Tim Bosma’s accused murderers killed ‘for the thrill of it’: Crown

HAMILTON – The prosecution in the Tim Bosma murder trial said Thursday the jury doesn’t have to decide who pulled the trigger because both of the accused planned to kill the Hamilton man and cover up the crime.

Crown prosecutor Tony Leitch said in his closing arguments that only three people know what happened on May 6, 2013, when Bosma vanished after taking two men for a test drive in his truck – and one of them is dead.

Dellen Millard and Mark Smich killed the Hamilton father as part of an elaborate plan to steal someone’s Dodge pickup truck, kill its owner and destroy all the evidence by incinerating the body, Leitch said.

READ MORE: Tim Bosma’s accused killer too smart to commit such a dumb crime, says lawyer

They meticulously planned the crime “for the thrill of it,” he added.

He’s told the jury not to fret about who pulled the trigger on the night Bosma vanished.

“You may never be able to decide who did what inside the truck where Tim Bosma was shot,” Leitch said. “Here is the issue: are you satisfied they were in it together and were knowingly involved in a planned murder.”

Leitch also said the jury shouldn’t worry about why the pair did it.

“Sometimes people commit crimes and we just don’t know why,” Leitch said. “So long as they planned to murder Tim Bosma and the other one helped to carry out the plan, they are both guilty in the eyes of the law.”

Millard, 30, of Toronto, and Smich, 28, of Oakville, Ont., have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in Bosma’s death.

Millard was the ringleader, the mastermind, Leitch said as he began to go through the mountain of evidence presented during the four-month trial, and Smich was his right-hand man.

READ MORE: Accused texted about truck theft, incinerator over a year before Tim Bosma died

Leitch said Millard bought the gun – a Walther PPK – that was used to kill Bosma in February 2012 and showed the jury photos of both accused handling the weapon and texting about it. The gun has never been found, and Smich previously testified he buried it in a forest in Oakville, Ont., but couldn’t remember where.

They were both involved in plans for the incinerator. First, Millard’s employee tried to build one, but after that failed, the aviation heir bought a commercial one that was modified to fit onto a trailer, Leitch said.

Millard purchased the incinerator, a massive machine with “The Eliminator” painted in red letters, for $23,000. It was one the final pieces of the puzzle for Smich and Millard, Leitch said.

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

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

“A motive to kill, a plan to eliminate, a diesel truck their trophy,” Leitch said.

They didn’t worry about showing their faces to their target, Leitch said, because it didn’t matter.

“Dead men don’t do photo lineups,” Leitch said.

Smich has testified that it was Millard who shot and killed Bosma and burned his body in the incinerator. Millard’s lawyer, however, says it was Smich who accidentally shot Bosma in the truck during a botched robbery.