Tim Bosma trial: Dellen Millard texted about 'all-nighter' mission on evening Bosma vanished
Hundreds of text messages shown to jury at trial of 2 men accused of killing Hamilton man
Accused murderer Dellen Millard was texting his girlfriend about an "all-nighter" mission on the night that Tim Bosma disappeared, court heard Tuesday at the trial of two men accused of killing the Hamilton man.
For the first time, the jury saw Millard's text records from around the time the Crown alleges Bosma was killed — and they painted a chilling picture that clearly weighed heavily on the Bosma family members in court.
One message sent from Millard's phone at 7:40 p.m. on May 6, 2013, read: "I'm on my way to a mission now. If it's a flop I'll be done in 2 hrs. If it goes … it'll be an all nighter."
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A message back from "Kinks" (which the jury has heard was a nickname for Millard's girlfriend, Christina Noudga) at 10:47 p.m.: "So you finish?" The response: "Gonna be an all nighter."
Millard, 30, of Toronto, and Mark Smich, 28, of Oakville, Ont., are charged with first-degree murder in Bosma's death. Both have pleaded not guilty.
Bosma, 32, who lived in the suburban Ancaster area of Hamilton, vanished on the evening of May 6, 2013, after taking two men on a test drive in a pickup truck he was trying to sell. Investigators later found charred human remains, believed to belong to Bosma, in a livestock incinerator on Millard's farm in Waterloo, Ont.
'Stage 1 complete'
Hamilton police Det. Const. Craig Harrison returned to the witness box Tuesday to show the jury hundreds of text message exchanges found on Millard's phone.
The jury also saw a message from Noudga at 8:26 a.m. on May 7 that read: "Still working?" The message back from Millard's phone read: "Stage 1 complete, taking a respite. Not sure yet." A later message from Millard's phone read: "I'm gonna take a nap."
She responded: "Good choice :)"
Some of the texts from Noudga, who has been charged with being an accessory after the fact in Bosma's death, suggest that she knew about his activities on the night that Bosma vanished. Noudga is scheduled to testify for the Crown later in the trial.
"Had a nice 5 hr nap & bath, refreshed and ready for the next stage of mission digestion," a text from Millard's phone on May 7 read. Noudga then responded, "Lol mission digestion."
On May 8, Noudga was texting Millard and asking if a "mission" went well. The jury has heard that Millard and his social circle sometimes used the word "mission" as a code for a criminal plot. At one point, Millard asked if she wanted to help.
Mother questions about trailer
"What do you need help with?" Noudga responded, to which Millard replied: "Shredding paper."
Noudga then wrote: "lol in the fancy new paper shredder?"
Another text from Noudga read: "I'm just playing around. Shredding paper sounds fun :)." In yet another text, Noudga appears to agree to help out with a "tiny mission" on May 9, which is the day the Crown alleges Millard's trailer with Bosma's truck inside was moved to his mother's home in Kleinburg, Ont.
The jury was also shown text messages from May 10 from a contact nicknamed "Rabbit" in Millard's phone, who appeared to be his mother.
"Why is your trailer here???" she wrote. "Is it usually in the hangar??? Whats up? Why the hurry last night?"
Text messages highlight gun purchase
This afternoon, the jury saw text messages from February 2012 from Millard's cellphone to a phone registered to Matthew Ward Jackson, who is also known by the nickname Isho.
Those texts show attempts to broker a deal for a firearm.
"Walther pk 9mill tomorrow 2200? proper one," one text from Jackson read. The message from Millard's phone then responds: "The walther. can't do a little better on the price? come with any amo?" Ward Jackson responded: "Na walther is a really proper wanted one ... I talked the guy down from 25 cuz I thought ya wouldn't wwanna spent tht."
Jackson then asked, "would u like it for real?" and Millard responded: "lets do it. pick it up tonight?"
A .380 shell casing found in Bosma's truck can be used in a Walther PPK.
In another message, Millard asks if the gun is "clean or dirty," and Jackson replied that it was "clean."
Sister of Smich's girlfriend testifies
The girlfriends of both accused are two of the Crown's most important witnesses, and Elizabeth Meneses — the sister of Smich's ex-girlfriend Marlena — testified Tuesday.
She told the jury that Smich and her sister stayed at her Oakville apartment from May 11 to 18, 2013. The pair had been living at Smich's mother's home, she testified, but asked to stay with her because Smich's sister was getting married around that time and space would be scarce.
She said it was her impression that Smich and Millard were "very good friends," though she never met Millard. In cross-examination by Millard's lawyer, Nadir Sachak, she said Smich spoke highly of Millard.
Meneses testified that she had concerns about her sister dating Smich, who was several years older. "Your sister was infatuated with Mr. Smich," Sachak said. "She was very much into him," Meneses responded.
Court heard two different theories on why Marlena Meneses moved out of her mother's home. During Sachak's cross-examination, Elizabeth Meneses agreed that her sister moved out of her mother's house because there was "tension" over her behaviour and relationship with Smich.
"She left your mom's house to be with Mr. Smich," Sachak said, and Meneses said yes.
During cross-examination by Smich's lawyer,Thomas Dungey, the witness said her sister was constantly arguing with her stepfather, and believed he was abusing her mother. She said Smich was nice to her and to her sister.
"She needed that at that point in her life, didn't she?" Dungey asked. "Yes, she did," Meneses said.
CBC reporter Adam Carter is in the courtroom each day reporting live on the trial. You can view a recap of his live blog here: