Book Read Free

Dark Ambition

Page 1

by Ann Brocklehurst




  VIKING

  an imprint of Penguin Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited

  Canada • USA • UK • Ireland • Australia • New Zealand • India • South Africa • China

  First published 2016

  Copyright © 2016 by Ann Brocklehurst

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  www.​penguinrandomhouse.​ca

  LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION

  Brocklehurst, Ann, 1958–, author

  Dark ambition : the shocking crime of Dellen Millard and Mark Smich / Ann Brocklehurst.

  ISBN 978-0-670-07014-5 (hardback)

  ISBN 978-0-14-319826-0 (electronic)

  1. Millard, Dellen. 2. Murderers—Ontario—Case studies. 3. Murder—Ontario—Case studies. 4. Murder—Investigation—Ontario—Case studies. I. Title.

  HV6535.C32O65 2016 364.152’309713 C2016-902523-3

  Cover design by Five Seventeen

  Cover images by Ingram Publishing/Getty Images

  v4.1

  a

  In memory of my mother,

  Mildred Brocklehurst Woods

  CONTENTS

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  TIMELINE

  CAST OF CHARACTERS

  MAPS

  PROLOGUE

  ONEIT’S JUST A TRUCK

  TWOTHE CROWN’S FIRST WITNESS

  THREEMOTHER’S DAY

  FOURFORENSICS

  FIVESUSPECT NUMBER TWO

  SIXCAUGHT ON CAMERA

  SEVENTHREE GENERATIONS

  EIGHTTHE NEW CEO

  NINESUSPICIONS

  TENTHE BROS

  ELEVENINVESTIGATIONS ARE ONGOING

  TWELVETHE GIRLFRIENDS

  THIRTEENLETTERS

  FOURTEENCUTTHROAT

  FIFTEENTEAM SMICH

  SIXTEENTHE PLAN

  SEVENTEENTHE VERDICT

  Photo Insert

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  TIMELINE

  2011

  Spring 2011

  Dellen Millard becomes engaged to Jennifer Spafford, takes engagement photos at Millardair hangar at Pearson airport before engagement is abruptly broken off

  June 2011

  Dellen Millard and Andrew Michalski participate in Baja 500 road race

  Summer 2011

  Dellen Millard begins dating Christina Noudga

  September 2011

  Construction begins on new Millardair hangar in Waterloo

  2012

  March 2012

  Millardair opens new Waterloo hangar

  June 21, 2012

  Shane Schlatman purchases the Eliminator incinerator on Millardair account

  July 2–3, 2012

  Laura Babcock makes eight phone calls to Dellen Millard before she disappears

  November 29, 2012

  Wayne Millard dies suddenly

  December 14, 2012

  Wayne Millard obituary published after death is deemed suicide

  December 2012

  Millardair cancels its transportation department certification, all employees except Shane Schlatman laid off

  2013

  May 5, 2013

  Test drive with Igor Tumanenko

  May 6, 2013

  Tim Bosma disappears

  May 8, 2013

  Hamilton Police holds first news conference on Bosma disappearance

  May 9, 2013

  Sharlene Bosma makes televised appeal

  May 10, 2013

  Hamilton Police appeals for information on “ambition” tattoo; Millard arrested

  May 11, 2013

  Hamilton Police announces arrest of Millard, charged with forcible confinement and theft over $5,000

  May 12, 2013

  Tim Bosma’s truck is found in Kleinburg driveway of Millard’s mother, Madeleine Burns

  May 14, 2013

  Hamilton Police announces death of Tim Bosma; Millard to be charged with first-degree murder; first reports of incinerator at Millard farm

  May 15, 2013

  Dellen Millard appears in court to be charged with first-degree murder of Bosma

  May 19, 2013

  Mark Smich’s sister Melissa gets married

  May 22, 2013

  Mark Smich is arrested

  May 23, 2013

  Mark Smich appears in court to be charged with first-degree murder of Bosma

  December 30, 2013

  Toronto Star publishes jailhouse interview with Dellen Millard

  2014

  April 10, 2014

  Dellen Millard charged with first-degree murders of Laura Babcock and Wayne Millard; Mark Smich charged with first-degree murder of Laura Babcock

  April 11, 2014

  Christina Noudga charged as accessory after the fact in murder of Tim Bosma

  August 8, 2014

  Christina Noudga released from jail on bail

  2016

  February 1, 2016

  Trial of Dellen Millard and Mark Smich begins

  June 17, 2016

  Dellen Millard and Mark Smich found guilty of first-degree murder of Bosma, sentenced to life imprisonment with no chance of parole until 2038

  July 2016

  Dellen Millard and Mark Smich appeal their first-degree murder convictions

  November 14, 2016

  Trial of Christina Noudga set to begin

  2017

  February 13, 2017

  Trial of Dellen Millard and Mark Smich for murder of Laura Babcock set to begin

  Fall 2017

  Trial of Dellen Millard for the murder of Wayne Millard tentatively set to begin

  CAST OF CHARACTERS

  BOSMA FAMILY

  TIM BOSMA

  SHARLENE BOSMA

  wife

  MARY BOSMA

  mother

  HANK BOSMA

  father

  POLICE

  MATT KAVANAGH

  Hamilton Police, homicide detective in charge (official title re Bosma case: major case manager)

  GREG RODZONIAK

  Hamilton Police, lead detective on Bosma case (official title re Bosma case: primary detective)

  GLENN DE CAIRE

  Hamilton Police, chief

  DAN KINSELLA

  Hamilton Police, superintendent

  GREG JACKSON

  Hamilton Police, tracked cell phones, interviewed Tumanenko

  PAUL HAMILTON

  Hamilton Police, interviewed Millard at hangar

  JOHN TSELEPAKIS

  Hamilton Police, tracked cell phones, interviewed Millard

  STUART OXLEY

  Hamilton Police surveillance unit, tracked and arrested Millard and Smich

  JENNIFER GRANATIER

  Hamilton Police, tracked Christina Noudga for castoff DNA

  BRENT GIBSON

  Hamilton Police, escorted Bosma truck from Kleinburg to Hamilton

  LAURA TROWBRIDGE

  Hamilton Police, escorted Bosma truck from Hamilton to secure OPP facility

  CORY WEICK

  York Police, investigated Bosma truck in Kleinburg

  MARK LEVANGIE

  York Police, investigated Bosma truck in Kleinburg

  LAURA McLELLAN

  Halton Police, conducted forensic investigation of Bosma truck

  DAVID BANKS

  Halton Police, conducted forensic invest
igation of Bosma truck

  BEN ADAMS

  Hamilton Police, investigated Millard farm

  PHILIP PECKFORD

  Hamilton Police, investigated Millard farm

  ANNETTE HUYS

  Hamilton Police, conducted forensic investigation of Eliminator

  GEORGE HIGGINS

  Hamilton Police, conducted surveillance on Millard and Smich

  BARRY STOLTZ

  Hamilton Police, collected Super Sucker video

  STEVE GRIFFIN

  Waterloo Police, conducted surveillance on Millard

  MIKE CARBONE

  Toronto Police, took over Laura Babcock and Wayne Millard investigations

  EXPERT WITNESSES

  JIM FALCONER

  retired OPP detective, computer forensics expert

  ROBERT JONES

  Waterloo Police, blood spatter expert

  TRACY ROGERS

  forensic anthropologist

  DR. WILLIAM BARLOW

  forensic dentist

  DR. JOHN FERNANDES

  forensic pathologist

  JAMES SLOOTS

  Centre of Forensic Sciences, biologist, DNA expert

  ROBERT GERARD

  Centre of Forensic Sciences, chemist, GSR expert

  MICHAEL PLAXTON

  Hamilton Police, forensic video analyst

  WITNESSES

  WAYNE DE BOER

  Bosma tenant

  IGOR TUMANENKO

  went on first test drive with Millard and Smich

  OMAR PALMILI

  missed test drive appointment with Millard and Smich

  RICK BULLMANN

  Bosma neighbour

  CHAZ MAIN

  dirt biker who spotted Eliminator on Millard property

  JAMES STIEVA

  Super Sucker, employee

  LAWYERS AND JUDGE

  THE HONOURABLE ANDREW GOODMAN

  judge

  TONY LEITCH

  lead Crown prosecutor

  CRAIG FRASER

  Crown prosecutor

  BRETT MOODIE

  Crown prosecutor

  RAVIN PILLAY

  Dellen Millard’s lead lawyer

  NADIR SACHAK

  Dellen Millard’s lawyer

  DEEPAK PARADKAR

  Dellen Millard’s original lawyer

  THOMAS DUNGEY

  Mark Smich’s lead lawyer

  JENNIFER TREHEARNE

  Mark Smich’s lawyer

  MILLARD FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND EMPLOYEES

  MADELEINE BURNS

  Dellen’s mother

  WAYNE MILLARD

  Dellen’s father

  CARL MILLARD

  Dellen’s grandfather

  ROBERT BURNS

  uncle, brother of Dellen’s mother

  CHRISTINA NOUDGA

  Dellen’s girlfriend at time of Bosma’s murder

  LISA WHIDDEN

  second girlfriend and realtor

  JENNIFER SPAFFORD

  ex-fiancée

  ART JENNINGS

  Millardair, intern, father-in-law of Shane Schlatman

  SHANE SCHLATMAN

  Millardair, mechanic

  SPENCER HUSSEY

  Millardair, employee

  JAVIER VILLADA

  contractor

  ANDREW MICHALSKI

  friend

  MATT HAGERMAN

  friend

  AL SHARIF

  Millardair, consultant

  LISA WILLIAMS

  Millardair, contract bookkeeper

  SMICH FAMILY AND FRIENDS

  MARY SMICH

  Mark’s mother

  ANDREA SMICH

  eldest sister

  MELISSA SMICH

  elder sister and bride

  MARLENA MENESES

  Mark’s girlfriend

  ELIZABETH MENESES

  Marlena’s sister

  BRENDAN DALY

  friend

  Detail left

  Detail right

  PROLOGUE

  FOR SALE BY OWNER

  A 2007 Dodge Power Ram 3500 Diesel 4x4 pick-up truck

  170,000 kilometres – mostly highway

  5.9 litre engine

  Extended cab – short box

  Gray cloth interior

  New transmission, new brakes

  Price $24,000.00

  Address: Ancaster, Ontario

  This is the ad posted online by Tim Bosma’s wife, Sharlene, in the spring of 2013. And it is also the starting point of prosecutor Craig Fraser’s opening address at the first-degree murder trial of the two men accused of Bosma’s murder, Dellen Millard and Mark Smich. Fraser has turned his podium sideways so that he can face the fourteen members of the jury as he explains the case the prosecution intends to prove. His delivery is measured and dry. He is not the type of lawyer who sets off fireworks, inspires TV characters, or wins oratory awards. But for this trial, no special effects are required. Fraser’s style suits the story he is telling—a story that is sensational, tragic, and almost beyond belief. And it all begins with the problems caused by that black Dodge Ram diesel.

