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MANDEL: Dellen Millard and Mark Smich guilty of murdering Laura Babcock
Michele Mandel
More from Michele Mandel
Published:
December 16, 2017
Updated:
December 16, 2017 2:27 PM EST
Dellen Millard (top right) and Mark Smich (bottom right) have been found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Laura Babcock (left).
Justice at last for Laura Babcock.
Former friends and partners in crime, Dellen Millard and Mark Smich, have been found guilty in the murder of Laura Babcock — an aspiring actress missing for more than five years, her body never found.
The jury returned the verdict after four-and-a-half days of deliberation.
Her parents, who have attended every day of the trial, embraced in relief — as days went by, observers were increasingly worried the jury was having trouble convicting Millard, 32, and Smich, 30, on a case based on circumstantial evidence.
Clayton Babcock, right, stands next to his wife Linda as he reads a prepared statement outside court in Toronto on Saturday, December 16, 2017. Two men accused of killing a young Toronto woman and burning her body have been found guilty of first-degree murder. Dellen Millard and Mark Smich had pleaded not guilty to the charges related to the death of 23-year-old Laura Babcock, whose body has not been found. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
But these are their second convictions for a cold-blooded murder — and Crown attorney Jill Cameron is seeking consecutive life terms.
Justice Michael Code will ultimately decide on sentencing the repeat killers but the jury recommended Millard serve two consecutive life sentences — 50 years before parole — while they were divided on Smich.
With class and poise, as he and his wife Linda have exhibited throughout this trial, father Clayton Babcock faced the media after the verdict.
“We’ve sat through a six-week funeral for our daughter Laura. You all know what a wonderful woman she was as well as all the pains and struggles that she faced,” Babcock said.
“You also know about the evil beings that took her life and if society’s lucky, we will not see them again on the streets.”
So evil that Millard, acting as his own lawyer, seemed to enjoy his chance to cross-examine the grieving father of the woman he had murdered.
“Today was about justice for Laura and justice was served,” added Cameron, who led a brilliant Crown case against the two killers.
How relieved the jurors will be after learning what was kept from them: that Millard, an aviation heir, and his former best buddy, Smich, a drug dealer and aspiring rapper, are already serving life sentences for the senseless execution of Ancaster father Tim Bosma, murdered in May 2013 as he gave Millard and Smich a test drive of the truck he had listed for sale online.
Tim Bosma holds his daughter. The 32-year-old went missing from his Ancaster home after two men came to test drive his truck that was up for sale on May 6, 2013.
They’re appealing those convictions.
Millard also faces trial next March for the first-degree murder of his father.
Traces of Bosma’s remains were found in Millard’s animal incinerator hidden on his farm. The Eliminator was purchased just before Babcock went missing and it was used, according to the Crown, to burn her body on July 23, 2012 — the same day Smich wrote his infamous rap lyrics about a “b…ch” who turned to “ashy stone.”
The jury never heard about the Bosma murder during the Babcock trial so as not to prejudice their opinion of Millard and Smich.
The judge asked Bosma’s family not to attend, fearing their presence could jeopardize the publication ban, but after the jury began deliberating his parents arrived to lend support to the Babcocks as they awaited the verdict.
Babcock was their first murder victim.
She was lured to Millard’s Etobicoke home on July 3, 2012, at a time when she was struggling with mental health issues, fighting with her parents and had nowhere to sleep. Millard wanted her dead because she was complicating his love life — still infatuated with him after a short romance, she’d told his current girlfriend, Christina Noudga, that they were still sleeping together.
Christina Noudga (Postmedia Network files)
Millard had assured the jealous Noudga in texts from April 2012 that “first I am going to hurt her. Then I’ll make her leave.” In another, he promised he would “remove her from our lives.”
And so he did.
Supplied court exhibit image with the filename – eliminator – from the Dellen Millard and Mark Smich first-degree murder trial in the death of Laura Babcock.
In the spring of 2012, Millard and Smich exchanged a multitude of texts about obtaining an incinerator — first a homemade contraption that was a bust and then a commercial behemoth named The Eliminator from Georgia that set him back $15,000.
It wasn’t delivered until several days after Babcock was killed — in the meantime, her body was rolled in a blue plastic tarp stashed in Millard’s barn with a calendar entry on his iPhone to do a “smell check.”
Smich told him they’d need “bones” to test it; Millard announced on July 23, “ BBQ has run its warm up. It’s ready for meat.”
That day, Smich’s girlfriend Marlena Menenes testified she watched them try to hook up the incinerator at Millard’s farm but there was no electrical outlet. So they hauled The Eliminator to Millard’s nearby hangar at the Waterloo airport and plugged it in outside.
Then they actually photographed her bones burning inside and took an iPhone video of her ashes floating in the moonlight.
Babcock’s former boyfriend Shawn Lerner grew worried when she seemed to vanish — no one could reach her on the phone and she’d gone dark on social media — so he checked her phone bill and found that eight of her last calls had been to Millard.
He knew the “sketchy” rich boy as Babcock’s friend and had invited him to a birthday party he’d thrown her at Medieval Times the year before.
When Lerner reached out to Millard, he first avoided his texts and then agreed to meet in person to talk about it. In their brief conversation at a Mississauga coffee shop, Millard insisted he hadn’t seen Babcock, that she’d called looking for drugs and was mixed up with the wrong people.
Cellphone records told a different story: GPS signals showed the phones of both Millard and Babcock were together at Kipling station on the evening of July 3, 2012 and then at his Etobicoke home.
Millard told Lerner he should have “no reasonable expectation of finding her.”
He would know — he’d burned her body only days before.
mmandel@postmedia.com
MANDEL: Dellen Millard and Mark Smich guilty of Laura Babcock’s murder | Toronto Sun
Babcock family speaks out on murder trial verdict
Canadian Press
More from Canadian Press
Published:
December 16, 2017
Updated:
December 16, 2017 3:34 PM EST
Clayton Babcock, right, stands next to his wife Linda as he reads a prepared statement outside court in Toronto on Saturday, December 16, 2017. Two men accused of killing a young Toronto woman and burning her body have been found guilty of first-degree murder. Dellen Millard and Mark Smich had pleaded not guilty to the charges related to the death of 23-year-old Laura Babcock, whose body has not been found.Chris Young / THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — The father of a young Toronto woman whose killers were found guilty of first-degree murder on Saturday says that while justice has been done, the verdict doesn’t ease his family’s suffering.
Dellen Millard and Mark Smich were automatically sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole for 25 years in the death of 23-year-old Laura Babcock, whose body has not been found.
“We’ve sat through a six-week funeral for our daughter Laura, and you all know what a wonderful woman she was, as well as all the pains and struggles that she faced. You also know about the evil beings that took her life, and if society’s lucky, we will not see them again on the streets,” said Clayton Babcock outside of court.
“Today’s verdict really brings us little joy. The loss of Laura is no easier today than when it was realized five years ago,” he added.
Babcock’s family and several jurors cried as the verdict was read out, amid quiet cheers from the courtroom.
The Crown alleged Babcock was killed in July 2012 because she had become the odd woman out in a love triangle with Millard and his girlfriend.
Prosecutors said Millard and Smich planned the murder for months and covered up their crime by burning Babcock’s body in an animal incinerator that was later found on Millard’s farm.
Millard, 32, of Toronto, and Smich, 30, of Oakville, Ont., said the Crown failed to prove that Babcock is dead.
The two men were convicted last year of killing Tim Bosma, a 32-year-old Ancaster, Ont., man who disappeared in May 2013 while trying to sell his pickup truck, and burning his body in Millard’s incinerator.
The pair was automatically sentenced to life imprisonment without a chance of parole for 25 years in Babock’s death.
All 12 jurors recommended consecutive sentences for Millard, while only five recommended that Smich receive the maximum parole ineligibility — the seven others made no recommendation.
Justice Michael Code told jurors the consecutive sentencing provision is new to the criminal code and said the final decision on sentencing rests with him, but he will consider their recommendations.
A sentencing hearing will likely take place sometime in the new year.
Babcock has not been heard from since July 2012. Earlier that year, she became involved in a feud with Millard’s girlfriend — Christina Noudga.
The animosity between the two women, who had been sleeping with Millard at the same time, hit its zenith in mid-April. That’s when Millard sent a text to Noudga that the Crown referred to time and again.
“First I’m going to hurt her. Then I’ll make her leave,” read his message. “I will remove her from our lives.”
Millard told court he didn’t care much about his girlfriend, or her feud with Babcock. He said he was sleeping with other women at the time, and his messages to Noudga were simply an attempt to placate a jealous girlfriend.
Court heard that Babcock’s life began to unravel in the months leading up to her disappearance. Her friends testified that she was using cocaine and struggled with her mental health, but was hopeful about a recent diagnosis of borderline personality disorder.
She fell out with her family and became transient, bouncing from place to place with her small dog, Lacey. She couldn’t find work and in June 2012 began working as an escort.
A former boyfriend, Shawn Lerner, told court he put her up in a west-end hotel in late June for two nights and lent her his iPad to help her search for apartments.
On June 30, Babcock and Millard exchanged text messages, according to cellphone data police found on Millard’s computers. Two days later, Millard purchased a 32-calibre gun from Matthew Ward-Jackson, who testified at trial.
Cellphone data shows that on July 3, the Babcock and Millard met near the Kipling subway station around 6:30 p.m. Both their cellphone then moved to Millard’s house, where Smich’s phone pinged off a nearby cell tower.
Babcock’s last outgoing call was made to voicemail at 7:03 p.m. that same day. Her phone, a BlackBerry, has not been found.
On July 4, Millard sent Smich a photograph of a large object wrapped in a blue tarp. The Crown said it was Babcock’s body.
The iPad she borrowed from Lerner was connected to Millard’s computer on July 4. Police later found the iPad and Babcock’s red bag at Smich’s house.
On July 5, the incinerator, which Millard referred to as the “BBQ,” arrived at his hangar at the Region of Waterloo International Airport.
Millard told people he was starting a mobile pet cremation business with his uncle, Robert Burns, who was a veterinarian. Burns testified that his nephew never asked him to launch such a business, and called the idea “absurd.”
On July 23 Millard wrote to Smich: “bbq has run its warm up, it’s ready for meat.”
Court saw photos of a smiling Smich in front of The Eliminator that night taken with Millard’s phone.
They also saw a photograph of objects inside the incinerator that two expert witnesses said were bones. However, due to the poor quality of the photo, they couldn’t say if they were human or animal bones.
In the early hours of July 24, a note was created on Smich’s iPad. It read:
“The bitch started off all skin and bone,
Now the bitch lay on some ash stone,
Last time I saw her was outside the home,
And if u go swimming u can find her phone”
Court also saw video of the rap by Smich, taken with Millard’s phone. Two witnesses said Smich performed the same song for them. Smich told them it wasn’t just a rap, but was, in fact, true.
Smich’s lawyer and Millard, who represented himself, said the Crown has not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Babcock is dead.
Babcock family speaks out on murder trial verdict | Toronto Sun
Michele Mandel
More from Michele Mandel
Published:
December 16, 2017
Updated:
December 16, 2017 2:27 PM EST
Dellen Millard (top right) and Mark Smich (bottom right) have been found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Laura Babcock (left).
Justice at last for Laura Babcock.
Former friends and partners in crime, Dellen Millard and Mark Smich, have been found guilty in the murder of Laura Babcock — an aspiring actress missing for more than five years, her body never found.
The jury returned the verdict after four-and-a-half days of deliberation.
Her parents, who have attended every day of the trial, embraced in relief — as days went by, observers were increasingly worried the jury was having trouble convicting Millard, 32, and Smich, 30, on a case based on circumstantial evidence.
Clayton Babcock, right, stands next to his wife Linda as he reads a prepared statement outside court in Toronto on Saturday, December 16, 2017. Two men accused of killing a young Toronto woman and burning her body have been found guilty of first-degree murder. Dellen Millard and Mark Smich had pleaded not guilty to the charges related to the death of 23-year-old Laura Babcock, whose body has not been found. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
But these are their second convictions for a cold-blooded murder — and Crown attorney Jill Cameron is seeking consecutive life terms.
