation and still continues to do so.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 [1]08 - The Murder of Tim Bosma [2]09 - The Murder of Tim Bosma [3]19 - The Murder of Laura Babcock [1]20 - The Murder of Laura Babcock [2]33 - Dellen Millard and the Murder of his FatherLook out for early, ad-free release on CTC premium feeds: available on Amazon Music (included with Prime), Apple Podcasts, Patreon and Supercast. Full list of resources, information sources, credits and music credits:See the page for this episode at www.canadiantruecrime.ca/episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Christy and welcome to the Canadian True Crime podcast, Episode 7, The Murder of Tim Bosma. This podcast contains coarse language, adult themes and content of a violent and disturbing nature. Listener discretion is advised. Before I get started on this episode, I wanted to thank my regular listeners and also welcome all the new listeners I've received since my last episode was released. It kind of exploded a bit. Thank you so much for trying this podcast out. You likely have guessed I'm not a professional podcaster. I have a day job and I'm also a mom of two mini-Canadians.

My husband and I are both Australian and we moved here to the Greater Toronto area in 2009. At the beginning of this year, I felt like I was in a bit of a rut, so I decided to make a change. True Crime has always been a passion of mine, and I was listening to countless true crime podcasts, so I decided to try and start one. project just for me. Paul Bernardo and Carla Hamolka had always been my pet case, so I decided to start there. So just about every night after the kids went to bed, I worked on writing a script. Really, I was into the process and didn't really think about where I would end up. I then narrated and recorded it in my closet, learning how to use editing software and released it into

the podcasting world. Four months and only six episodes later, I suddenly found myself at number two on the podcast charts in Canada. I have no idea how it happened and quite frankly I was shocked. I'm so happy to have you here listening to me but I'm sure you've noticed that I'm not perfect and neither is this podcast. This is a journey for me where I learn something new each episode. So if you'd like to stay for my journey, please do. But if this podcast or my style is not for you, that's totally fine and I thank you for giving me a chance. We all know there are many, many fantastic podcasts out there. If you do decide to stick around, I'm open to any and all feedback, so please don't hesitate to message me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Just search for

Canadian True Crime, or you can email Canadian True Crime Podcast at gmail.com. I read and respond to every single message. It was Monday, May 6th, 2013 in Ancaster, Ontario, a community within the Port City of Hamilton, located at the west end of Lake Ontario. The area is a highly industrialised region, and it's referred to by many as Steel City because of its many factories and industrial buildings. Many were smoke billowing out of them. To give you some true crime perspective, the town of Ancester is roughly halfway between Toronto and St. Catharines, the town that was terrorized by Paul Bernardo and Kalahamalka many years prior. The Bosma, family, that's Tim, Charlene and their little toddler girl, were living paycheck to paycheck.

32-year-old Tim Bosma ran his own business as a contractor, installing heating and air conditioning systems. But money was tight, and Tim's 2007 Dodge Ram 3,500 diesel, was starting to become a money pit. It needed a new transmission, its tie rod had snapped, so that needed to be replaced, and a number of smaller items also needed fixing. It was time for the truck to go. But despite their financial worries, they were a happy family. Tim and Charlene had met online on the dating website E-Harmony in November 2008. They clicked as soon as they met and bonded over the fact that they were both from

Dutch families and were strong in their Christian faith. Exactly a year after they met, they bought the perfect rural plot of land to build their dream home in Ancaster. Days after that, Tim proposed, and she said yes. Life was a whirlwind. They got married a few months later in February 2010, and Charlene was pregnant the next month. As her belly grew, so did their dream house,

primarily built by Tim and their friends and family. That October, it was finished, and they welcomed a baby girl on Christmas Day, 2010. Tim Bosma was tall, lean, and. blonde with a baby face. He was described as a storyteller and practical joker with a strong devotion to his family. He loved country music and was really without his sidekick, a great day named Ava. He was just a regular guy. They were just a regular family. But this Monday night, they just needed that truck sold. It had been weeks since Charlene had posted ads for the truck

on various online vehicle sale sites. Tim was waiting for two guys to come and see the truck, hoping that they would be the ones that would finally buy it. They said they'd originally come at 7pm. Then, just after 7pm, Tim received a phone call from the prospective buyer saying he was coming from Toronto and would be about an hour. At 8.30pm, as dusk was settling in on that spring evening,

the potential buyer still hadn't arrived. Tim and Charlene was starting to get frustrated, wondering who comes this late to see a truck. They discussed what they would do when the guys arrived. Would they just let them take the truck for a test drive, or would Tim go with them? Charlene said yes, because they wanted the truck to actually come back from the test drive. They couldn't risk it being stolen. By 9pm, the buyers still hadn't shown up. Charlene had gone to the front of the house and was chatting to their next to their next.

as they shared a cigarette. Night was now firmly creeping in. All of a sudden, Tim's phone rang, and Charlene heard his voice, then she heard several voices walking up the driveway. They didn't have a car which struck Charlene as odd. It was now 9.20pm. Tim came out of the house to see them and show them the truck. The first man, the taller of the two, seemed friendly. He was clean cut, with light brown hair and a scruffy beard. The second man was not so friendly and hung back. He barely uttered a word. Charlene thought he looked a bit sketchy looking,

wearing a hoodie with the hood up and his hands in his pockets the whole time. The first man said that a friend had dropped them off and then headed to a nearby Tim Horton's to get coffee, so that explained why they didn't have a car. The two men took only a brief glance at the Dodge pickup. Charlene saw Tim talk with the older man, then he walked over with a big smile to where she was standing, telling her they were going for a test drive and would be right back.

The three men got into the truck, the taller guy in the driver's seat, Tim in the front passenger seat, and the sketchy-looking man with the hoodie in the back. Charlene turned to her neighbour and said, quote, that was weird. Her neighbour felt so too. There was something off about the situation.

He cracked an awkward joke. That might be the last time we ever see him. Charlene laughed nervously and went inside. They'd been gone for half an hour and she started to wonder where they were. Test drives surely don't take this long. At 10.20pm, exactly one hour after Tim had left, Charlene called his phone. It went to voicemail.