  The truck had been running up hefty repair bills, causing stress for its owners, a young family on a tight budget. A plan was put in place to sell it and replace it with a cheaper, better functioning truck, but unfortunately there weren’t many prospective buyers. An earlier version of the ad that had run in April had failed to attract even one serious prospect. A man who Tim Bosma referred to as a tire kicker had emailed a few times to ask a lot of questions then never bothered to view the vehicle in person.

  The first person to actually want to see the truck was a caller from Toronto who was prepared to drive one hundred kilometres to Bosma’s home in Ancaster to check it out. That seemed like a good sign, so in preparation for the visit Bosma washed and waxed his truck. Then, at 7:25 on the morning of the planned appointment, he sent a text to confirm: “Good morning. It’s Tim. I’m working in Hamilton today if you want to meet or do you still want to meet at my house tonight for 7 pm?” He was upset when the text went unanswered and then relieved when the man from Toronto finally called at 7:22 that evening to say he was en route to see the truck and would be there within an hour.

  What happened after that would make headlines around the world. Tim Bosma left with two strangers on a test drive from which he would never return. Social media exploded with the news of his disappearance. The police requested help from the public in their search for the missing man and his truck, and their almost daily news conferences were live-streamed online and then endlessly dissected on the internet. Within days, an arrest was made, and then two weeks later another one. But the arrests didn’t make things any clearer. The opposite, in fact: they made the disappearance of Tim Bosma more puzzling than ever.

  The first man police arrested was Dellen Millard, a wealthy young heir to his family’s aviation business who owned several million dollars’ worth of properties in Toronto. On the day after he went for the test drive, he had closed on the purchase of a condo for which he was reported to have paid more than $600,000 in cash. As his lawyer and hordes of online commentators kept insisting, he could easily have afforded to buy a brand-new truck. Others pointed out that if Millard were a psychopath, devoid of empathy and seeking thrills, how much money he had was irrelevant.

  The second man arrested was Mark Smich, an unemployed drug dealer who lived with his mother in her suburban middle-class home. His last arrest, a few months earlier, had been for spray-painting graffiti on a highway overpass. Until this trial, he had never inspired anywhere near the same level of interest as Millard.

  —

  ON THEIR FIRST DAY of trial, both defendants tell the court that they are pleading not guilty to first-degree murder and that they are ready to proceed.

  Because of the very public nature of the early investigation into Bosma’s disappearance, it has long been known that the evidence in this case is strong. Two days after Millard’s arrest,
Bosma’s truck was found concealed inside a transport trailer parked in Millard’s mother’s driveway. Human remains burned beyond recognition were discovered at Millard’s Southern Ontario farm. And most sinister of all, Millard was revealed to own a portable livestock incinerator, named the Eliminator, despite the fact that he kept no animals on his farm.

  Fraser tells the jury that he and his two fellow prosecutors will prove that in the late evening of May 6, 2013, Tim Bosma was killed in his truck, shot by the two accused at close range, and that his body was then incinerated hours later by Millard and Smich. To make the Crown’s case, there will be testimony from multiple forensic scientists, including blood-spatter and gunshot-residue experts as well as the anthropologist who examined the bones and remains found in the Eliminator. There will be video showing the Eliminator being towed to the Millardair hangar at the Region of Waterloo International Airport and then being ignited outside the hangar door—and still more video taken from the security system in the hangar. There will be extensive analysis of the cell phones used by the accused and their friends. There will be testimony from the friends and girlfriends of Millard and Smich, some of whom knew they planned to steal a truck. And there will be letters sent from jail by Millard to his girlfriend, Christina Noudga, who was charged as an accessory after the fact to Tim Bosma’s murder almost a year after her boyfriend’s arrest.

 

‹ Prev