Justice Michael Code will ultimately decide on sentencing the repeat killers but the jury recommended Millard serve two consecutive life sentences — 50 years before parole — while they were divided on Smich.
With class and poise, as he and his wife Linda have exhibited throughout this trial, father Clayton Babcock faced the media after the verdict.
“We’ve sat through a six-week funeral for our daughter Laura. You all know what a wonderful woman she was as well as all the pains and struggles that she faced,” Babcock said.
“You also know about the evil beings that took her life and if society’s lucky, we will not see them again on the streets.”
So evil that Millard, acting as his own lawyer, seemed to enjoy his chance to cross-examine the grieving father of the woman he had murdered.
“Today was about justice for Laura and justice was served,” added Cameron, who led a brilliant Crown case against the two killers.
How relieved the jurors will be after learning what was kept from them: that Millard, an aviation heir, and his former best buddy, Smich, a drug dealer and aspiring rapper, are already serving life sentences for the senseless execution of Ancaster father Tim Bosma, murdered in May 2013 as he gave Millard and Smich a test drive of the truck he had listed for sale online.
Tim Bosma holds his daughter. The 32-year-old went missing from his Ancaster home after two men came to test drive his truck that was up for sale on May 6, 2013.
They’re appealing those convictions.
Millard also faces trial next March for the first-degree murder of his father.
Traces of Bosma’s remains were found in Millard’s animal incinerator hidden on his farm. The Eliminator was purchased just before Babcock went missing and it was used, according to the Crown, to burn her body on July 23, 2012 — the same day Smich wrote his infamous rap lyrics about a “b…ch” who turned to “ashy stone.”
The jury never heard about the Bosma murder during the Babcock trial so as not to prejudice their opinion of Millard and Smich.
The judge asked Bosma’s family not to attend, fearing their presence could jeopardize the publication ban, but after the jury began deliberating his parents arrived to lend support to the Babcocks as they awaited the verdict.
Babcock was their first murder victim.
She was lured to Millard’s Etobicoke home on July 3, 2012, at a time when she was struggling with mental health issues, fighting with her parents and had nowhere to sleep. Millard wanted her dead because she was complicating his love life — still infatuated with him after a short romance, she’d told his current girlfriend, Christina Noudga, that they were still sleeping together.
Christina Noudga (Postmedia Network files)
Millard had assured the jealous Noudga in texts from April 2012 that “first I am going to hurt her. Then I’ll make her leave.” In another, he promised he would “remove her from our lives.”
And so he did.
Supplied court exhibit image with the filename – eliminator – from the Dellen Millard and Mark Smich first-degree murder trial in the death of Laura Babcock.
In the spring of 2012, Millard and Smich exchanged a multitude of texts about obtaining an incinerator — first a homemade contraption that was a bust and then a commercial behemoth named The Eliminator from Georgia that set him back $15,000.
It wasn’t delivered until several days after Babcock was killed — in the meantime, her body was rolled in a blue plastic tarp stashed in Millard’s barn with a calendar entry on his iPhone to do a “smell check.”
Smich told him they’d need “bones” to test it; Millard announced on July 23, “ BBQ has run its warm up. It’s ready for meat.”
That day, Smich’s girlfriend Marlena Menenes testified she watched them try to hook up the incinerator at Millard’s farm but there was no electrical outlet. So they hauled The Eliminator to Millard’s nearby hangar at the Waterloo airport and plugged it in outside.
Then they actually photographed her bones burning inside and took an iPhone video of her ashes floating in the moonlight.
Babcock’s former boyfriend Shawn Lerner grew worried when she seemed to vanish — no one could reach her on the phone and she’d gone dark on social media — so he checked her phone bill and found that eight of her last calls had been to Millard.
He knew the “sketchy” rich boy as Babcock’s friend and had invited him to a birthday party he’d thrown her at Medieval Times the year before.
When Lerner reached out to Millard, he first avoided his texts and then agreed to meet in person to talk about it. In their brief conversation at a Mississauga coffee shop, Millard insisted he hadn’t seen Babcock, that she’d called looking for drugs and was mixed up with the wrong people.
Cellphone records told a different story: GPS signals showed the phones of both Millard and Babcock were together at Kipling station on the evening of July 3, 2012 and then at his Etobicoke home.
Millard told Lerner he should have “no reasonable expectation of finding her.”
He would know — he’d burned her body only days before.
mmandel@postmedia.com
MANDEL: Dellen Millard and Mark Smich guilty of Laura Babcock’s murder | Toronto Sun
Babcock family speaks out on murder trial verdict
Canadian Press
More from Canadian Press
Published:
December 16, 2017
Updated:
December 16, 2017 3:34 PM EST
Clayton Babcock, right, stands next to his wife Linda as he reads a prepared statement outside court in Toronto on Saturday, December 16, 2017. Two men accused of killing a young Toronto woman and burning her body have been found guilty of first-degree murder. Dellen Millard and Mark Smich had pleaded not guilty to the charges related to the death of 23-year-old Laura Babcock, whose body has not been found.Chris Young / THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — The father of a young Toronto woman whose killers were found guilty of first-degree murder on Saturday says that while justice has been done, the verdict doesn’t ease his family’s suffering.
Dellen Millard and Mark Smich were automatically sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole for 25 years in the death of 23-year-old Laura Babcock, whose body has not been found.
“We’ve sat through a six-week funeral for our daughter Laura, and you all know what a wonderful woman she was, as well as all the pains and struggles that she faced. You also know about the evil beings that took her life, and if society’s lucky, we will not see them again on the streets,” said Clayton Babcock outside of court.
“Today’s verdict really brings us little joy. The loss of Laura is no easier today than when it was realized five years ago,” he added.
Babcock’s family and several jurors cried as the verdict was read out, amid quiet cheers from the courtroom.
The Crown alleged Babcock was killed in July 2012 because she had become the odd woman out in a love triangle with Millard and his girlfriend.
Prosecutors said Millard and Smich planned the murder for months and covered up their crime by burning Babcock’s body in an animal incinerator that was later found on Millard’s farm.
Millard, 32, of Toronto, and Smich, 30, of Oakville, Ont., said the Crown failed to prove that Babcock is dead.
The two men were convicted last year of killing Tim Bosma, a 32-year-old Ancaster, Ont., man who disappeared in May 2013 while trying to sell his pickup truck, and burning his body in Millard’s incinerator.
The pair was automatically sentenced to life imprisonment without a chance of parole for 25 years in Babock’s death.
All 12 jurors recommended consecutive sentences for Millard, while only five recommended that Smich receive the maximum parole ineligibility — the seven others made no recommendation.
Justice Michael Code told jurors the consecutive sentencing provision is new to the criminal code and said the final decision on sentencing rests with him, but he will consider their recommendations.
A sentencing hearing will likely take place sometime in the new year.
Babcock has not been heard from since July 2012. Earlier that year, she became involved in a feud with Millard’s girlfriend — Christina Noudga.
The animosity between the two women, who had been sleeping with Millard at the same time, hit its zenith in mid-April. That’s when Millard sent a text to Noudga that the Crown referred to time and again.
“First I’m going to hurt her. Then I’ll make her leave,” read his message. “I will remove her from our lives.”
Millard told court he didn’t care much about his girlfriend, or her feud with Babcock. He said he was sleeping with other women at the time, and his messages to Noudga were simply an attempt to placate a jealous girlfriend.
Court heard that Babcock’s life began to unravel in the months leading up to her disappearance. Her friends testified that she was using cocaine and struggled with her mental health, but was hopeful about a recent diagnosis of borderline personality disorder.
She fell out with her family and became transient, bouncing from place to place with her small dog, Lacey. She couldn’t find work and in June 2012 began working as an escort.
A former boyfriend, Shawn Lerner, told court he put her up in a west-end hotel in late June for two nights and lent her his iPad to help her search for apartments.
On June 30, Babcock and Millard exchanged text messages, according to cellphone data police found on Millard’s computers. Two days later, Millard purchased a 32-calibre gun from Matthew Ward-Jackson, who testified at trial.
Cellphone data shows that on July 3, the Babcock and Millard met near the Kipling subway station around 6:30 p.m. Both their cellphone then moved to Millard’s house, where Smich’s phone pinged off a nearby cell tower.
Babcock’s last outgoing call was made to voicemail at 7:03 p.m. that same day. Her phone, a BlackBerry, has not been found.
On July 4, Millard sent Smich a photograph of a large object wrapped in a blue tarp. The Crown said it was Babcock’s body.
The iPad she borrowed from Lerner was connected to Millard’s computer on July 4. Police later found the iPad and Babcock’s red bag at Smich’s house.
On July 5, the incinerator, which Millard referred to as the “BBQ,” arrived at his hangar at the Region of Waterloo International Airport.
Millard told people he was starting a mobile pet cremation business with his uncle, Robert Burns, who was a veterinarian. Burns testified that his nephew never asked him to launch such a business, and called the idea “absurd.”
On July 23 Millard wrote to Smich: “bbq has run its warm up, it’s ready for meat.”
Court saw photos of a smiling Smich in front of The Eliminator that night taken with Millard’s phone.
They also saw a photograph of objects inside the incinerator that two expert witnesses said were bones. However, due to the poor quality of the photo, they couldn’t say if they were human or animal bones.
In the early hours of July 24, a note was created on Smich’s iPad. It read:
“The bitch started off all skin and bone,
Now the bitch lay on some ash stone,
Last time I saw her was outside the home,
And if u go swimming u can find her phone”
Court also saw video of the rap by Smich, taken with Millard’s phone. Two witnesses said Smich performed the same song for them. Smich told them it wasn’t just a rap, but was, in fact, true.
Smich’s lawyer and Millard, who represented himself, said the Crown has not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Babcock is dead.
Babcock family speaks out on murder trial verdict | Toronto Sun
Judge to sentence Laura Babcock's killers on Feb. 12
Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
More from Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
Published:
December 20, 2017
Updated:
December 20, 2017 9:38 PM EST
Dellen Millard (top right) and Mark Smich (bottom right) have been found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Laura Babcock (left).
Aviation heir Dellen Millard and Mark Smich will be sentenced for the first-degree murder of Laura Babcock on what would have been the woman’s 29th birthday.
The convicted killers, who are already serving life sentences with no chance of parole for 25 years for the murder of Ancaster father Tim Bosma, learned Wednesday they’ll be sentenced Feb. 12, 2018 for the July 2012 slaying of Babcock. She would have turned 29 on that date.
Crown prosecutor Jill Cameron said she will be seeking consecutive parole ineligiblity periods against Millard, 32, of Toronto, and Smich, 30, of Oakville, which, if granted by Justice Michael Code, would mean both murderers would serve at least 50 years before they could apply for parole.
Once a jury found them guilty of first-degree murder for Babcock’s slaying on Saturday, Millard and Smich were automatically sentenced to life imprisonment, but it’s up to Justice Code to determine whether the parole ineligibility periods would run concurrently or consecutively.
The jury that found Millard and Smich guilty of the Babcock murder didn’t know that the pair were convicted last year of killing Bosma, a 32-year-old man who disappeared in May 2013 while trying to sell his pickup truck.
The jury was also never told that Millard is facing another first-degree murder charge for the 2012 death of his father, Wayne Millard, which was initially deemed a suicide. That trial is scheduled for March 2018.
In the Babcock case, the Crown alleged the 23-year-old woman was killed in July 2012 because she had become the odd one out in a love triangle with Millard and his girlfriend Christina Noudga. Millard sent a text to Noudga that the Crown referred to repeatedly as his motive for killing Babcock.
“First I’m going to hurt her. Then I’ll make her leave,” read his message. “I will remove her from our lives.”
spazzano@postmedia.com
Judge to sentence Laura Babcock’s killers on Feb. 12 | Toronto Sun
Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
More from Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
Published:
December 20, 2017
Updated:
December 20, 2017 9:38 PM EST
Dellen Millard (top right) and Mark Smich (bottom right) have been found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Laura Babcock (left).
Aviation heir Dellen Millard and Mark Smich will be sentenced for the first-degree murder of Laura Babcock on what would have been the woman’s 29th birthday.
The convicted killers, who are already serving life sentences with no chance of parole for 25 years for the murder of Ancaster father Tim Bosma, learned Wednesday they’ll be sentenced Feb. 12, 2018 for the July 2012 slaying of Babcock. She would have turned 29 on that date.