She knew that it was fully charged because she saw him plug it in a few hours ago. alarm bells went off like crazy. Something was wrong. She dialed 911, spoke to the Hamilton police, and met with them later that night when he still hadn't returned. In the morning,

there was still no sight of Tim. His friends banded together as a group to look for him. He was an extremely well-liked guy and everyone dropped everything. They started searching outwards from where he'd been. They looked down rural routes and highways, combed the town of Ancester and Hamilton and beyond.

They called themselves the Bosma Army. Their posts on social media went viral, and the group grew to more than hundreds. They distributed flyers in Hamilton and surrounding areas. I saw several of them at the station where I catch my go train to work. By this time, the story was big news. There was much speculation. Why was he missing?

The theory started. Had he gotten himself? into something? Did he run off? Did he have debts? On Wednesday, May the 8th, two days after Tim's disappearance, the Hamilton Police announced that what was a missing person's case would now be handled by the homicide unit. No further details were given. The next day, crime stoppers received an intriguing call. The caller gave them a vehicle identification number or VIN number and asked them if they could check it against Tim Bosma's Dodge pickup. It was a match, but the caller ended the call without giving any further information. In a police press conference, Charlene

Bosma gave a heartbreaking yet powerful statement to the media. My husband Tim is a loving father to our beautiful two-year-old girl, and she needs her daddy back. His parents need their little boy back and all of our brothers and sisters want their brother back. We look forward to being able to putting our arms around Tim again and telling him how much we love him. We hope and we pray that today is the last day of this nightmare. Tim is blonde and has wonderful blue eyes. When he gives a big smile, which he does frequently, he has dimples in his cheeks. He has a dimple in his chin. The same dimple that our daughter has. He loves to tell jokes, and if you ask his nieces and nephews,

they will tell you what a huge pest Uncle Tim is. They are all looking forward to the next big water fight with Uncle Tim. One of the kids the other day said that Uncle Timmy has been stolen, and I cannot describe it better than that. Tim has been stolen from us. Tim's world revolves around our daughter, and I know that she is number one in his mind right now. I ask, and I beg, and I plead to whomever has my husband to please let him go, please drop him off somewhere, or make an anonymous call to the police so we know where to find him.

It was just a truck. It is just a truck. You don't need him, but I do. And our daughter needs her daddy back. So please, him come home. So we need him to come home. And may God have mercy on you. Charlene refused to give up hope.

In a media interview later on, she described conversations she had with her father where they discussed what kind of condition Tim would be in when he came home. How would he be mentally, physically, he would likely be hungry, dehydrated, beaten up? How much time was he going to be spending in the hospital after he was found? Charlene said that any other kind of conversation was not acceptable. And then, it seemed that she might be right. The phone rang and it showed up Tim in the display. Charlene's heart pounded as Tim's sister, who was at the house, answered the phone.

But it wasn't Tim. It was a receptionist from a company headquarters in Brantford, a town about 20 minutes west of Ancester in the opposite direction of Toronto. The phone had been picked up by a property maintenance worker who gave it to the front desk. The receptionist turned it on. Straight away, it started beeping and vibrating with text message alerts. She called the number listed in the cell phone's contacts list under Home. Police ended up collecting the phone and watched video surveillance from the company,

but there was no information to be gained. Hamilton Police had already obtained Tim's call records and found that one of the last numbers that called his phone was registered to a Lucas Bate. They tracked the phone and through phone records discovered the phone was also used a few days earlier to arrange a test drive of several other Dodge Ram 3,500 diesel trucks similar to Tim Bosmas. One of the sellers was Omar Palmilly, who spoke on the phone with a man who wanted to see his truck. They planned a test drive on Sunday, May the 5th, the day before Tim Bosma went missing. The prospective buyer was going to call on his way over, but Omar fell asleep and forgot.

He worked to find he'd missed a call from the buyer. He tried to phone back the next day, but the call wasn't answered. Police also tracked down another man, Igor Chumaniko, described as a confident, muscular guy with a heavy accent, who got a call from a guy wanting to see the 2010 Dodge Ram Diesel he was selling online. Two men showed up and they didn't appear to have a car. He gave similar descriptions to that of Charlene and her neighbor, a tall, decent-looking guy, with a cam.

vest satchel bag and a tattoo on his wrist that read ambition. He was the friendly one. Igor Chumaniko described the shorter guy as always hiding. He said he got behind the wheel of his truck, the tall guy in the passenger seat beside him and the short guy sat behind the driver's seat. Soon after, Igor pulled over and let the tall guy drive. Conversation turned to diesel engines and Igor told them he was familiar with this engine from Israeli army experience. There was a pause and then the short guy who had been silent up until this point asked what he'd done in the army. Igor replied, quote, you don't want to know what I did there. He said the tall guy turned around to the short guy and gave him a look. The test drive ended and the two did not buy the car.

Local investigators reached out to other police services in an effort to locate anyone with that Ambition tattoo on the wrist. The tattoo was known to police in Toronto and Peel Regents, and they quickly obtained the name of the person who owned the tattoo. 27-year-old Dallin Millard, the heir of a well-known pioneering aviation family in Canada, based in southern Ontario. Millard Air was the name of the family empire. On May the 10th, four days after Tim Bosma went missing,

staff sergeant Paul Hamilton of the Hamilton Police Investigation Unit went to the Millard Air Hanger in Waterloo, Ontario. Waterloo is a city just over an hour's drive east of Toronto and about 50 minutes drive northeast from the Bosma residents. Their goal was to see if it was the correct guy. They were to check for the tattoo and also the canvas satchel. When Staff Sergeant Hamilton arrived, Dallin Millard came out from a backer.

office saying, the suits are here. Delin Millard was told that they were there investigating Tim Bosmer's disappearance and asked if they could have a look around. They had seen the ambition tattoo and they noted that he grabbed a canvas satchel from his office and slung it over his shoulder. As soon as the officers left, they phoned their colleagues to put Delin Millard under surveillance. That same day, Crime Stoppers received another call from the mysterious call-up. This time he identified himself, Arthur Jennings. He was an employee of Millard Air. He spoke to police saying the day after Tim Bosma went missing,

all employees received a mysterious text message saying, Airport politics, no one comes to the hangar today, not even just to pick something up. Arthur Jennings had arrived back at work at the hangar the following day and was confronted with a truck that looked identical to the one he saw on the news the night before, Tim Bosmer's truck. He said he identified it because it had the same distinctive chrome front grill. Outside it looked normal, although it had no license plates, but its interior had been removed except the back seat. Arthur took photos of the truck and reported

it to crime stoppers. When they confirmed it was Tim Bosmer's truck, Arthur had ended the conversation and went outside and vomited. His mind was racist. His son-in-law also worked for Millard Air. In fact, it was he who helped Arthur get his job there. What would this mean for his own family? Between the shock and the fair, Arthur was afraid to tell crime stoppers where the truck was, which is why he hung up without giving them any further details. But the next day, the truck was gone, and he decided to call and tell him the full story. By now it was May the 10th, four days after Tim's disappearance. That same day, police had made headway in their own investigations.

They had obtained Dallin Millard's phone records and compared them to the Lucas Bate phone. They established that Lucas Bate was a bogus name and the phone had been registered under a bogus address. Dallon's phone pinged in similar locations to that of the Lucas Bain phone on the night of May the 6th. The two phones lined up perfectly. So, between the positive identifiable, of the man with the ambition tattoo and canvas bag, the confirmation and lining up of phone records, and the witness testimony of Tim Bosma's truck at the Millard Hanger,

police had everything they needed to make an arrest. Because the surveillance had already begun, they knew exactly where Dillon Millard was, and the Hamilton police officers boxed in his Yukon SUV at a stop sign in Mississauga, a city in the Greater Toronto area. An officer walked toward the driver's window of Dellen's car with his gun drawn. Dellen looked over at him, put his hands up, and confirmed he was the man they were looking for.

A search was conducted of Dellen and his car, and they found $350 in cash, three black latex gloves, and Tim Bosma's car keys. He was charged with forcible confinement and theft of over $5,000. $10. Tim Bosma's wife, Charlene, said she was excited when she found out Dellen was arrested. Her line of thought was that they'd arrested the guy, that'd get the truck, and they'd tell the authorities where Tim was. It was all going to be over. She thought, quote, this time tomorrow, I'll have my life back. But Dellen wasn't talking. So now police were positive they had the who. But they still didn't have the where, why or how. Tim was still missing.

The investigation continued. Police obtained video evidence from businesses in Ancester, Brantford, and another nearby town, Cambridge, from the night Tim disappeared. The video showed Tim's black pickup followed by Dallon's Black Yukon. Delon was driving one, the sketchy-looking accomplice was driving the other, and it was believed that Tim was in the passenger seat of his own truck. Half an hour later, they stopped at Brantford. Ontario where they changed the license plates on Tim's car. They were shown doing a U-turn and

continuing on their way. Just after midnight, video surveillance captured the cars arriving at the Millard Air Hanger in Waterloo. Tim Bosma's Dodge Ram was now towing a trailer, carrying a large piece of equipment. Dallin Millard and his accomplice entered the hangar on foot. Then, video surveillance shows a flame erupt from the equipment on the trailer. It burns all night, white-hot. And hours later, early Tuesday morning, Millard Air staff received that mysterious text message telling them to stay away from the hangar that day.

In the next few days, police received a tip-off from the next-door neighbor of Dellen Millard's mother, Madeline Burns, who lived in Kleinberg, a small town north of Toronto. The neighbor said that a large bridge, vehicle trailer had appeared in the driveway on the Thursday night. Remember, Tim went missing on the Monday night. The neighbour said it was suspicious in that it was parked right up against the garage. So police went to the house to search. They seized a large vehicle trailer and Madeline Burns's

driveway. Inside the trailer was Tim Bosma's black Dodge Ram pickup. The inside of the truck had been stripped. The front passenger side window was shattered and inside the truck was a shell casing, gunshot residue and a number of fingerprints. An infrared examination showed there was a large amount of blood in the truck that someone had clearly tried to clean up. There was blood on the truck center console, on the dash, in a rear wheel well and on a tarp in the truck bed. Blood was also found splattered across the muffler and underneath the front passenger door. The samples, along with samples of Tim Bosma's DNA from his personal items, was sent to the center of forensic sciences. They determined there was a one in 18 quadrillion chance that the blood found inside and outside

Tim Bosmer's truck came from someone other than Tim. And the fingerprints were a positive match to Delin Millard. Still looking for Tim, the police continued their search. by concentrating on Dallin Millard's several properties. Their search warrants permitted them to search two Waterloo locations owned by Millard, a farm property in North Dumfries and an air hanger at the Waterloo International Airport. During their search at the farm property, investigators saw a man on an ATV or quad bike and pulled him over. His name was Chaz Main. Police asked him if he'd seen anything unusual and Chaz said,

Yes. He led them over near the woods to a clearing on Dellen Millard's land. There was what Chaz described as a big redneck smoker. It was actually a large heavy industrial incinerator, with a name stenciled on the side of it in large red letters, the Eliminator. Standing at 10 feet tall, it was unlike anything the police had ever seen before. It was designed to incinerate dead animals, large and small, and burns at 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit or 760 Celsius, white hot.

Also in the area was an excavator and two large black charred areas on the ground in a field nearby the incinerator, and among the dark spots, the police found three seatbelt buckles. Police set about searching the incinerator. Sergeant Annette Hoyes climbed to the main hatch and opened it and found only bones and fragments, the largest being about 20 centimetres long or 7.8 inches. Sergeant Hoyes wondered where the bone came from. Was it animal or was it human? One of Canada's leading forensic anthropologists, Dr. Tracy Rogers, was called for thorough combing of the incinerator. Dr. Rogers had consulted on some of Canada's most gruesome murder cases, including the search of serial killer Robert Pickdon,

pig farm in British Columbia in 2002. She spent days at Dellen Millard's farm, climbing inside the incinerator to carefully collect the fragile remains. She observed that there were a lot of remains not there, indicating that the incinerator had been cleaned out at some point. But she did find 58 bone fragments, two virtually complete bones, and one tooth, all apparently human.

