Tim Bosma trial: Millard and Smich planned to kill, steal truck and burn body, Crown says
Prosecutor says plan had been in the works for more than a year
Dellen Millard and Mark Smich planned all along to kill Tim Bosma in order to steal his pickup truck, and then burn the body, the prosecutor said Tuesday at the trial of the two men accused of killing the Hamilton man.
Crown Craig Fraser began his cross-examination of Smich, who was in the witness box for the eighth day, focusing his questions on pieces of evidence that suggested months of planning by the pair before Bosma's death and on their efforts to cover it up afterward.
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- Millard and Smich argued over Bosma's death, lawyer says
"The plan that you and Dellen Millard had was to steal, was to kill, and was to burn," Fraser said in court, adding it was a plan the pair executed with "chilling perfection."
"No sir," Smich said.
You had a whole lot of cleaning up to do with the remains of Mr. Bosma in the bottom of that Eliminator.- Craig Fraser, assistant Crown attorney
Smich, 28, of Oakville, Ont., and Millard, 30, of Toronto, have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in Ontario Superior Court. The trial is being held in front of a jury.
Bosma, who was from the Ancaster area of Hamilton, disappeared May 6, 2013, after going on a test drive with Smich and Millard in a pickup truck he was trying to sell.
In court, Fraser listed all the ways that Smich had destroyed evidence related to the Bosma case, including hosing down and stripping the dead man's truck interior, before burning the pieces.
"It's the two of you doing it, working together to cover up a crime," Fraser said. "Essentially, that is correct sir," Smich said.
Incinerator cleaned out, Crown says
But Smich left out one crucial thing he had done, Fraser alleged — and that was cleaning out the incinerator in which Bosma was burned. According to Smich's testimony, he was not involved with Bosma's death, nor the incineration of his body.
Millard's lawyers have presented a story in which Smich was the shooter, while the Crown alleges both men were involved from the start.
Fraser said the cleaning out of the incinerator happened on May 7, when Millard and Smich returned to the MillardAir hangar in Waterloo, Ont., where Bosma's truck was being stored.
"The other thing that was going on at that hangar for 2½ hours is you had to clean The Eliminator," Fraser said. He went on to say the device was too hot on May 6, so they had to do it the following night.
Smich said no. "There were other things that were being done, I can't recall exactly," he said.
"You had a whole lot of cleaning up to do with the remains of Mr. Bosma in the bottom of that Eliminator," Fraser said. "That's not what happened," Smich responded.
'A truck was easy for you guys'
Smich appeared much quieter and more reserved when answering questions from the Crown. It was a stark difference from the verbal jabs he hurled at Millard's lawyers during their cross-examination last week.
Fraser, by contrast, was more forceful with Smich than he has been with any witness at the trial.
Fraser also alleged that Millard and Smich had been planning to steal a truck and kill someone for over a year.
"If the plan was to only steal a truck, and that plan was in place for over a year — I'm going to suggest to you that it was a whole lot more than stealing a truck. A truck was easy for you guys," Fraser said.
"You needed a target to kill, and you needed a target to incinerate … And that's why, Mr. Smich, it took as long as it did," Fraser said.
The Crown alleged that Millard and Smich would have carried out the plan to kill and steal a truck on May 5, the day before Bosma died — except the target, Igor Tumanenko, was too imposing.
"He was a little bit too much 6-4" and too much 250 pounds for your liking. And he was a little bit too Israeli Army for your liking," Fraser said. "So you picked the nice guy."
Again, Smich said that wasn't the case.
Crown displays texts, alleges planning
The Crown displayed text messages that showed Millard and Smich discussing incinerators and bullets as far back as April 2012.
"Reminds me, Shane's starting modification on the white van for search and capture missions," Millard wrote in an April 6, 2013, text. Smich then responded, "I love search and destroy. Lol."
In court, Smich said he was referring to a video game.
In another text, Millard told Smich to bring a change of clothes with him — something the Crown alleges makes no sense unless the pair were planning to kill someone.
"It's not much of a plan is it, when you're showing your face," Fraser said.
"The change of clothes is for if it became a bloody mess, and that's exactly what happened."
Again, Smich said no, that wasn't the case.
Smich also testified that Millard told him he was going to get into the pet cremation business, and that's why he bought the large animal incinerator called The Eliminator.
Fraser said the only evidence of use for The Eliminator came from forensic teams, and all they found was human remains. "That's the only thing that Eliminator was used for," Fraser said. "No sir, that's not correct," Smich said.
Smich previously testified he did not help put Bosma's body inside the incinerator, but Fraser said he didn't buy that story.
"It's a two-man job," Fraser said, pointing out that the distance from the bottom of the unit to the opening is [1.4 metres], and that Bosma weighed 170 pounds. "It took two of you to put Mr. Bosma in The Eliminator."
"No sir," Smich said.
The CBC's Adam Carter is in the courtroom each day reporting live on the trial. You can read a recap of his live blog right here. On mobile? View it here.
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