Crown prosecutor Jill Cameron said she will be seeking consecutive parole ineligiblity periods against Millard, 32, of Toronto, and Smich, 30, of Oakville, which, if granted by Justice Michael Code, would mean both murderers would serve at least 50 years before they could apply for parole.
Once a jury found them guilty of first-degree murder for Babcock’s slaying on Saturday, Millard and Smich were automatically sentenced to life imprisonment, but it’s up to Justice Code to determine whether the parole ineligibility periods would run concurrently or consecutively.
The jury that found Millard and Smich guilty of the Babcock murder didn’t know that the pair were convicted last year of killing Bosma, a 32-year-old man who disappeared in May 2013 while trying to sell his pickup truck.
The jury was also never told that Millard is facing another first-degree murder charge for the 2012 death of his father, Wayne Millard, which was initially deemed a suicide. That trial is scheduled for March 2018.
In the Babcock case, the Crown alleged the 23-year-old woman was killed in July 2012 because she had become the odd one out in a love triangle with Millard and his girlfriend Christina Noudga. Millard sent a text to Noudga that the Crown referred to repeatedly as his motive for killing Babcock.
“First I’m going to hurt her. Then I’ll make her leave,” read his message. “I will remove her from our lives.”
spazzano@postmedia.com
Judge to sentence Laura Babcock’s killers on Feb. 12 | Toronto Sun
I doubt if those two cowards will last very long in prison. I hope they are thrown in with general population!
People on the outside have this sense that prisoners doing hard time have some kind of social justice agenda. The fact of the matter is that the prison inhabitants are very much like them. Rapists, killers, drug dealers. Even if someone does pose a threat, they'll be moved into segregation like Paul Bernardo. As to whether or not they'll become the girlfriend of some queer bull is another matter all together.
Capital punishment is not the answer and inevitably it ends up costing more taxpayers money through court appeals. I used to support the death penalty, but I don't see it as a deterrent and the system is flawed. There are too many examples of wrongly convicted people to support the death penalty. I think of Guy Paul Moran, David Milgaard, Robert Baltotovich, Steven Truscott, who were some of many Canadians wrongfully convicted of murder.
Steven Trustcott was 14 years old when he was tried for the murder as an adult for the murder of a little girl he happened to give a ride on his bicycle. He was sentenced to death by hanging and was only saved when the Canadian government repealed the death penalty. Trustcott spent 50 years in prison until DNA testing set him free. The family of the murdered girl, Lynne Harper, never found justice because police never bothered to follow other leads.
These two will never step foot outside a prison wall again. They will be deemed dangerous offenders.
Agree, and that's pretty much is what's going happen.
A Toronto man who sold guns to Dellen Millard — who used one to kill Tim Bosma, and allegedly used another to shoot his father in the head — should be sentenced to 13 years in prison, prosecutors are arguing.
Last June, Matthew Ward-Jackson, 30, pleaded guilty to trafficking three separate firearms to Millard in 2012 and possessing a machine gun.
Unlike most gun trafficking cases, the court knows how at least two of the firearms were used, Crown attorney Ken Lockhart said Thursday at Ward-Jackson’s sentencing hearing.
“There’s no speculation or mystery about the danger here. Two of these firearms were used to cause death,” including the “planned and deliberate execution of a complete stranger,” Lockhart said referring to Bosma, a 32-year-old Ancaster, Ont. man.
The Crown acknowledged that most gun traffickers get less than 13 years, but said the circumstances of the case warranted a longer sentence.
more
https://www.thestar.com/news/crime/...-man-who-sold-gun-used-to-kill-tim-bosma.html
Last June, Matthew Ward-Jackson, 30, pleaded guilty to trafficking three separate firearms to Millard in 2012 and possessing a machine gun.
Unlike most gun trafficking cases, the court knows how at least two of the firearms were used, Crown attorney Ken Lockhart said Thursday at Ward-Jackson’s sentencing hearing.
“There’s no speculation or mystery about the danger here. Two of these firearms were used to cause death,” including the “planned and deliberate execution of a complete stranger,” Lockhart said referring to Bosma, a 32-year-old Ancaster, Ont. man.
The Crown acknowledged that most gun traffickers get less than 13 years, but said the circumstances of the case warranted a longer sentence.
more
https://www.thestar.com/news/crime/...-man-who-sold-gun-used-to-kill-tim-bosma.html
I agree with most of what you say but there is one other little fact. In the cases you cite, D.N.A. or at least sophisticated D.N.A. technology was not in the picture.
Dellen Millard makes court appearance ahead of March trial for dad's murder
Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
More from Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
Published:
January 5, 2018
Updated:
January 5, 2018 1:34 PM EST
Dellen Millard Facebook
TORONTO — Two-time convicted killer Dellen Millard is headed for his third murder trial — this time in the death of his father — this spring.
Millard, 32, who is already serving a life sentence for murdering his former girlfriend Laura Babcock and Ancaster father Tim Bosma, appeared briefly Friday in Superior Court before Justice John McMahon to set a date for a judicial pre-trial conference on Jan. 22.
Millard and co-accused Mark Smich were convicted last year of first-degree murder in the death of Babcock, 23, in July 2012. They will be facing sentencing on Feb. 12, where the prosecution seeks to double their parole ineligibility period to 50 years.
Both men were found guilty of first-degree murder in June 2016 and sentenced to life with no parole for 25 years for the slaying of Bosma. He was last seen taking a test drive in his truck with the killers in May 2013.
Laura Babcock, left, and Tim Bosma were murdered by Dellen Millard and Mark Smich, juries found.
Lawyer Ravin Pillay was in court Friday for Millard, but the veteran lawyer has yet to formally be retained. Pillay represented Millard at the Bosma trial in Hamilton. He is expected to be his lawyer when Millard stands trial in March in the death of his father, Wayne Millard.
The senior Millard’s death in 2012 was initially deemed a suicide. But in 2014, as his son awaited trial for the Bosma murder, he was charged with killing his father.
Laura Babcock’s killers should spend at least 50 years in jail: Crown
Babcock family speaks out on murder trial verdict
Dellen Millard and Mark Smich guilty of murdering Laura Babcock
Millard inherited the aviation company Millardair after his father’s death. The day after Millard was arrested in May 2013 for Bosma’s slaying, records show he signed over power of attorney to his mother, Madeleine Burns.
Bosma’s family is suing Millard for $14 million in damages in a civil lawsuit launched last August.
spazzano@postmedia.com
Dellen Millard makes court appearance ahead of March trial for dad’s murder | Toronto Sun
Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
More from Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
Published:
January 5, 2018
Updated:
January 5, 2018 1:34 PM EST
Dellen Millard Facebook
TORONTO — Two-time convicted killer Dellen Millard is headed for his third murder trial — this time in the death of his father — this spring.
Millard, 32, who is already serving a life sentence for murdering his former girlfriend Laura Babcock and Ancaster father Tim Bosma, appeared briefly Friday in Superior Court before Justice John McMahon to set a date for a judicial pre-trial conference on Jan. 22.
Millard and co-accused Mark Smich were convicted last year of first-degree murder in the death of Babcock, 23, in July 2012. They will be facing sentencing on Feb. 12, where the prosecution seeks to double their parole ineligibility period to 50 years.
Both men were found guilty of first-degree murder in June 2016 and sentenced to life with no parole for 25 years for the slaying of Bosma. He was last seen taking a test drive in his truck with the killers in May 2013.
Laura Babcock, left, and Tim Bosma were murdered by Dellen Millard and Mark Smich, juries found.
Lawyer Ravin Pillay was in court Friday for Millard, but the veteran lawyer has yet to formally be retained. Pillay represented Millard at the Bosma trial in Hamilton. He is expected to be his lawyer when Millard stands trial in March in the death of his father, Wayne Millard.
The senior Millard’s death in 2012 was initially deemed a suicide. But in 2014, as his son awaited trial for the Bosma murder, he was charged with killing his father.
Laura Babcock’s killers should spend at least 50 years in jail: Crown
Babcock family speaks out on murder trial verdict
Dellen Millard and Mark Smich guilty of murdering Laura Babcock
Millard inherited the aviation company Millardair after his father’s death. The day after Millard was arrested in May 2013 for Bosma’s slaying, records show he signed over power of attorney to his mother, Madeleine Burns.
Bosma’s family is suing Millard for $14 million in damages in a civil lawsuit launched last August.
spazzano@postmedia.com
Dellen Millard makes court appearance ahead of March trial for dad’s murder | Toronto Sun
Millard's gun dealer handed 11 years for peddling murder weapons
Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
More from Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
Published:
January 12, 2018
Updated:
January 12, 2018 10:48 PM EST
Matthew Ward-Jackson sold a gun to Dellen Millard (Twitter)
A Toronto man who sold multiple guns to convicted killer Dellen Millard, including the one used in Tim Bosma’s murder, was sentenced to 11 years in prison on Friday.
“Matthew Ward-Jackson falls into the category of one of the worst firearms offenders,” said Justice Jane Kelly in passing sentence on Millard’s 30-year-old acquaintance.
Dellen Millard
Ward-Jackson, wearing a blue track jacket and sporting prominent tattoos on his head and face, grumbled and shook his head in the prisoner’s box after hearing the sentence.
He pleaded guilty to nine weapons-related charges last year.
Kelly said if the repeat offender — who was already under a firearms prohibition at the time — hadn’t pleaded guilty she would have jailed him for “13 years or possibly more.”
His 11-year sentence was reduced by seven years, four months and two weeks after Kelly gave the gun dealer credit for time already served in prison and the harsh jail conditions. Ward-Jackson has three years, seven months and two weeks remaining on his sentence.
Ward-Jackson “claims he didn’t know that the firearms would result in the deaths of two people,” said Kelly.
Text messages between Millard and Ward-Jackson showed otherwise, she added.
Tim Bosma holds his daughter. The 32-year-old went missing from his Ancaster home after two men came to test drive his truck that was up for sale on May 6, 2013.
Between February and September of 2012, Ward-Jackson sold three handguns to Millard and knew one weapon was being used criminally, said Kelly. That gun, a Walther PPK handgun, was used to murder Bosma in 2013 as his killers went on a test drive of the Ancaster man’s truck.
Millard and Mark Smich were convicted of first-degree murder in 2016.
Supplied court exhibit image of Mark Smich from the Dellen Millard and Mark Smich first-degree murder trial in the death of Laura Babcock from the proceedings on November 9, 2017 at the court house at 361 University Ave. in Toronto, Ont.
In a text exchange following the sale, Millard asked Ward-Jackson if the gun was “clean,” and later texted that by the time he would return the weapon, “she’ll be a dirty girl.”
“That’s fine lol,” Ward-Jackson responded. “I can change her print.”
Ward-Jackson was “well entrenched” in the illegal firearms business, concluded Kelly.
Millard bought one gun on July 2, 2012, the day before Laura Babcock disappeared. Earlier that year, Babcock became entangled in a feud with Millard’s girlfriend Christina Noudga after revealing she was sleeping with Millard.
Laura Babcock went missing in July 2012.
Millard sent a text to Noudga stating how he would deal with Babcock: “First I’m going to hurt her. Then I’ll make her leave. I will remove her from our lives.”
In December, 2017, Millard and Smich were convicted of first-degree murder in Babcock’s death and will be sentenced Feb. 12 — which would have been Babcock’s 29th birthday.
spazzano@postmedia.com
Millard’s gun dealer handed 11 years for peddling murder weapons | Toronto Sun
Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
More from Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
Published:
January 12, 2018
Updated:
January 12, 2018 10:48 PM EST
Matthew Ward-Jackson sold a gun to Dellen Millard (Twitter)
A Toronto man who sold multiple guns to convicted killer Dellen Millard, including the one used in Tim Bosma’s murder, was sentenced to 11 years in prison on Friday.
“Matthew Ward-Jackson falls into the category of one of the worst firearms offenders,” said Justice Jane Kelly in passing sentence on Millard’s 30-year-old acquaintance.
Dellen Millard
Ward-Jackson, wearing a blue track jacket and sporting prominent tattoos on his head and face, grumbled and shook his head in the prisoner’s box after hearing the sentence.