One of the complete bones was a huge. human left radius, which is the bone in the forearm. The other bone was a human metacarpal, a bone in the palm of the hand. Both bones showed signs that they had been exposed to a fire burning at an extremely high temperature. Dr. Rogers determined that they were most likely from a man and most likely under the age of 40. Because of the intense heat damage to the bones, no DNA could be extracted from them, but this, in conjunction with the other evidence, gave the police what they needed. First, they notified Charlene Bosma. She later said she remembered the officer saying, Tim was murdered, and then he said, but there's more. His body was burned beyond recognition.

But he wouldn't or couldn't explain what that meant. Charlene would only find out these details at the trial. On May the 14th, 2013, the Hamilton Police called a press conference and announced that Tim Bosma was deceased, and also that Dylan Millard would be charged with first-degree murder. They said the evidence indicated that the remains had been burned. They didn't give any details about how Tim died or where he was found, but said, quote, The investigation is long from over.

We will continue to follow every single lead. Mallard's lawyer, Deepak Parra, said that Dallin and his well-known family were mystified as to why police were focusing on them and their family. Quote, he's a prep school kid from the Toronto French school. He's not been in trouble. He's intelligent.

He is a very humble and unassuming guy. He's from a good home. His family is well off and he finds himself in shock and very concerned about the allegations. He's not the type of person to be involved in something like this. On May the 15th, 2013, Charlene Bosma spoke to the me. A beautiful two-year-old girl at home who now needs her mommy more than ever and needs her mommy to hold it together. So I know that I cannot fall apart, but I am broken because part of me is gone.

Tim will always be loved and he will always be remembered. And I love you, Tim. She graciously then went on to thank the police, the media for keeping Tim a top news story, and also her community for their help. The same day, Dellen Mallard appeared in court briefly to have the new charge of first-degree murder officially read into the record. Those there said Dellen looked haggard, lanky and unshaven, wearing a long-sleeved dress shirt and grey pants. He looked older than his 27 years.

There did not appear to be anyone there to support him. Dellen Millard stood tall in the box while he was charged, facing the court clerk. His hands clasped in front of him. He spoke clearly and forcefully when asked his name and took a long good look around the courtroom. His lawyer, Deepak Parrardcar, held a press conference outside the court

saying that Dellen was claiming his innocence. He's exercising his constitutional rights from exile. What's he saying about these new charges? Extremely concerned elevation of the charges. He is presumed innocent. We are defending it. We're going to plead not guilty. There is a story behind us, which I can't get into.

Obviously, it's more than what it appears to be. Please describe a state of mind. How is he returned? State of mind is not somebody who's being in jail or used to jail. He's very, very concerned and distraught. knows it's a long haul and stealing his mind too that. He's a bit of a philosopher by way of nature and background and reading, and he's taking this one step of the time.

At this time, police were continuing to look for at least two more suspects. One was allegedly with Tim Bosma and Dellen Millard in the truck for the test drive, and the other followed behind in another vehicle. The media spoke with James Van Allen, former head of the Ontario Provincial Police's criminal profiling unit. He said that it could have been a standard carjacking, but the murder deviated from what was typically seen in the car theft racket where he said excessive violence was not the norm.

What didn't add up, he said, is why anyone would murder for a truck. Delan Millard had the resources to buy a truck just like the one Tim Bosma was selling. In fact, reports said he already owned one, a cherry red one registered to his company. But the profiler pointed out that just because someone had education and money doesn't mean they aren't capable of heinous acts. Quote, it's not uncommon for allegedly smart people to be caught by police for crimes like this. They think they're smart enough to commit a crime,

but don't have the skills to avoid detection. There is often overconfidence there, and there can be risk gratification involved as well. James Van Allen went on to say that the killer's attempt to cover his tracks was poorly conceived. Whoever murdered Tim Bosma, burned his body and left the remains in the area, clearly was trying to cover his tracks. Quote, It was a plan, but not a great plan.

It displays overconfidence and inexperience. This is someone who thinks that a half-hearted effort is enough, someone not accounting for the lengths to which police will go to solve this crime. On May 22nd, 2013, two weeks after Tim Bosma disappeared, police announced they had made a second arrest. Mark Smitch, age 25 of Oakville, a town within the Greater Toronto area, would be charged with first-degree murder. He was the other sketchy-looking man with the hoodie who arrived for the test drive. According to neighbours, a 10-person tactical team barged through the front door of Smitch's Oakville resident. and the man was arrested.

The media scrambled to find out who he was. It wasn't long before they discovered a low-budget music video posted on YouTube titled Shoz Ted 2012 featuring Mark Smitch, which featured a man appearing to butcher a bloody body in a dimly lit room covered in plastic. The man in the video bore a strong resemblance to Mark Smitch. The credits listed Mark S as The Killer, but the video was deleted entirely soon after the media went public with it. In continuing to find out more about Mark Smich,

the media contacted the man's father, who said he didn't live with his son and hadn't had contact with him recently. He didn't know anything about it. The same day Mark Smich was arrested, in fact just an hour later, a massive memorial service was held at Carman's Banquet Hall in Hamilton. Carmen's had special significance as that was the location of Tim and Charlene's wedding reception just three years prior. The crowd heard that Tim Bosma was just a regular guy who liked country music, lived for his wife and breathed for his little girl. Charlene told the crowd of over 1800 people, quote,

Tim is my person, my other half. I believe we were meant to find each other. Photos of Tim flashed across several large screens. Charlene said, quote, It's difficult to accept. Tim was just a guy, a regular, average guy, doing a regular thing. Then, on May the 6th, the devil led the vilest form of evil down my driveway and it smiled at me before taking Tim away.

