Millard, Smich guilty of first-degree murder of Tim Bosma

Three years after Hamilton father Tim Bosma took two strangers on a test drive of his pickup truck and wound up dead, a jury has found both Dellen Millard and Mark Smich guilty of first-degree murder.

Gasps of relief were heard in the Hamilton courtroom Friday as Judge Andrew Goodman read the verdict against the two men, who had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Bosma’s family members, including his widow, Sharlene Bosma, sobbed and turned to each other for comfort and support as they listened to the verdict, which followed five days of jury deliberations.

Outside the courtroom, Sharlene gave an emotional statement about what the verdict meant for her and her family and friends.

“For over three years we have waited for justice for Tim,” she said to cheers.

“For three years we have been in and out of this courthouse, forced to look at and breathe in the same space with the utter depths of depravity in our society … This does not bring Tim back and he will still never come home.”

 

Both Millard and Smich face an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole until 2038, 25 years since they were incarcerated. They declined to comment when Goodman read the verdict on Friday afternoon.

“Tim Bosma was an innocent, hard-working man just trying to sell his truck,” Goodman said. “What happened is incomprehensible. The accused took him away from Sharlene, his family and his church in Ancaster. The despicable … actions did not take away his memory, his spirit or take away his family’s strength of character. I am sorry for your loss.”

Bosma, 32, disappeared on May 6, 2013, after taking Millard and Smich for a test drive of a truck he had listed for sale online. His burned remains were found days later.

The Crown said Millard, 30, of Toronto, and Smich, 28, of Oakville, killed the Hamilton father as part of an elaborate plan to steal a Dodge pickup truck, kill its owner and destroy all the evidence by incinerating the body.

It didn’t matter who pulled the trigger, Tony Leitch said, because both of the accused planned to kill Bosma and cover up the crime.

Leitch said Millard was the mastermind and Smich was his right-hand man.

Millard bought the gun — a Walther PPK — that was used to kill Bosma in February 2012, Leitch said. The gun has never been found, and Smich previously testified that he buried it in a forest in Oakville, but couldn’t remember the exact location.

They were also both involved in plans for the incinerator, which Millard purchased for $23,000, Leitch said, calling it one the final pieces of the puzzle for the co-accused.

There was no evidence the incinerator was ever used for anything besides burning a human body, Leitch told the jury.

The pair continued to hunt for a Dodge Ram 3500 pickup truck — Millard wanted it to haul a large trailer with a Jeep inside that they would use to compete in the Baja off-road race in Mexico that May.

 

Smich had testified that it was Millard who shot and killed Bosma and burned his body. Millard didn’t testify, but his lawyer said it was Smich who accidentally shot Bosma in the truck during a botched robbery.

But Goodman told the jury to disregard Millard’s version of events because it was not supported by evidence presented in the case.

He also explained that both could be found guilty of murder regardless of who shot and killed Bosma, as long as the non-shooter helped or encouraged the act.

The judge also said that the jury had to decide on each of the accused’s fates separately and that either may have acted alone.

The jury had the option of returning a verdict of not guilty, guilty of first-degree murder, guilty of second-degree murder or guilty of manslaughter.

The trial began more than four months ago and heard from more than 90 witnesses, including Bosma’s widow Sharlene, as the Crown presented a mountain of evidence.

Sharlene had said the family had been planning to move from Ancaster to nearby Brantford, and they had decided to sell their truck, which was often breaking down. Their daughter was two when Bosma was killed.