He pleaded guilty to nine weapons-related charges last year.
Kelly said if the repeat offender — who was already under a firearms prohibition at the time — hadn’t pleaded guilty she would have jailed him for “13 years or possibly more.”
His 11-year sentence was reduced by seven years, four months and two weeks after Kelly gave the gun dealer credit for time already served in prison and the harsh jail conditions. Ward-Jackson has three years, seven months and two weeks remaining on his sentence.
Ward-Jackson “claims he didn’t know that the firearms would result in the deaths of two people,” said Kelly.
Text messages between Millard and Ward-Jackson showed otherwise, she added.
Tim Bosma holds his daughter. The 32-year-old went missing from his Ancaster home after two men came to test drive his truck that was up for sale on May 6, 2013.
Between February and September of 2012, Ward-Jackson sold three handguns to Millard and knew one weapon was being used criminally, said Kelly. That gun, a Walther PPK handgun, was used to murder Bosma in 2013 as his killers went on a test drive of the Ancaster man’s truck.
Millard and Mark Smich were convicted of first-degree murder in 2016.
Supplied court exhibit image of Mark Smich from the Dellen Millard and Mark Smich first-degree murder trial in the death of Laura Babcock from the proceedings on November 9, 2017 at the court house at 361 University Ave. in Toronto, Ont.
In a text exchange following the sale, Millard asked Ward-Jackson if the gun was “clean,” and later texted that by the time he would return the weapon, “she’ll be a dirty girl.”
“That’s fine lol,” Ward-Jackson responded. “I can change her print.”
Ward-Jackson was “well entrenched” in the illegal firearms business, concluded Kelly.
Millard bought one gun on July 2, 2012, the day before Laura Babcock disappeared. Earlier that year, Babcock became entangled in a feud with Millard’s girlfriend Christina Noudga after revealing she was sleeping with Millard.
Laura Babcock went missing in July 2012.
Millard sent a text to Noudga stating how he would deal with Babcock: “First I’m going to hurt her. Then I’ll make her leave. I will remove her from our lives.”
In December, 2017, Millard and Smich were convicted of first-degree murder in Babcock’s death and will be sentenced Feb. 12 — which would have been Babcock’s 29th birthday.
spazzano@postmedia.com
Millard’s gun dealer handed 11 years for peddling murder weapons | Toronto Sun
Dellen Millard retains lawyer for third murder trial
Kevin Connor
More from Kevin Connor
Published:
January 22, 2018
Updated:
January 22, 2018 1:24 PM EST
Dellen Millard Facebook
TORONTO — Twice-convicted killer Dellen Millard has decided to be represented by legal counsel in the murder trial of his father.
Last month, Millard was found guilty, along with co-accused Mark Smich, in the July 2012 first-degree murder of Toronto woman Laura Babcock, with whom he was involved in a love triangle. The pair will be sentenced Feb. 12. Crown prosecutor Jill Cameron has said she’ll be seeking consecutive parole ineligiblity periods, which would mean both murderers would serve at least 50 years before they could apply for parole.
Millard acted as his own lawyer in that trial.
He and Smich had previously been convicted in Hamilton in the May 2013 first-degree murder of Tim Bosma, an Ancaster man who was trying to sell a truck the pair wanted to steal.
Dellin Millard’s lawyer Ravin Pillay arrives at the Tim Bosma murder trial in Hamilton on February 3, 2016. Michael Peake/Toronto Sun/
On Monday, Millard made a court appearance for the coming trial in the shooting death Wayne Millard, which was initially deemed a suicide. He officially retained defence lawyer Ravin Pillay, who was co-counsel for Millard at the Bosma trial, to defend him in his third murder trial. It is slated to start on April 3 and last eight weeks.
During his brief appearance, Millard showed no emotion, though he knew when to stand and bowed at the appropriate times to the judge.
He had on blue jeans, black runners, a grey jacket and black rimmed glasses. He was also sporting a single braid on the right side of his head.
kconnor@postmedia.com
Dellen Millard retains lawyer for third murder trial | Toronto Sun
Kevin Connor
More from Kevin Connor
Published:
January 22, 2018
Updated:
January 22, 2018 1:24 PM EST
Dellen Millard Facebook
TORONTO — Twice-convicted killer Dellen Millard has decided to be represented by legal counsel in the murder trial of his father.
Last month, Millard was found guilty, along with co-accused Mark Smich, in the July 2012 first-degree murder of Toronto woman Laura Babcock, with whom he was involved in a love triangle. The pair will be sentenced Feb. 12. Crown prosecutor Jill Cameron has said she’ll be seeking consecutive parole ineligiblity periods, which would mean both murderers would serve at least 50 years before they could apply for parole.
Millard acted as his own lawyer in that trial.
He and Smich had previously been convicted in Hamilton in the May 2013 first-degree murder of Tim Bosma, an Ancaster man who was trying to sell a truck the pair wanted to steal.
Dellin Millard’s lawyer Ravin Pillay arrives at the Tim Bosma murder trial in Hamilton on February 3, 2016. Michael Peake/Toronto Sun/
On Monday, Millard made a court appearance for the coming trial in the shooting death Wayne Millard, which was initially deemed a suicide. He officially retained defence lawyer Ravin Pillay, who was co-counsel for Millard at the Bosma trial, to defend him in his third murder trial. It is slated to start on April 3 and last eight weeks.
During his brief appearance, Millard showed no emotion, though he knew when to stand and bowed at the appropriate times to the judge.
He had on blue jeans, black runners, a grey jacket and black rimmed glasses. He was also sporting a single braid on the right side of his head.
kconnor@postmedia.com
Dellen Millard retains lawyer for third murder trial | Toronto Sun
I understand all the bull shit about no death penalty in Canada, but I really can't see any point in keeping that f**king Millard on the planet. He rates right up there with that Garland Asshole in Calgary. You don't rehabilitate guys like that- they are just plain evil!
MANDEL: Facebook defence fund for killer Dellen Millard?
Michele Mandel
More from Michele Mandel
Published:
February 2, 2018
Updated:
February 2, 2018 7:38 PM EST
This photo of twice convicted killer Dellen Millard was posted with an online fundraising campaign on Facebook that aims to raise money to help pay for his legal defence at his upcoming third murder trial.Facebook
It’s got to be a joke — and a bad one at that.
Dellen Millard, 32, is already twice convicted of murder: first for the slaying of Ancaster dad Tim Bosma and recently for the killing of his former Toronto girlfriend Laura Babcock.
He still faces a third murder trial in April on charges he killed his own father and made it look like suicide.
Millard was then set to inherit millions from his father’s aviation business.
Yet someone has actually started a Facebook fundraiser for the rich accused serial killer.
Called “Help raise money for Dellen Millard’s Defence,” the anonymous poster says they grew up with Millard — they’ve never known a “sweeter, more gentle person” — and there’s no way he killed his dad, Wayne Millard, in 2012.
“My dear friend Dellen Millard is being unjustly persecuted for the murder of his father, whom he loved dearly.” says the poster. “He has bravely withstood two unjust persecutions, one of which he had to endure alone, however his funds have run out.
“I make this page on his behalf, to hope that there are still good people out there, willing to see through the lies and realize the burdens this great man has (and continues to) endured through no fault of his own.”
It’s enough to make you lose your lunch.
Laura Babcock, left, and Tim Bosma were murdered by Dellen Millard and Mark Smich, juries found.
The page has provoked outrage since its first posting on Jan. 26 and has garnered more than 1,500 signatures on an online petition calling on Facebook to shut it down.
“This is an insult to the families of the victims,” wrote Shelly Smith of Stratford in starting the crusade to have the page removed.
The reams of comments on both Facebook and change.org are rightly filled with anger and revulsion.
“Laura is my cousin and he is a murderer already guilty of two counts,” wrote Jamie Groote.
Added Brittany Hale, “I don’t agree with raising funds for a millionaire psychopath.”
Millard’s Facebook cheerleader has continued to come to his defence despite the wave of revulsion he’s unleashed.
“Some of the greatest men in history were greatly reviled and persecuted, until time showed otherwise,” they wrote. “Like Jesus of Nazareth and all the other saints and martyrs. Dellen’s time will come. We can only hope it’s sooner rather than later.”
Whoever’s behind this has a rather vile sense of humour. Whether it’s a hoax or not, one thing is certain: Millard doesn’t need to crowdfund to pay for a lawyer.
Millard had a legal team when he and co-killer Mark Smich were tried and convicted in 2016 of killing Bosma during a feigned truck test drive. Before the pair went on trial last fall for Babcock’s slaying, the aviation heir complained he couldn’t afford a lawyer this time and tried unsuccessfully to get Legal Aid.
Justice Michael Code (left to right), Mark Smich, Clayton Babcock and Dellen Millard are shown in this artist’s sketch at the first-degree murder trial of Millard and Smich in Toronto, Monday, Oct.23, 2017.
Justice Michael Code saw through his pleas of poverty. True, his inheritance was tied up while he faced murder charges but the judge insisted he apply to have some of the funds released so he could retain a lawyer. Last summer, he was granted access to $1 million of the $4.8 million in proceeds from the sale of the Millard Properties’ hangar in Waterloo.
Still, Millard stalled.
“Although his private resources were undoubtedly depleted to some extent in the Bosma trial in Hamilton, I am satisfied he remains a relatively wealthy individual who is able to retain counsel privately if that is his true wish,” wrote Code in a July pre-trial motion.
Instead, Millard decided to save his money and represent himself.
It didn’t go very well.
After the cocky Millard failed to convince the jury that he hadn’t murdered Babcock, he was convicted of first-degree murder for the second time. Crown attorney Jill Cameron is seeking a consecutive life term when sentencing is held Feb. 12 — and not one that runs concurrent to his life sentence with no parole for 25 years that he’s currently serving for Bosma’s murder.
Faced with living in a prison cell for the next half century, Millard suddenly found the money to hire one of his former lawyers, Ravin Pillay, for the sentencing hearing. He’s also retained him for his third murder trial.
Asked about the Facebook fundraiser, Pillay seemed genuinely shocked but had no comment.
So worry not for Millard’s defence fund.
As for the “good friend” soliciting on his behalf, our best bet is to save the outrage and ignore this troll.
mmandel@postmedia.com
http://facebook.com/pg/Help-raise-money-for-Dellen-Millards-defence-2018853378374089
http://change.org/p/facebook-have-f...help-raise-money-for-dellen-millard-s-defense
MANDEL: Facebook defence fund for killer Dellen Millard? | Toronto Sun
Michele Mandel
More from Michele Mandel
Published:
February 2, 2018
Updated:
February 2, 2018 7:38 PM EST
This photo of twice convicted killer Dellen Millard was posted with an online fundraising campaign on Facebook that aims to raise money to help pay for his legal defence at his upcoming third murder trial.Facebook
It’s got to be a joke — and a bad one at that.
Dellen Millard, 32, is already twice convicted of murder: first for the slaying of Ancaster dad Tim Bosma and recently for the killing of his former Toronto girlfriend Laura Babcock.
He still faces a third murder trial in April on charges he killed his own father and made it look like suicide.
Millard was then set to inherit millions from his father’s aviation business.
Yet someone has actually started a Facebook fundraiser for the rich accused serial killer.
Called “Help raise money for Dellen Millard’s Defence,” the anonymous poster says they grew up with Millard — they’ve never known a “sweeter, more gentle person” — and there’s no way he killed his dad, Wayne Millard, in 2012.
“My dear friend Dellen Millard is being unjustly persecuted for the murder of his father, whom he loved dearly.” says the poster. “He has bravely withstood two unjust persecutions, one of which he had to endure alone, however his funds have run out.
“I make this page on his behalf, to hope that there are still good people out there, willing to see through the lies and realize the burdens this great man has (and continues to) endured through no fault of his own.”
It’s enough to make you lose your lunch.
Laura Babcock, left, and Tim Bosma were murdered by Dellen Millard and Mark Smich, juries found.
The page has provoked outrage since its first posting on Jan. 26 and has garnered more than 1,500 signatures on an online petition calling on Facebook to shut it down.
“This is an insult to the families of the victims,” wrote Shelly Smith of Stratford in starting the crusade to have the page removed.
The reams of comments on both Facebook and change.org are rightly filled with anger and revulsion.
“Laura is my cousin and he is a murderer already guilty of two counts,” wrote Jamie Groote.
Added Brittany Hale, “I don’t agree with raising funds for a millionaire psychopath.”
Millard’s Facebook cheerleader has continued to come to his defence despite the wave of revulsion he’s unleashed.
“Some of the greatest men in history were greatly reviled and persecuted, until time showed otherwise,” they wrote. “Like Jesus of Nazareth and all the other saints and martyrs. Dellen’s time will come. We can only hope it’s sooner rather than later.”
Whoever’s behind this has a rather vile sense of humour. Whether it’s a hoax or not, one thing is certain: Millard doesn’t need to crowdfund to pay for a lawyer.
Millard had a legal team when he and co-killer Mark Smich were tried and convicted in 2016 of killing Bosma during a feigned truck test drive. Before the pair went on trial last fall for Babcock’s slaying, the aviation heir complained he couldn’t afford a lawyer this time and tried unsuccessfully to get Legal Aid.
Justice Michael Code (left to right), Mark Smich, Clayton Babcock and Dellen Millard are shown in this artist’s sketch at the first-degree murder trial of Millard and Smich in Toronto, Monday, Oct.23, 2017.
Justice Michael Code saw through his pleas of poverty. True, his inheritance was tied up while he faced murder charges but the judge insisted he apply to have some of the funds released so he could retain a lawyer. Last summer, he was granted access to $1 million of the $4.8 million in proceeds from the sale of the Millard Properties’ hangar in Waterloo.
Still, Millard stalled.
“Although his private resources were undoubtedly depleted to some extent in the Bosma trial in Hamilton, I am satisfied he remains a relatively wealthy individual who is able to retain counsel privately if that is his true wish,” wrote Code in a July pre-trial motion.
Instead, Millard decided to save his money and represent himself.
It didn’t go very well.
After the cocky Millard failed to convince the jury that he hadn’t murdered Babcock, he was convicted of first-degree murder for the second time. Crown attorney Jill Cameron is seeking a consecutive life term when sentencing is held Feb. 12 — and not one that runs concurrent to his life sentence with no parole for 25 years that he’s currently serving for Bosma’s murder.
Faced with living in a prison cell for the next half century, Millard suddenly found the money to hire one of his former lawyers, Ravin Pillay, for the sentencing hearing. He’s also retained him for his third murder trial.
Asked about the Facebook fundraiser, Pillay seemed genuinely shocked but had no comment.
So worry not for Millard’s defence fund.
As for the “good friend” soliciting on his behalf, our best bet is to save the outrage and ignore this troll.
mmandel@postmedia.com
http://facebook.com/pg/Help-raise-money-for-Dellen-Millards-defence-2018853378374089
http://change.org/p/facebook-have-f...help-raise-money-for-dellen-millard-s-defense
MANDEL: Facebook defence fund for killer Dellen Millard? | Toronto Sun
MANDEL: Throw away the key for double killers Dellen Millard and Mark Smich
Michele Mandel
More from Michele Mandel
Published:
February 8, 2018
Updated:
February 8, 2018 11:19 PM EST
Dellen Millard (left) and Mark Smich
There was a time, and not long ago, when murderers could get a volume discount for their crimes.
One first-degree murder conviction would net a life term with no parole for 25 years. Kill two or three or four and the penalty was the same. For a young multiple killer, possible freedom was only a quarter century away — no matter how many victims he’d amassed.
Thankfully, not anymore.
When double thrill killers Dellen Millard and Mark Smich appear Monday for a sentencing hearing for their murder of Laura Babcock — it would have been her 29th birthday that day — Crown attorney Jill Cameron will ask Justice Michael Code to impose a consecutive life term to the one the pair is already serving for the slaying of Tim Bosma.
If the judge agrees, as he should, Millard and Smich won’t be allowed to apply for parole for 50 years, instead of 25.
Their lawyers are expected to launch a constitutional challenge, arguing that having to serve back-on-back terms is “cruel and unusual punishment.” But that’s nothing compared to what these killers have done to the Bosma and Babcock families.
Laura Babcock, left, and Tim Bosma were murdered by Dellen Millard and Mark Smich, juries found.
In 2011, the Harper government passed the Protecting Canadians by Ending Sentence Discounts for Multiple Murders Act. It’s not exactly a catchy title, but it promised no more free rides for murderers who went on a killing spree. The Criminal Code amendment allows judges the discretion to impose separate, 25-year periods of parole ineligibility for each additional victim — to be served consecutively and not simultaneously with the first — if justified by the “character of the offender, the nature of the offence and the circumstances surrounding its commission.”
Killers could no longer add to their tally for free; additional victims were no longer to be devalued and lumped in. We would hopefully see no more Clifford Olsons: the late serial killer murdered 11, yet served 11 simultaneous life sentences. It’s not that there was ever a chance that he would really be released after 25 years but the families of his victims still had to endure Olson’s bids for parole.
Justin Bourque was one of the first multiple killers to be sentenced under the new law. In 2014, a New Brunswick judge gave the 24-year-old life in prison with no chance of parole for 75 years for killing three RCMP officers — the longest sentence in Canadian history and the harshest since the death penalty was abolished.
Two Alberta judges followed suit last year: Triple murderer Douglas Garland was sentenced to life without parole for 75 years for the deaths of a Calgary couple and their five-year-old grandson last February and in August, Derek Saretzky was given the same sentence for killing a toddler, her father and a senior.
In Ontario, the first sentencing under the new law came in 2015, when Eaton Centre shooter Christopher Husbands was handed two consecutive life terms for second-degree murder, with no parole for 15 years on each. Husbands’ lawyer argued the new consecutive sentence provision was unconstitutional because it creates a “degrading loss of hope of release which is both cruel and unusual” and is an “affront to human dignity.”
Supplied court exhibit image of Mark Smich
It’s the same argument that could be used in the Millard and Smich hearing.
In the Husbands’ case, now-retired Superior Court Justice Eugene Ewaschuk dismissed his Charter application, ruling judges still have the discretion to craft fair sentences under the law. Hopefully, Code will find the same.
Any precedent set by Husbands’ 30-year parole ineligibility, the longest in Ontario history, was undone last summer when the appeal court ordered a new trial due to the judge’s error during jury selection.
Dellen Millard
For Millard and Smich, consecutive terms is the only just sentence for their cold-blooded murder and incineration of two innocent people — one a young father, the other a former friend. Why should they get a free pass for killing Babcock because they are already serving a life term for Bosma? How can her life be worth nothing in this horrific equation?
The evil duo should have to spend five decades behind bars before they even think about requesting release. Let them be old men in their 80s with their lives firmly behind them.
And if Millard is convicted of a third first-degree murder — he goes on trial in April on charges he killed his father — prison will be where he lives. And where he dies.
MANDEL: Throw away the key for double killers Dellen Millard and Mark Smich | Toronto Sun
Michele Mandel
More from Michele Mandel
Published:
February 8, 2018
Updated:
February 8, 2018 11:19 PM EST
Dellen Millard (left) and Mark Smich
There was a time, and not long ago, when murderers could get a volume discount for their crimes.
One first-degree murder conviction would net a life term with no parole for 25 years. Kill two or three or four and the penalty was the same. For a young multiple killer, possible freedom was only a quarter century away — no matter how many victims he’d amassed.
Thankfully, not anymore.
When double thrill killers Dellen Millard and Mark Smich appear Monday for a sentencing hearing for their murder of Laura Babcock — it would have been her 29th birthday that day — Crown attorney Jill Cameron will ask Justice Michael Code to impose a consecutive life term to the one the pair is already serving for the slaying of Tim Bosma.
If the judge agrees, as he should, Millard and Smich won’t be allowed to apply for parole for 50 years, instead of 25.
Their lawyers are expected to launch a constitutional challenge, arguing that having to serve back-on-back terms is “cruel and unusual punishment.” But that’s nothing compared to what these killers have done to the Bosma and Babcock families.
Laura Babcock, left, and Tim Bosma were murdered by Dellen Millard and Mark Smich, juries found.
In 2011, the Harper government passed the Protecting Canadians by Ending Sentence Discounts for Multiple Murders Act. It’s not exactly a catchy title, but it promised no more free rides for murderers who went on a killing spree. The Criminal Code amendment allows judges the discretion to impose separate, 25-year periods of parole ineligibility for each additional victim — to be served consecutively and not simultaneously with the first — if justified by the “character of the offender, the nature of the offence and the circumstances surrounding its commission.”
Killers could no longer add to their tally for free; additional victims were no longer to be devalued and lumped in. We would hopefully see no more Clifford Olsons: the late serial killer murdered 11, yet served 11 simultaneous life sentences. It’s not that there was ever a chance that he would really be released after 25 years but the families of his victims still had to endure Olson’s bids for parole.
Justin Bourque was one of the first multiple killers to be sentenced under the new law. In 2014, a New Brunswick judge gave the 24-year-old life in prison with no chance of parole for 75 years for killing three RCMP officers — the longest sentence in Canadian history and the harshest since the death penalty was abolished.
Two Alberta judges followed suit last year: Triple murderer Douglas Garland was sentenced to life without parole for 75 years for the deaths of a Calgary couple and their five-year-old grandson last February and in August, Derek Saretzky was given the same sentence for killing a toddler, her father and a senior.
In Ontario, the first sentencing under the new law came in 2015, when Eaton Centre shooter Christopher Husbands was handed two consecutive life terms for second-degree murder, with no parole for 15 years on each. Husbands’ lawyer argued the new consecutive sentence provision was unconstitutional because it creates a “degrading loss of hope of release which is both cruel and unusual” and is an “affront to human dignity.”
Supplied court exhibit image of Mark Smich
It’s the same argument that could be used in the Millard and Smich hearing.
In the Husbands’ case, now-retired Superior Court Justice Eugene Ewaschuk dismissed his Charter application, ruling judges still have the discretion to craft fair sentences under the law. Hopefully, Code will find the same.
Any precedent set by Husbands’ 30-year parole ineligibility, the longest in Ontario history, was undone last summer when the appeal court ordered a new trial due to the judge’s error during jury selection.
Dellen Millard
For Millard and Smich, consecutive terms is the only just sentence for their cold-blooded murder and incineration of two innocent people — one a young father, the other a former friend. Why should they get a free pass for killing Babcock because they are already serving a life term for Bosma? How can her life be worth nothing in this horrific equation?
The evil duo should have to spend five decades behind bars before they even think about requesting release. Let them be old men in their 80s with their lives firmly behind them.
And if Millard is convicted of a third first-degree murder — he goes on trial in April on charges he killed his father — prison will be where he lives. And where he dies.
MANDEL: Throw away the key for double killers Dellen Millard and Mark Smich | Toronto Sun
Lock up thrill killers Dellen Millard and Mark Smich for at least 50 years: Crown
Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
More from Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
Published:
February 12, 2018
Updated:
February 12, 2018 8:50 PM EST
Dellen Millard (top right) and Mark Smich (bottom right) have been found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Laura Babcock (left).
Aviation heir Dellen Millard and Mark Smich are thrill killers who deserve to spend 50 years in jail before they get a crack at parole, a Crown attorney told a packed courtroom Monday.
Millard and Smich are “selfish predators who delighted in murdering innocent people — Tim Bosma and Laura Babcock,” Crown attorney Jill Cameron told Justice Michael Code at the sentencing hearing for the first-degree murder of Babcock, 23, in July 2012.
Millard, 32, of Toronto, and Smich, 30, of Oakville, were first convicted in 2016 of first-degree murder in the May 2013 killing of Bosma and are already serving life sentences with no chance of parole for 25 years — until 2038. Both Bosma’s and Babcock’s remains were burned in the same animal incinerator — called The Eliminator.
Dellen Millard (left) and Mark Smich
A first degree murder conviction carries an automatic sentence of life with no parole for 25 years.
The Crown wants the sentence for Babcock’s murder to be consecutive to the time they are already serving. If granted, that means the murderous duo would have to spend 50 years in prison before they could apply for parole.
“They killed Ms. Babcock and Mr. Bosma for the thrill they needed,” said Cameron. If the court doesn’t impose the 50 years, insisted Cameron, they will remain unpunished for the second planned and deliberate murder.
Tim Bosma holds his daughter. The 32-year-old went missing from his Ancaster home after two men came to test drive his truck that was up for sale on May 6, 2013.
“They shouldn’t get a discount for the murder of Ms. Babcock. They shouldn’t get to do it again for free,” said Cameron.
“Anything but consecutive sentences would defy justice and would outrage our community.These tragic crimes defy explanation,” said Cameron.
Laura Babcock screenshot of video released in the trial of Dellen Millard and Mark Smich.
A jury concluded that Millard and Smich murdered Babcock because she became the odd woman out in a love triangle with Millard and his jealous girlfriend, Christina Noudga, in 2012.
She moved out of her parents’ home, was couch-surfing at friends’ homes. She asked Millard to stay at his home in early July 2012.
Millard bought the Eliminator just days before Babcock vanished in early July. Babcock’s body was burned in late July, the jury heard.
Millard’s lawyer, Ravin Pillay, argued against the consecutive sentences, saying it was “unduly harsh and unneccessary.
“There’s no telling when he’d be released on parole, maybe never,” said Pillay.
Smich’s lawyer, Tom Dungey also opposed the consecutive sentences, saying his client was manipulated by a “big brother type” in Millard, who ochestrated both planned executions.
Smich finished his Grade 12 education behind bars and has a responsible position as a food server in jail, added Dungey.
Code will pass judgment on Feb. 26.
Family learned to hate after Laura Babcock was killed, sentencing hearing told
The Babcock family should have been celebrating Laura Babcock’s 29th birthday on Monday, watching her dance and flash a dazzling smile.
Instead, parents Linda and Clayton Babcock and their son, Brent, vented anger and hatred at killers Dellen Millard and Mark Smich at a sentencing hearing in a Toronto courtroom.
“We have agonized over our loss for 2,050 days,” said Crown attorney Jill Cameron in reading the family’s joint victim impact statement Monday.
It was so poignant and eloquent that Cameron paused as emotions overcame her briefly.
Clayton Babcock, Laura Babcock’s father, stands next to his wife, Linda, outside a downtown courthouse. (JACK BOLAND, Toronto Sun)
“We hate you for taking Laura’s life away from her,” the family wrote. “She should be laughing, dancing and enjoying life.
“We always taught our children not to use the word ‘hate.’ It is too horrible and destructive, but you men have made us hate,” said the Babcocks’ victim impact statement. “We’ve learned to hate.”
Laura Babcock could “light up a room with her infectious smile or her laugh,” added her aunt, Cathy Babcock, who read a statement.
Babcock, who has no children of her own, treated Laura “like her own daughter,” saying she took any opportunity to spoil her niece.
“People who Laura thought were her friends took her life for ‘the thrill of it.’ Horrific events, such as Laura’s murder, only happen on TV, not in real life, not in our family,” stated Babcock.
Lock up thrill killers Dellen Millard and Mark Smich for at least 50 years: Crown | Toronto Sun
Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
More from Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
Published:
February 12, 2018
Updated:
February 12, 2018 8:50 PM EST
Dellen Millard (top right) and Mark Smich (bottom right) have been found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Laura Babcock (left).
Aviation heir Dellen Millard and Mark Smich are thrill killers who deserve to spend 50 years in jail before they get a crack at parole, a Crown attorney told a packed courtroom Monday.
Millard and Smich are “selfish predators who delighted in murdering innocent people — Tim Bosma and Laura Babcock,” Crown attorney Jill Cameron told Justice Michael Code at the sentencing hearing for the first-degree murder of Babcock, 23, in July 2012.
Millard, 32, of Toronto, and Smich, 30, of Oakville, were first convicted in 2016 of first-degree murder in the May 2013 killing of Bosma and are already serving life sentences with no chance of parole for 25 years — until 2038. Both Bosma’s and Babcock’s remains were burned in the same animal incinerator — called The Eliminator.
Dellen Millard (left) and Mark Smich
A first degree murder conviction carries an automatic sentence of life with no parole for 25 years.
The Crown wants the sentence for Babcock’s murder to be consecutive to the time they are already serving. If granted, that means the murderous duo would have to spend 50 years in prison before they could apply for parole.
“They killed Ms. Babcock and Mr. Bosma for the thrill they needed,” said Cameron. If the court doesn’t impose the 50 years, insisted Cameron, they will remain unpunished for the second planned and deliberate murder.
Tim Bosma holds his daughter. The 32-year-old went missing from his Ancaster home after two men came to test drive his truck that was up for sale on May 6, 2013.
“They shouldn’t get a discount for the murder of Ms. Babcock. They shouldn’t get to do it again for free,” said Cameron.
“Anything but consecutive sentences would defy justice and would outrage our community.These tragic crimes defy explanation,” said Cameron.
Laura Babcock screenshot of video released in the trial of Dellen Millard and Mark Smich.
A jury concluded that Millard and Smich murdered Babcock because she became the odd woman out in a love triangle with Millard and his jealous girlfriend, Christina Noudga, in 2012.
She moved out of her parents’ home, was couch-surfing at friends’ homes. She asked Millard to stay at his home in early July 2012.
Millard bought the Eliminator just days before Babcock vanished in early July. Babcock’s body was burned in late July, the jury heard.
Millard’s lawyer, Ravin Pillay, argued against the consecutive sentences, saying it was “unduly harsh and unneccessary.
“There’s no telling when he’d be released on parole, maybe never,” said Pillay.
Smich’s lawyer, Tom Dungey also opposed the consecutive sentences, saying his client was manipulated by a “big brother type” in Millard, who ochestrated both planned executions.
Smich finished his Grade 12 education behind bars and has a responsible position as a food server in jail, added Dungey.
Code will pass judgment on Feb. 26.
Family learned to hate after Laura Babcock was killed, sentencing hearing told
The Babcock family should have been celebrating Laura Babcock’s 29th birthday on Monday, watching her dance and flash a dazzling smile.
Instead, parents Linda and Clayton Babcock and their son, Brent, vented anger and hatred at killers Dellen Millard and Mark Smich at a sentencing hearing in a Toronto courtroom.
“We have agonized over our loss for 2,050 days,” said Crown attorney Jill Cameron in reading the family’s joint victim impact statement Monday.
It was so poignant and eloquent that Cameron paused as emotions overcame her briefly.
Clayton Babcock, Laura Babcock’s father, stands next to his wife, Linda, outside a downtown courthouse. (JACK BOLAND, Toronto Sun)
“We hate you for taking Laura’s life away from her,” the family wrote. “She should be laughing, dancing and enjoying life.
“We always taught our children not to use the word ‘hate.’ It is too horrible and destructive, but you men have made us hate,” said the Babcocks’ victim impact statement. “We’ve learned to hate.”
Laura Babcock could “light up a room with her infectious smile or her laugh,” added her aunt, Cathy Babcock, who read a statement.
Babcock, who has no children of her own, treated Laura “like her own daughter,” saying she took any opportunity to spoil her niece.
“People who Laura thought were her friends took her life for ‘the thrill of it.’ Horrific events, such as Laura’s murder, only happen on TV, not in real life, not in our family,” stated Babcock.
Lock up thrill killers Dellen Millard and Mark Smich for at least 50 years: Crown | Toronto Sun
Double murderers lauded by family and — in one case — a cellmate
Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
More from Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
Published:
February 13, 2018
Updated:
February 13, 2018 8:39 PM EST
Dellen Millard (left) and Mark Smich
Double murderer Dellen Millard was the world’s youngest flyer when he was licensed at the age of 14.
Millard’s mom, Madeleine Burns, revealed her only child was precocious, reading “globally by age 2, doing instant math and skiing in Lake Placid alone at age 5.”
At age 14, Mark Smich was getting high on grass and crashing at school because he had learning disorders, both reading comprehension and ADHD, which went undiagnosed.
Smich grew up in an immigrant family with a single but hard-working mom. His family says he has blossomed in jail, finishing Grade 12.
The untold stories of both men — now each twice-convicted of first-degree murder — were revealed in character reference letters filed by their families at the Laura Babcock murder sentencing.
Laura Babcock, left, and Tim Bosma were murdered by Dellen Millard and Mark Smich, juries found.
Millard and Smich will be sentenced for the murder of Laura Babcock on Feb. 26. The duo are already serving sentences of life with no parole for 25 years for killing Ancaster father Tim Bosma in May, 2013.
Millard’s cellmate, Achint Ranhotra, who will be sentenced April 16 for second degree murder, also praised Millard and shares something in common with him: He is also facing a life sentence for murdering girlfriend Vilanong Douangphachanh, 26. Ranhotra and Millard were in their respective sentencing hearings in the same Toronto courthouse on Monday.
“Dellen’s perseverance and determination to keep going with his fight with the Canadian justice system has given me some hope,” wrote Ranhotra, 32, who shot his live-in girlfriend in the head.
“Death is inevitable but as Dellen says, ‘Why invite it early and not live it out to see what it has to offer,’” wrote Ranhotra, a former Rogers IT employee,.
“I am a friend of Dellen’s and the outcome of that has been very good. He has been my personal friend since 2016,” wrote Ranhotra.
“We have all made decisions in our life that we regret and some that are unforgivable … I had nothing to lose but to give a fair chance to him to live up to certain expectation of a decent human being in jail. It’s a decision I don’t regret to this day,” wrote Ranhotra.
When sentencing Millard and Smich, Justice Michael Code will decide whether they must wait either 25 or 50 years before getting a first crack at parole.
“We are all very well aware of the fact that we are doing to die in jail. However the number (for a first chance at parole) represents a tiny glimpse of hope that someday this would all be over, but will it?” wrote Ranhotra.
spazzano@postmedia.com
Double murderers lauded by family and
Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
More from Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
Published:
February 13, 2018
Updated:
February 13, 2018 8:39 PM EST
Dellen Millard (left) and Mark Smich
Double murderer Dellen Millard was the world’s youngest flyer when he was licensed at the age of 14.
Millard’s mom, Madeleine Burns, revealed her only child was precocious, reading “globally by age 2, doing instant math and skiing in Lake Placid alone at age 5.”
At age 14, Mark Smich was getting high on grass and crashing at school because he had learning disorders, both reading comprehension and ADHD, which went undiagnosed.
Smich grew up in an immigrant family with a single but hard-working mom. His family says he has blossomed in jail, finishing Grade 12.
The untold stories of both men — now each twice-convicted of first-degree murder — were revealed in character reference letters filed by their families at the Laura Babcock murder sentencing.
Laura Babcock, left, and Tim Bosma were murdered by Dellen Millard and Mark Smich, juries found.
Millard and Smich will be sentenced for the murder of Laura Babcock on Feb. 26. The duo are already serving sentences of life with no parole for 25 years for killing Ancaster father Tim Bosma in May, 2013.
Millard’s cellmate, Achint Ranhotra, who will be sentenced April 16 for second degree murder, also praised Millard and shares something in common with him: He is also facing a life sentence for murdering girlfriend Vilanong Douangphachanh, 26. Ranhotra and Millard were in their respective sentencing hearings in the same Toronto courthouse on Monday.
“Dellen’s perseverance and determination to keep going with his fight with the Canadian justice system has given me some hope,” wrote Ranhotra, 32, who shot his live-in girlfriend in the head.
“Death is inevitable but as Dellen says, ‘Why invite it early and not live it out to see what it has to offer,’” wrote Ranhotra, a former Rogers IT employee,.
“I am a friend of Dellen’s and the outcome of that has been very good. He has been my personal friend since 2016,” wrote Ranhotra.
“We have all made decisions in our life that we regret and some that are unforgivable … I had nothing to lose but to give a fair chance to him to live up to certain expectation of a decent human being in jail. It’s a decision I don’t regret to this day,” wrote Ranhotra.
When sentencing Millard and Smich, Justice Michael Code will decide whether they must wait either 25 or 50 years before getting a first crack at parole.
“We are all very well aware of the fact that we are doing to die in jail. However the number (for a first chance at parole) represents a tiny glimpse of hope that someday this would all be over, but will it?” wrote Ranhotra.
spazzano@postmedia.com
Double murderers lauded by family and
Killers Millard and Smich to serve at least 50 years in jail
Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
More from Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
Published:
February 26, 2018
Updated:
February 26, 2018 7:01 PM EST
Dellen Millard (top right) and Mark Smich (bottom right) have been found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Laura Babcock (left).