Toronto homicide detectives told the media they were exploring possible links between Dallin Millard and his sometime former love interest, Laura Babcock, who disappeared the previous year, 2012. Police also announced that they were investigating whether Dellen had played a role in the death of his father, Wayne Millard. Wayne died of a gunshot to the head in December of the previous year, and at the time his death was deemed to be suicide. On May the 23rd, Mark Smitch pled not guilty to the charge of first-degree murder. Tall and thin, with a nearly shaved head, he wore a brown t-shirt, black pants, and white runners. He appeared to have a black eye and a cut on his cheek.

Unlike his co-accomplice, Dellen Millard, who appeared confident and alert at his first court appearance, Mark Smitch cowered in the prisoner's box, not seeming to make eye contact with anyone. A week later, Dellen said they found evidence that the Millardier hangar Dellen operated out of was being used as a giant chop shop for stolen vehicles. One of the vehicles was a $35,000 Harley Davidson motorcycle advertised online the year before. The bike belonged to a Toronto man, Marty McDougal, and he kept it inside a trailer. Both were stolen from behind his home shortly after he pulled the ad. Marty knew there was a security camera across the street that might be able to identify the thief.

He called the police and a police officer picked up the footage. When Marty didn't hear back, he kept calling the police to inquire, but no one ever responded. That motorcycle was found in the Millard Air Hanger in a bunch of pieces with the serial numbers scratched off, except for one placed on the seat, which is how they were able to identify it as being Marty McDougal's stolen bike. Five weeks on from Tim's disappearance, the community in Hamilton and surrounding areas continued to rally to support the family, including holding a large-scale fundraiser for Charlene and their little toddler,

now without an integral member of their family. Music was playing, there was beer and laughter-filled the room. Charlene herself wasn't able to make it, but many of Tim's friends and family were there. His friend Gary Kickert volunteered to DJ for the night and said it was exactly the kind of night Tim would have loved. Quote, he wouldn't want anyone moping and groping.

Charlene felt that attending the event was a little bit too much for her and her little girl at the time. But she did speak to the media in the days following, saying that she now had her late husband's remains in a small wooden box. She said, quote, We still don't know why this happened. Right from when he went missing, we wanted him back. Now he's back, but we'll never have Tim back. She said the only thing that gets her up in the morning was her daughter

and said she has a group of friends who come over, keeping her company and helping with her daughter so that she's never alone. She said that what she missed the most were her family's Sunday afternoon drives. After attending church in the morning, they would then drive around for hours, chatting about life and what their plans were for it. They even spoke about death. They agreed that they wanted to be buried beside each other,

in caskets. If Tim died first, Charlene wanted one final kiss on his forehead. But in the end, all she got was a small wooden box. In August 2013, Charlene sat down with CBC News in her home to talk about how life was three months on. We sit inside the sprawling home her husband built for their growing family. She tells me with so many memories of their stolen life around them, it is both comfort and curse. I wanted to ask, how are you? But then I wondered if you're sick of being asked that question. People don't really necessarily want to hear the truth.

They just ask it out of habit. What is the truth for you now? That can be difficult to put into words. There's okay days, there's bad days. One of the worst thoughts is why, Tim. Can you understand yet what the why, how to answer the why maybe, even for yourself? No. I still have a hard time accepting that this has actually happened. Tim was just a good person. If this really can happen to someone like Tim, it could have happened to you.

That fact is why she says so many helped in the search for her husband, why hundreds of letters and donations have poured in from loved ones, even strangers. They had this laugh, and everyone will remember that. It is a very unique laugh. It's kind of contagious, and I can hear it coming in her little girl. Charlene has now started Tim's tribute, a charity to help other victims of crime navigate the legal system. There can be something better than that, you know, something when my daughter looks online later on, and, you know, she can read about Tim and it's not just about this.

There's something positive that can come forward out of that. The memory of a kind, loving man, not a murder victim, is what Bosma hopes, survives now. In September 2013, four months after Tim's disappearance, as Toronto police were continuing to scour Delin Millard's farm for more evidence, a reporter from the Hamilton Spectator newspaper visited the 28-year-old at the Barton Street Jail. Dellen said that getting a visit was, quote,

so rare and referred to the visit from a reporter as precious. However, he put a swift end to the visit by saying, quote, I want to talk to you, but I just can't. A visit was also scheduled with Mark Smitch, who was in segregation at the Toronto East Detention Center in Scarborough. At first, Mark said his lawyer had advised him not to say anything. Mark tried to end the visit twice but couldn't get the guards' attention

so he sat back down he then began to talk to the reporter tears welled up in his eyes when he was asked about his friends and family and he said they do keep in touch and visit when asked about that YouTube video where he starred in as the killer he sighed and insisted it was for Halloween

the next month police announced that the murder of Tim Bosma the disappearance of Laura Babcock and the death of Wayne Millard were now officially part of a single multi-jurisdictional police investigation. While they wouldn't say what the investigative link was between the three cases, it seemed crystal clear, Delin Millard. In December 2013, the Toronto Star visited Delin in jail. This time, he was talking a little bit more.

When asked if he killed Tim Bosma, quote, no, I didn't do it. They might as well accuse me of having been to the moon. There's nothing real about it. He went on to claim that he wasn't the person portrayed in the media coverage, the rich kid party boy brat who lived a life of leisure. He said, quote, I shop at Costco. I don't buy expensive clothes.

I'm a bargain hunter. I have one Hugo Boss suit. He said he spends his solitary days in jail reenacting movies in his head, reading and practicing yoga. He volunteered to work in the prison kitchen but said they wouldn't let him. He wouldn't elaborate on why. In April 2014, 11 months after Tim Bosma disappeared,

police announced they were charging Delin Mollard and Mark Smitch with the death of 23-year-old Laura Babcock. Laura was Dellen's former love interest who went missing the previous summer in 2012. Police also announced that Dellen Millard was also facing a charge of first-degree murder in the death of his father, Wayne Millard. The three investigations were streamlined under the Ontario Provincial Police's major case management, or MCM system. MCM allows them to share their findings through a centralized software system,

and at the time, Ontario was the only place in the world to have this type of computerized network. The Paul Bonado investigation was the catalyst for the creation and a staffer. of the MCM in 1996. An inquiry into the Bernardo investigation found that the lack of coordination, cooperation and communications among police and other parts of the justice system contributed to Paul Bonado falling through the cracks.

Dellen Millard's girlfriend, 21-year-old Christina Nudgar, was also charged with being an accessory after the fact to Tim Bosma's murder. The court heard she allegedly knew her boyfriend had killed Tim Bosma and she was helping him escape arrest. After she was charged for her role, police came to her house with a search warrant and found several letters that were written to her

by Delin Millard over a period of many months while he was in jail after his arrest. The letters were in violation of a court order preventing Delin from communicating with Christine. These letters contained varied content, including drawings, poems, sexual fantasies and descriptions of what it was like to be in jail. But there were two key themes.

One was proclamations of his love for Christine, with romantic, idealistic musings on how he saw their lives together being when he got out of jail. The other key theme was Dylan blatantly asking Christine to reach out to a key crown witness to change his evidence. Here's some excerpts from Delin Millard's letters to his girlfriend, Christina Nudgar. Please note that the character he refers to as pedo in these letters is his dog. In this letter, dated July 25, 2013,

Dellam says he's been in segregation for two months. He says it's not that bad, but it is lonely. Being separated from you is terrible. All the pleasures of modern society, cars, movies, restaurants, iTunes, I can do without. My favorite activities, sailing, flying, I can do without. What I want the most is to wake up next to you. I miss you so much. I think I'm going to cry. Your letter has uplifted my spirits like an infusion of helium. I love you like I've never loved any other woman.

I'm coming for you. Six weeks later, on September the 14th, 2013, he writes, My one true fear is to die before becoming a father. I usually keep my hopes and plans to myself. Did you know my plan for us in the sailboat? I know I told you I was buying one soon. It was supposed to be this summer. I wanted us to set sail, just you, me, and Pito. And we'd head for the Atlantic. From Halifax, we could go wherever the wind blew us.

The winds would probably favor Norway, with a stop in Iceland, then south to Scotland and England. I plan to sail the world with you. I hope to time our ships return to Canada with your pregnancy. It chews me up on the inside knowing what I'm missing, worrying what I may never have. If I beat the charges, this dream could be realized. I knew before I was arrested that I wanted you to be the mother of my children. I was waiting for you to finish school.

I was waiting for my business to stabilize. I was waiting for us to explore the entire world. Maybe I was waiting for me to be just a little more mature. But I've known for some time that I'd finally found the girl I've spent my entire life waiting for, and now I'm in jail. Fuck. What if I don't beat the charges? What if I'm giving a life sentence?

I'm sure you would book overnight trailer visits, but for how long? I'm certain that if I win the trial, we'll have children. But would you have children with a man in prison for life? Even as a prisoner I could make a better husband and father than most free men. In another letter, he asked Christine if there were any features she wanted in a house because he was designing one for them. On the back of the letter, he put some rough sketches for washroom floor plans. In the next letter, Dellen goes on more about life in prison.

He details his time in segregation and says his prison gave him the option of getting out, but said he would have to go to the PC range where the child sex offenders are. He said he didn't understand jail politics or the clicks that go on. Then he turns the subject to the real reason for his letter, and this has to do with Andrew Mekalski. his roommate at the time the crime happened. Before we get to the letter, here's a tangent on how Andrew McKelsky is involved.

Two days before Tim Bosma's disappearance, Dellen Millard showed Tim Bosma's online truck ad to his roommate, Andrew Mikowski, saying, should I steal it from the A-hole or the nice guy? Andrew told Dellen to quote, Fuck off. He didn't think Dellen needed to steal a truck. The next morning after Tim Bosma disappeared,

Andrew Mikalski received a phone call from Marlene Menaceous, Mark Smitch's girlfriend. He then texted Dellen back saying, quote, Marlene was worried about Mark, just wanted to figure out where he was. Dellen's reply was telling, he's with her. When Andrew saw Dellen later on,

he inquired as to whether he'd gotten the truck. Dullen said yes. So, Andrew McElleyer, Vakalski had incriminating information on Dellen, and Dellen went into damage control. Back to the letters. To get out of this bind, I need help. I want to ask you to get the testimony. That could be disproved.

What I've written to you is a rough draft. I want your feedback. I won't have you made a witness if you don't want to be. I can't promise the prosecution won't subpoena you and force you to testify, though. We need to get our story straight. I need to know what you're willing to do. You said you wanted to be a secret agent. Be mine.

Life has a funny way of giving us exactly what we wish for. You know what I wish for now? My liberty. You're in Pato's company. Freedom and exploration. To get these things I need to win at trial. To win at trial, I need help. Help could be testimony.

Help could be other things too, like secretly delivering a message. Just staying quiet has become an immense help already. If Mark and Andrew had done the same, this would be a lot easier. Poor Andrew shits his pants and spills his guts. And treacherous mark got himself charged by trying to put it on me. These are the most lethalest pieces currently against me. I've had a lot of time for self-reflection. A lot of time for extracting emotional shrapnel.

Spiritually I'm stronger, healthier, and becoming more so. There are many things I do differently now, most of them having to do with you. I resist it loving you. Frankly, it scared me. Love had always resulted in heartbreak, and I wasn't strong enough to face heartbreak. Now that I'm facing life in prison, now that I've had six months to think about why I am who I am, I'm not afraid of heartbreak anymore. Fantasizing about our reunion and about the possibility of us living together is what got me through suicide watch.

Oh God, thinking of your love undone does all my defenses, I want so badly to be with you. On October 1st, 2013, Dellen starts his letter to Christine by saying he was in a, quote, special state of mind when he wrote that last letter. He went on to talk about how forensic science is bound to set him free and joked about having Grissom from CSI, Las Vegas working the case. Then he turned to the real point. Most of the evidence points to me going to buy a pickup. This results in acquittal, and I'm a free man, but there's a problem. And it's the testimony of Andrew Mikalski. He wrote that Andrew was tricked by police.

Dellen knew from the Crown's disclosure through his lawyer that Andrew had already told police that he heard Dellen and Mark Smitch discussing stealing a pickup truck the weekend before Tim Bosma died. Fucking pansy, scared into giving up a true friend. He's the only piece of evidence that puts me in the category of intentional robbery. His testimony, not forensic science, is going to get me. me convicted. He's the most important single piece of the case against me. We're going to argue that Andrew was given the message that he was going home and till he said what police wanted to hear,

that he was on lawful, so the police would let him leave. He's probably mad at me, blaming me for his frightening interrogation, so that he doesn't have to admit to himself how completely he has thrown me under the bus. All he had to do was say nothing, but instead he tried to talk his way out. Andrew needs to say I showed him a picture of a truck and asked, who should I buy? That he changed it to steal because the interrogation began. Cops told him they wanted to hear about the planning of a truck robbery. Someone needs to shake him up. He should never have moved things after I was arrested. It was Mark who fucked up a truck robbery, not me. And just because I helped clean up Mark's mess does not mean I should pay for it, especially not because of a

technicality and a law, especially not because Andrew didn't know how to keep his mouth shut. I need him to undo the damage he's done to me. I love him, and he loves me. He has a loyal heart. If he knew that his words were going to get me a life sentence, he would want to change them. Show him how he can, and he will change them. It doesn't take an armchair psychologist to see that his strategy with the letters was to emotionally manipulate Christine by dangling the carrot of a happy life with him in her face,

followed by what threatens it and then what she has to do to ensure that doesn't happen. In October 2013, Dellen writes more hyperbole about how much he loves Christina. He told her he was trying to learn Ukrainian, her family's first language. He said it was painful to be away from her and his dog, Petro. He said he just had her pictures out

and complimented her on her looks. And a letter dated the next day, Dellen then turns back to his primary goal, Andrew Mikalski and his testimony. He told Christina that her most important role was going to be taking the stand, and her second was getting Andrew on board to help. He advised Christina that Andrew had to say he'd never heard anything about thefts or plans to steal anything. He said that bringing Andrew back on side also brings himself back from losing the trial.

But he stressed that Christina's testimony will be what wins. wins it. At another letter a few days later, Dellen seemed more panicked and paranoid and less strategic. He told Christina that she was being watched and to be careful, especially when coming into contact with Andrew McCalsky to persuade him to change his story. He encouraged her to feign a romantic connection with him, a relationship that would explain why they were together. Quote, Romance is always a good one. I don't mind you being publicly flirtatious if it's in my favour, just so long as all of him stays on the outside of you. There were many more letters and scans of them are available online. Another one said, Andrew is the only evidence of any planning.

He must say he did not hear any planning of any kind, ever. Many of the letters came with an explicit instruction at the end to destroy this letter now. But despite this, Christine kept them all, And at the same time that the police found the letters at her house, they also found the video footage that proved Dylan Millard and Mark Smitch were in the hangar at around 1.30am on the night Tim Bosma disappeared with the industrial incinerator. In May 2014, a year after Tim's disappearance, Charlene spoke to Molly Hayes, an award-winning journalist and author, who initially covered the story for the Hamilton Spectator newspaper.

She described what life was like a year on from her family's tragedy. She said the sixth of every month has been difficult because the number on the calendar was a reminder that one more month had passed since Tim had been stolen from them. She said her little girl, then three, had growing pains in her legs, causing them to cramp and would wake up at night crying for her daddy. Charlene had started scrapbooking photos of Tim for when the little girl got older. She asked his friends to email stories to her so the memories wouldn't be lost.

Charlene said it took her months before she could watch videos of Tim, but finally, she said, quote, it just got to the point where I missed the sound of him too much. She said she began to watch them regularly. On July the 16th, 2014, in a rare move, the Crown successfully applied to bypass a preliminary inquiry in the case with a direct indictment. Preliminary hearings are usually held to determine if there's enough evidence to take a case to trial.

Direct indictments are only granted in the most serious and complicated cases and generally indicate the Crown believes it has a strong likelihood of conviction. From the Crown's perspective, going straight to trial can speed up the judicial process, reduce violations of publication bans, spare witnesses from testifying twice, and also the victim's family from going through many hearings. It also keeps the defence from knowing the Crown's strategy. From the defence's perspective, it means they get no opportunity to prove to the judge

that there is not enough evidence for a trial and also obviously takes away the chance to hear the Crown's case before the trial starts. Alan Young, a law professor at York University, called the direct indictment provision a historical relic that is rarely used and often questionable. He says it can be used successfully in a case that has taken years to get through the system and needs a push to get through trial,

particularly if there's risk that key witnesses or a victim would die before the trial. It's also used when, quote, it would be injurious to the public interest to hear horrible details of a crime more than as necessary. It's worth noting that in 1994, Paul Bernardo was sent directly to trial through a direct indictment. In January 2016, two and a half years after Tim Bosmer's disappearance, jury selection began. It took just over a week and over 1,800 prospective jurors were called. On the 1st of February 2016, the trial began at the Ontario Superior Court,

presided over by Justice Andrew Goodman, both Dellen Millard and Marks, pled not guilty to their charges of first-degree murder. The Crown opened its case by laying out the facts. How the truck was found in a trailer at Dellen Millard's mother's house. How it had gunshot residue inside it. A spent, 380 gun cartridge casing, and blood DNA of Tim Bosma on the inside of the truck as well as the undercarriage. How Dellen Millard's fingerprints were found on both the exterior and interior of the truck.

and how Dellen Millard had Tim Bosmer's truck keys in his position when he was arrested. The Crown told how Dellen Millard moved the Eliminator Incinerator from the barn on his property out to the area where police found it. He did it while it was dark, late at night, and with the assistance of his girlfriend, Christine Nudgar. The Crown went on to say that they found burnt human bones in the incinerator, and they were determined to be likely from a male under 40 years old. Tim Bosma's blood was found to be on the main hatch area of the vault. First, the court heard from Charlene Bosma,

who told the story of the night her husband disappeared. She also told the story of how they met on e-harmonie. She said after a week or two of chatting, they met in person and the first date didn't go exactly as planned. said by the third date they were a serious item. Their dream was to get married, build their dream house in Ancester, have three kids of their own and adopt a fourth. To do all of that, they needed to save a lot of money

so Charlene could quit work and become a stay-at-home mum. But, as they say, best-laid plans, they had to live in a trailer while the house was being built and their baby girl came just ten months after their wedding day. They had lots of bills to pay. Despite this, she said, quote, We were in a good place. Charlene then went to talk about Tim.