A courtroom erupted in applause and cheering after a judge ordered double killers Dellen Millard and Mark Smich to serve 50 years before they can apply for parole.
A jury found Dellen Millard, 32, and Mark Smich, 30, guilty of first-degree murder in the July 2012 death of Laura Babcock in December and Justice Michael Code passed consecutive parole ineligibility periods — totalling 50 years — on Monday. The duo were already serviing a life sentence — with no parole for 25 years — following a 2016 conviction for murdering Tim Bosma, near Hamilton, in 2013.
Laura Babcock, left, and Tim Bosma were murdered by Dellen Millard and Mark Smich, juries found.
“If there was ever a reason for punishment to the full extent of the law, this was it,” said Laura Babcock’s father, Clayton, who added “justice has been served.”
“We’re saddened that the trial is over because it kept Laura in the forefront. But she’ll always be cherished by us,” said Babcock, flanked by his family, Crown attorneys and police. “Six years have passed and the pain is as great as ever.”
During the prolonged cheering and hugging by the family and friends of Babcock and Bosma, Millard appeared glassy eyed and upset by the boisterous celebrations, while Smich asked for a Kleenex.
First-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison with no parole for 25 years.
Code decided Monday that the parole eligibility of 25 years for the Babcock murder would be consecutive to the one imposed on Millard and Smich for Bosma’s killing.
“This repetition of two planned and deliberate murders also arguably requires separate punishment … to deter potential serial murderers (from second homicides),” said the judge.
Millard unsuccessfully attempted to show there was a good side to his personality and his eventual rehabilitation would be aided by a concurrent sentence, said Code.
Dellen Millard (left) and Mark Smich
“The overwhelming weight of evidence … is that he’s profoundly amoral and dangerous,” he added.
While Smich lacked the “advantage of Millard’s privileged upbringing,” he had a loving supportive mother and two older sisters, said Code.
Millard wanted to kill Babcock partly because she was an irritant in his relationship with girlfriend Christina Noudga. Smich was motivated by a desire to “adopt a gangster persona” and join Millard’s criminal conspiracy, said Code.
The photographing of the incineration of Babcock’s remains and Smich’s “boastful” celebration of the murder — by composing and performing a rap song for friends — were aggravating factors, the judge determined.
spazzano@postmedia.com
Killers Millard and Smich to serve at least 50 years in jail | Toronto Sun
Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
More from Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
Published:
February 26, 2018
Updated:
February 26, 2018 7:01 PM EST
Dellen Millard (top right) and Mark Smich (bottom right) have been found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Laura Babcock (left).
A courtroom erupted in applause and cheering after a judge ordered double killers Dellen Millard and Mark Smich to serve 50 years before they can apply for parole.
A jury found Dellen Millard, 32, and Mark Smich, 30, guilty of first-degree murder in the July 2012 death of Laura Babcock in December and Justice Michael Code passed consecutive parole ineligibility periods — totalling 50 years — on Monday. The duo were already serviing a life sentence — with no parole for 25 years — following a 2016 conviction for murdering Tim Bosma, near Hamilton, in 2013.
Laura Babcock, left, and Tim Bosma were murdered by Dellen Millard and Mark Smich, juries found.
“If there was ever a reason for punishment to the full extent of the law, this was it,” said Laura Babcock’s father, Clayton, who added “justice has been served.”
“We’re saddened that the trial is over because it kept Laura in the forefront. But she’ll always be cherished by us,” said Babcock, flanked by his family, Crown attorneys and police. “Six years have passed and the pain is as great as ever.”
During the prolonged cheering and hugging by the family and friends of Babcock and Bosma, Millard appeared glassy eyed and upset by the boisterous celebrations, while Smich asked for a Kleenex.
First-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison with no parole for 25 years.
Code decided Monday that the parole eligibility of 25 years for the Babcock murder would be consecutive to the one imposed on Millard and Smich for Bosma’s killing.
“This repetition of two planned and deliberate murders also arguably requires separate punishment … to deter potential serial murderers (from second homicides),” said the judge.
Millard unsuccessfully attempted to show there was a good side to his personality and his eventual rehabilitation would be aided by a concurrent sentence, said Code.
Dellen Millard (left) and Mark Smich
“The overwhelming weight of evidence … is that he’s profoundly amoral and dangerous,” he added.
While Smich lacked the “advantage of Millard’s privileged upbringing,” he had a loving supportive mother and two older sisters, said Code.
Millard wanted to kill Babcock partly because she was an irritant in his relationship with girlfriend Christina Noudga. Smich was motivated by a desire to “adopt a gangster persona” and join Millard’s criminal conspiracy, said Code.
The photographing of the incineration of Babcock’s remains and Smich’s “boastful” celebration of the murder — by composing and performing a rap song for friends — were aggravating factors, the judge determined.
spazzano@postmedia.com
Killers Millard and Smich to serve at least 50 years in jail | Toronto Sun
MANDEL: Should we prosecute killer Dellen Millard for third time?
Michele Mandel
More from Michele Mandel
Published:
March 6, 2018
Updated:
March 6, 2018 10:06 PM EST
Dellen Millard is pictured in a police photo.
Dellen Millard is already a twice-convicted murderer serving two consecutive life terms in prison for killing Laura Babcock and Tim Bosma. Chances are good the cold-blooded killer will never walk our streets again, even in his old age.
For the once-spoiled aviation heir, there will be no more helicopter flights or jeep races across the desert or chartered yachts on the Mediterranean. But there is one hobby that still remains: his stage at the downtown courthouse.
In May, Millard goes on trial again — this time for allegedly killing his father, Wayne. The question is why?
Laura Babcock, left, and Tim Bosma were murdered by Dellen Millard and Mark Smich, juries found.
In this time of overcrowded courts and sparse resources, of Charter applications that can see cases tossed for unreasonable delay, should we really be tying up the justice system to prosecute Millard yet again when another possible guilty verdict will change little? And do we really want to give this sick narcissist more attention?
Or are we obligated to hold him publicly accountable for one of the most heinous accusations one can face: murdering your own father? His late dad surely deserves justice as well.
We just might not have the luxury to do so. Last week, a multi-million dollar fraud case was put in jeopardy when Justice John McMahon regretfully acknowledged that he doesn’t have a Superior Court judge available for the three-month trial until next January — five years after the charges were first laid and well after the limits set by the Supreme Court.
The frustrated Crown attorney suggested room might have opened on the docket after a planned four-week trial had just fallen through in Justice Maureen Forestell’s court. McMahon reminded the prosecutor that Forestell is next set to preside on a case “by the name of Mr. Millard.
“I don’t think I could free her up unless the Crown will stay the charge against Mr. Millard,” the judge said, “and I don’t think they want to do that.”
Apparently not. But should they?
On Nov. 29, 2012, at about 7:25 p.m., Toronto Police responded to a sudden death call at the Millard family home at 5 Maple Gate Court in Etobicoke. On arrival, they found 71-year-old Wayne Millard in his bed, dead from a single gunshot wound to his left eye. Next to him, officers found a .32-calibre Smith & Wesson revolver.
Initially, the police concluded his death was a suicide. The case was closed.
Dellen Millard
Five months later, when his son was under investigation for Bosma’s death, the investigation was reopened. After further examination of the Smith & Wesson allegedly revealed Dellen Millard’s DNA on its handle, he was charged with the first-degree murder of his father.
Two separate juries have already convicted him of two other heinous slayings. Along with pal Mark Smich, he murdered Babcock, his former girlfriend, in July 2012, burning her remains in the animal incinerator on his farm. The following May, the pair thrill-killed Bosma, a Hamilton father, during a test drive of his truck and cremated his body in The Eliminator as well.
For this third murder charge, Millard, 32, is accused of acting alone. His trial, originally scheduled for April 3, has been pushed back to May 31 to give his lawyer, Ravin Pillay, more time to prepare after Millard decided to retain him rather than going it alone again, as he did in the Babcock trial. He also asked to be tried by a judge alone — which should shorten the timeline.
Still, even if it is just four weeks of court time — is it necessary?
For someone who relishes the limelight and the notoriety of being an accused serial killer, aren’t we just playing into his hands by holding a third trial?
Or is the Crown right to hedge their bets. As unlikely as it seems, there are no iron clad guarantees that Millard wouldn’t be able to successfully appeal his previous convictions. This third trial could be a necessary insurance policy to ensure this monster remains behind bars — even if it means having to stomach his repugnant performance once more time in the downtown courthouse.
mmandel@postmedia.com
MANDEL: Should we prosecute killer Dellen Millard for third time? | Toronto Sun
'GETS A FAIR TRIAL': Dellen Millard granted judge-alone trial for dad’s alleged murder
Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
More from Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
Published:
March 6, 2018
Updated:
March 6, 2018 1:41 PM EST
Dellen Millard is pictured in a police photo.
TORONTO — In a surprise move, double convicted killer Dellen Millard will be tried for the first-degree murder of his father Wayne Millard at a judge-alone trial.
Millard, 32, who is already serving a life sentence with no chance of parole for another 45 years, will stand trial before Justice Maureen Forestell of Ontario Superior Court of Justice on May 31.
He was arraigned in his father’s murder before Justice John McMahon so that the accused could officially choose — with the Crown’s consent — to be tried by judge alone. Almost all murder trials are tried by judge and jury.
“In light of the notoriety from other trials and the difficulty getting a jury, this will ensure he gets a fair trial,” McMahon said Tuesday.
The change from a judge-and-jury requires the consent of either the province’s attorney general or his designate, Andrew Locke, director of Crown operations for Toronto. Locke consented to the rare move.
Killers Millard and Smich to serve at least 50 years in jail
Double murderers lauded by family and — in one case — a cellmate
MANDEL: Throw away the key for double killers Dellen Millard and Mark Smich
Wayne Millard, 71, died of a single gunshot wound to the eye in a Nov. 29, 2012, death that Toronto Police initially deemed a suicide.
The trial, expected to last four weeks, was to begin in April. But Millard and his newly retained lawyer, Ravin Pillay, requested a later date to give Pillay time to prepare.
In December, a jury found Millard and Mark Smich, 30, guilty of first-degree murder in the July 2012 death of Laura Babcock. The duo, who have so far spent five years in custody, were already serving a life sentence following a 2016 conviction for murdering married Ancaster father Tim Bosma in 2013.
Last week, Justice Michael Code ruled that the parole eligibility of 25 years for the Babcock murder would be consecutive to the 25-year one imposed on Millard and Smich for Bosma’s killing — totalling 50 years.
Laura Babcock, left, and Tim Bosma were murdered by Dellen Millard and Mark Smich, juries found.
“This repetition of two planned and deliberate murders also arguably requires separate punishment … to deter potential serial murderers (from second homicides),” Code said.
Millard unsuccessfully attempted to show there was a good side to his personality and his eventual rehabilitation would be aided by a concurrent sentence, the judge noted.
“The overwhelming weight of evidence … is that he’s profoundly amoral and dangerous,” he added.
Code said Millard wanted to kill Babcock partly because she was an irritant in his relationship with girlfriend Christina Noudga. Smich was motivated by a desire to “adopt a gangster persona” and join Millard’s criminal conspiracy, the judge noted.
After the death of his father in November 2012, Millard inherited a multimillion-dollar aviation business — Millardair — that was initially launched by Millard’s grandfather, Carl Millard, in the 1960s.
Millard, who represented himself at the Babcock trial, had initially said he was going to represent himself for his father’s case. But he changed his mind in January and retained Pillay, who represented him during the Bosma murder trial.
— With files from Canadian Press
spazzano@postmedia.com
‘GETS A FAIR TRIAL’: Dellen Millard granted judge-alone trial for dad
Michele Mandel
More from Michele Mandel
Published:
March 6, 2018
Updated:
March 6, 2018 10:06 PM EST
Dellen Millard is pictured in a police photo.
Dellen Millard is already a twice-convicted murderer serving two consecutive life terms in prison for killing Laura Babcock and Tim Bosma. Chances are good the cold-blooded killer will never walk our streets again, even in his old age.
For the once-spoiled aviation heir, there will be no more helicopter flights or jeep races across the desert or chartered yachts on the Mediterranean. But there is one hobby that still remains: his stage at the downtown courthouse.
In May, Millard goes on trial again — this time for allegedly killing his father, Wayne. The question is why?
Laura Babcock, left, and Tim Bosma were murdered by Dellen Millard and Mark Smich, juries found.
In this time of overcrowded courts and sparse resources, of Charter applications that can see cases tossed for unreasonable delay, should we really be tying up the justice system to prosecute Millard yet again when another possible guilty verdict will change little? And do we really want to give this sick narcissist more attention?
Or are we obligated to hold him publicly accountable for one of the most heinous accusations one can face: murdering your own father? His late dad surely deserves justice as well.
We just might not have the luxury to do so. Last week, a multi-million dollar fraud case was put in jeopardy when Justice John McMahon regretfully acknowledged that he doesn’t have a Superior Court judge available for the three-month trial until next January — five years after the charges were first laid and well after the limits set by the Supreme Court.
The frustrated Crown attorney suggested room might have opened on the docket after a planned four-week trial had just fallen through in Justice Maureen Forestell’s court. McMahon reminded the prosecutor that Forestell is next set to preside on a case “by the name of Mr. Millard.
“I don’t think I could free her up unless the Crown will stay the charge against Mr. Millard,” the judge said, “and I don’t think they want to do that.”
Apparently not. But should they?
On Nov. 29, 2012, at about 7:25 p.m., Toronto Police responded to a sudden death call at the Millard family home at 5 Maple Gate Court in Etobicoke. On arrival, they found 71-year-old Wayne Millard in his bed, dead from a single gunshot wound to his left eye. Next to him, officers found a .32-calibre Smith & Wesson revolver.
Initially, the police concluded his death was a suicide. The case was closed.
Dellen Millard
Five months later, when his son was under investigation for Bosma’s death, the investigation was reopened. After further examination of the Smith & Wesson allegedly revealed Dellen Millard’s DNA on its handle, he was charged with the first-degree murder of his father.
Two separate juries have already convicted him of two other heinous slayings. Along with pal Mark Smich, he murdered Babcock, his former girlfriend, in July 2012, burning her remains in the animal incinerator on his farm. The following May, the pair thrill-killed Bosma, a Hamilton father, during a test drive of his truck and cremated his body in The Eliminator as well.
For this third murder charge, Millard, 32, is accused of acting alone. His trial, originally scheduled for April 3, has been pushed back to May 31 to give his lawyer, Ravin Pillay, more time to prepare after Millard decided to retain him rather than going it alone again, as he did in the Babcock trial. He also asked to be tried by a judge alone — which should shorten the timeline.
Still, even if it is just four weeks of court time — is it necessary?
For someone who relishes the limelight and the notoriety of being an accused serial killer, aren’t we just playing into his hands by holding a third trial?
Or is the Crown right to hedge their bets. As unlikely as it seems, there are no iron clad guarantees that Millard wouldn’t be able to successfully appeal his previous convictions. This third trial could be a necessary insurance policy to ensure this monster remains behind bars — even if it means having to stomach his repugnant performance once more time in the downtown courthouse.
mmandel@postmedia.com
MANDEL: Should we prosecute killer Dellen Millard for third time? | Toronto Sun
'GETS A FAIR TRIAL': Dellen Millard granted judge-alone trial for dad’s alleged murder
Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
More from Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
Published:
March 6, 2018
Updated:
March 6, 2018 1:41 PM EST
Dellen Millard is pictured in a police photo.
TORONTO — In a surprise move, double convicted killer Dellen Millard will be tried for the first-degree murder of his father Wayne Millard at a judge-alone trial.
Millard, 32, who is already serving a life sentence with no chance of parole for another 45 years, will stand trial before Justice Maureen Forestell of Ontario Superior Court of Justice on May 31.
He was arraigned in his father’s murder before Justice John McMahon so that the accused could officially choose — with the Crown’s consent — to be tried by judge alone. Almost all murder trials are tried by judge and jury.
“In light of the notoriety from other trials and the difficulty getting a jury, this will ensure he gets a fair trial,” McMahon said Tuesday.
The change from a judge-and-jury requires the consent of either the province’s attorney general or his designate, Andrew Locke, director of Crown operations for Toronto. Locke consented to the rare move.
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Wayne Millard, 71, died of a single gunshot wound to the eye in a Nov. 29, 2012, death that Toronto Police initially deemed a suicide.
The trial, expected to last four weeks, was to begin in April. But Millard and his newly retained lawyer, Ravin Pillay, requested a later date to give Pillay time to prepare.
In December, a jury found Millard and Mark Smich, 30, guilty of first-degree murder in the July 2012 death of Laura Babcock. The duo, who have so far spent five years in custody, were already serving a life sentence following a 2016 conviction for murdering married Ancaster father Tim Bosma in 2013.
Last week, Justice Michael Code ruled that the parole eligibility of 25 years for the Babcock murder would be consecutive to the 25-year one imposed on Millard and Smich for Bosma’s killing — totalling 50 years.
Laura Babcock, left, and Tim Bosma were murdered by Dellen Millard and Mark Smich, juries found.
“This repetition of two planned and deliberate murders also arguably requires separate punishment … to deter potential serial murderers (from second homicides),” Code said.
Millard unsuccessfully attempted to show there was a good side to his personality and his eventual rehabilitation would be aided by a concurrent sentence, the judge noted.
“The overwhelming weight of evidence … is that he’s profoundly amoral and dangerous,” he added.
Code said Millard wanted to kill Babcock partly because she was an irritant in his relationship with girlfriend Christina Noudga. Smich was motivated by a desire to “adopt a gangster persona” and join Millard’s criminal conspiracy, the judge noted.
After the death of his father in November 2012, Millard inherited a multimillion-dollar aviation business — Millardair — that was initially launched by Millard’s grandfather, Carl Millard, in the 1960s.
Millard, who represented himself at the Babcock trial, had initially said he was going to represent himself for his father’s case. But he changed his mind in January and retained Pillay, who represented him during the Bosma murder trial.
— With files from Canadian Press
spazzano@postmedia.com
‘GETS A FAIR TRIAL’: Dellen Millard granted judge-alone trial for dad
Mark Smich appeals Babcock first-degree murder conviction
Canadian Press
More from Canadian Press
Published:
March 15, 2018
Updated:
March 15, 2018 8:45 AM EDT
Dellen Millard (left) and Mark Smich
TORONTO — An Ontario man found guilty of killing a young Toronto woman who vanished five years ago is appealing his first-degree murder conviction and sentence, saying the verdict was unreasonable and the sentence too harsh.
Mark Smich, 30, of Oakville, and his friend Dellen Millard, 32, of Toronto, were found guilty in December of murdering Laura Babcock, with a judge ruling last month that the pair would not be eligible for parole for 50 years.
The 23-year-old Babcock disappeared in 2012 and her body has not been found. The pair’s trial heard Millard and Smich burned her body in an animal incinerator days after she went missing.
Laura Babcock screenshot of video released in the trial of Dellen Millard, 32, of Toronto, and Mark Smich, 30 of Oakville.
Millard and Smich have also been convicted of killing Tim Bosma — a Hamilton man who went missing in May 2013 after going with the pair for a test drive of a truck he was trying to sell online.
The judge in the Babcock trial ordered life sentences in the two murder cases to be served consecutively, leading to the 50 year parole ineligibility period.
Smich’s grounds for appeal, written in four bullet points, all in capital letters, reads: the “verdict was unreasonable; misapprehension of the evidence; errors of law;” and “consecutive sentence too harsh.”
Babcock’s mother scoffed at Smich’s reasons.
“The appeal is expected,” Linda Babcock told The Canadian Press. “I don’t think he’s going to get very far.”
Clayton Babcock (right) and Linda Babcock read a statement outside a Toronto courthouse on Monday, February 26, 2018, after a sentencing hearing for Dellen Millard and Mark Smich, who were convicted of the first degree murder of their daughter Laura Babcock. (Chris Young/THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Appeal Court documents show Smich filed his inmate notice of appeal on Feb. 27, one day after a courtroom erupted into cheers and a standing ovation as he and Millard were sentenced for Babcock’s murder.
At a sentencing hearing, the Crown said the pair’s true motive for Babcock’s death was to satisfy an urge to kill.
During sentencing, Justice Michael Code said “Smich was enthusiastically involved in the murder of Laura Babcock.”
Laura Babcock, left, and Tim Bosma were murdered by Dellen Millard and Mark Smich, juries found.
He said Smich’s motivation to commit both Babcock’s and Bosma’s murders “is tied up with his apparently determined efforts to adopt a gangster persona and with his adherence to a broader general criminal conspiracy with Millard.”
Millard has not yet filed an appeal in the case, but his lawyer, Ravin Pillay, said his client will appeal both the conviction and the sentencing decision.
Both Millard and Smich are also appealing their convictions for the murder of Bosma.
Millard alone is set to face another first-degree murder trial in late May for the death of his father, aviation heir Wayne Millard. Police initially deemed his death a suicide in November 2012. That trial will be heard by a judge alone.
Mark Smich appeals Babcock first-degree murder conviction | Toronto Sun
Canadian Press
More from Canadian Press
Published:
March 15, 2018
Updated:
March 15, 2018 8:45 AM EDT
Dellen Millard (left) and Mark Smich
TORONTO — An Ontario man found guilty of killing a young Toronto woman who vanished five years ago is appealing his first-degree murder conviction and sentence, saying the verdict was unreasonable and the sentence too harsh.
Mark Smich, 30, of Oakville, and his friend Dellen Millard, 32, of Toronto, were found guilty in December of murdering Laura Babcock, with a judge ruling last month that the pair would not be eligible for parole for 50 years.
The 23-year-old Babcock disappeared in 2012 and her body has not been found. The pair’s trial heard Millard and Smich burned her body in an animal incinerator days after she went missing.
Laura Babcock screenshot of video released in the trial of Dellen Millard, 32, of Toronto, and Mark Smich, 30 of Oakville.
Millard and Smich have also been convicted of killing Tim Bosma — a Hamilton man who went missing in May 2013 after going with the pair for a test drive of a truck he was trying to sell online.
The judge in the Babcock trial ordered life sentences in the two murder cases to be served consecutively, leading to the 50 year parole ineligibility period.
Smich’s grounds for appeal, written in four bullet points, all in capital letters, reads: the “verdict was unreasonable; misapprehension of the evidence; errors of law;” and “consecutive sentence too harsh.”
Babcock’s mother scoffed at Smich’s reasons.
“The appeal is expected,” Linda Babcock told The Canadian Press. “I don’t think he’s going to get very far.”
Clayton Babcock (right) and Linda Babcock read a statement outside a Toronto courthouse on Monday, February 26, 2018, after a sentencing hearing for Dellen Millard and Mark Smich, who were convicted of the first degree murder of their daughter Laura Babcock. (Chris Young/THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Appeal Court documents show Smich filed his inmate notice of appeal on Feb. 27, one day after a courtroom erupted into cheers and a standing ovation as he and Millard were sentenced for Babcock’s murder.
At a sentencing hearing, the Crown said the pair’s true motive for Babcock’s death was to satisfy an urge to kill.
During sentencing, Justice Michael Code said “Smich was enthusiastically involved in the murder of Laura Babcock.”
Laura Babcock, left, and Tim Bosma were murdered by Dellen Millard and Mark Smich, juries found.
He said Smich’s motivation to commit both Babcock’s and Bosma’s murders “is tied up with his apparently determined efforts to adopt a gangster persona and with his adherence to a broader general criminal conspiracy with Millard.”
Millard has not yet filed an appeal in the case, but his lawyer, Ravin Pillay, said his client will appeal both the conviction and the sentencing decision.
Both Millard and Smich are also appealing their convictions for the murder of Bosma.
Millard alone is set to face another first-degree murder trial in late May for the death of his father, aviation heir Wayne Millard. Police initially deemed his death a suicide in November 2012. That trial will be heard by a judge alone.
Mark Smich appeals Babcock first-degree murder conviction | Toronto Sun