She described him as having strength in character, a wonderful father. She joked about his imperfections, like sometimes he drank too much beer and smoked cigars during poker with the boys. He didn't like some of the TV shows she watched. Oftentimes she had the court laughing with her witty quips. At the end of her testimony,

she told the story of how Tim asked her whether he should go for the test drive and how she said that he should because they wanted the truck to come back. Charlene broke down. I hope she realizes by now that most, if not all of us, would have done the exact same thing in that situation and that none of this is her fault. Charlene is still active with her charity, Tim's tribute, which was created when she noticed obvious gaps within the system

to support families of homicide. The charity provides financial assistance for immediate needs and trial needs, such as providing grocery gift cards, transportation costs if the trial venue is out of town, parking costs, childcare or meal expenses. Tim's Tribute is also the host organization for The Healing Tree, a homicide grief support system for loved ones of victims of homicide.

To find out more about the great work of Tim's tribute, to donate, and to find out how to get involved, visit www.timstribut.com. And that's where we're going to leave things for this episode. Next episode, I'm going back to the beginning, Delin Millard's beginning. How he came to be who he was. How did he meet Mark Smitch? Why exactly did he need a Dodge Ram 3,500 diesel? We'll go through what is known about the disappearance and death.

of his former love interest, Laura Babcock, and also the death of his father, Wayne Millard. Remember, he was also charged with first-degree murder in both of those deaths. We'll also, of course, cover the trial for Tim Bosmer's murder, including how he died, and who exactly was responsible. Did you notice anything familiar about the voice of Dylan Millard in this episode? It was Jordan Bonaparte of the Nighttime Podcast. I love this podcast. Jordan focuses on crime, mysteries, the paranormal and the weird in Atlantic Canada. I was super excited when Jordan said that he would do this voice for me.

He even suggested he could try and tone down his Nova Scotian twang, but I said absolutely not. Now, I've received a few requests to cover Alan Leger, the Canadian serial killer and arsonist, also known as the Monster of the Miramashie. and for good reason. This story is insane and is an important part of Canadian true crime history in that it was the first ever case to use DNA evidence to convict. If you're interested in this story,

subscribe to the Nighttime Podcast and listen to episodes 19 and 20. Jordan does an amazing job with all the stories he covers and this one is no exception. I'll include a link to the Nighttime Podcast website in my show notes. My other podcast suggestion this episode is Convicted. If you liked serial season one, you're going to love convicted. It's risen up the iTunes charts and is currently in the top 10.

So if you haven't jumped on this podcast yet, please do. Here's the trailer. Richard Nicholas is currently incarcerated for the murder of his only daughter. This was a horrible crime, a young girl, a child died brutally. The thing is, what if he didn't do it? But I know a Brady violation when I see one, and this is pretty clearly a Brady violation. You have a pre-paid call. What's call us from?

Richard Nicholas? Did you kill her? No. No, I did not. I did not. I shoot my daughter. Listen to Convicted, wherever you listened to podcasts. If you didn't know, I'm on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

If you'd like to follow, just search for Canadian true crime. And if you'd like to support the show, you could subscribe. and leave a five-star review on iTunes, now called Apple Podcasts. Apparently, it helps the show to get more exposure. And now we've come to that magical time where I butcher the names of everyone who left me a five-star review. But before that, I wanted to, of course, thank everyone who've recommended this podcast or taken the time to message or post kind words.

Seriously, you make my day. Thank you also to everyone who has been messaging me their case suggestions. I'm pretty much running on listener suggestions right now, so thank you so much. And thanks to all of you who've left 5-star iTunes or Apple Podcast Review since my last episode. In Canada, J-H-F-S-R-H-H-R-H-R-H-R-H-R-H-R-E-F-D-F-D-F-J-O-P-O-H-F. Queen of Merlo, Landa Lee, Mitch Go-B-B-Loo, Erie-Roo, Casper and Clover-24, Shawna 6 Carly and her cats

Scruffy dude Elizabeth St. A. Hi Ellie. Bored with Inui Mike West Overlander 23 Wolfman Dave Hi Dave

Misha Doma Lady Glitter Sparkle Seriously I do love the trolls movie Howland Bats D101021 Abreson North Shore Lenn

Orange Green Kemp Undergrad Marty Bo Jem Till Kaka Bear 11 Cat Lady 377-281-829 semi-colon 0 A Logan

1996 and that's times 3 Shartaneri MK123 Missing Pages C Moore DD in BC Erin JJ

Amanda Roberts Ken's 463, Janice Wang, Chanelis, Pink Dinosaur Mum, Central Labs, Dirt Teeth and JS-15. And now in the US, Amanda Maloney, Scotty Like, Mimographics, PhD grad student, D Clayton, Mike B'day, Michael K-280, MEE-280, B, D.K520, M-230, Buta Kananza, J-D, E Canada, Mushy Row, C. Tumann, Elbel 23 and Des Rue. From Australia, Food and Flowers, Hi Mum, White Wig, Ronan J.B and Z2B. Sweden, Isabel's Heart and YX Scarft. And in Ireland, T. Lunes. And thanks to all those who left a five-star review on the Facebook page since the last episode.

Caitlin C. Louisa V. Tegan A. M. Sarah C. Q. Ashley M. Lydia H. Ariel D. Marchant. H. H.

Amy S. Josie P. Des A. Beck from the Minds of Madness podcast. Chloe D. Hi Chloe. Carol M. Crystal A.

Hi Crystal. Alison T. Kate O Carly P CADW T-LINC Jennifer S Jessica S

Laney from the True Crime Fan Club podcast Lisa T and Art B I'll be back soon with part two of the story Dellen Millard I'll see you then