Crown wrapping up its case, 3 years after Tim Bosma's disappearance

Exactly three years ago today, onMay 6, Tim Bosma said goodbye to his wife Sharlene for the last time.

She watched the man she loved get into theDodge Ram pickup truck he was trying to sell with two strangers who had come to take a test drive. The three men drove off.

Her husband never returned home.

This weekend marks the third anniversary of his disappearance, which prompted a desperate search and public pleas for his safe return. But those hopes ended when charred remains were found in a livestock incinerator on a farm in Ayr, Ont.

The bones were burned beyond the point that DNA testing could identify them, but investigators believe they belong to Bosma.

The trial for the two men accused of killing Bosma began at the start of February and continues, with the Crown close to wrapping up its case.

• Tim Bosma's last few days

Mark Smich, 28, of Oakville, Ont., and Millard, 30, of Toronto, are charged with first-degree murder in Bosma's death, and both have pleaded not guilty.

Millard's former girlfriend Christina Noudga who testified this week is believed to be the prosecution's final witness though the Crown's case has not officially closed yet.

Next week, we should learn if the Crown is closing its case, and whether the defence will call any witnesses. It is unknown whether Millard and Smich will testify.

Letters from prison and laughter

For most of this week the jury heard from Millard's former girlfriend, Christina Noudga, who has been charged as an accessory after the fact in Bosma's death. Court heard details of letters sent from Millard to Noudgaafter he was arrested and jailed.

Noudga testified that after months of receiving secret letters from he jailed boyfriend, she started to feel she was being played. The letters offered a look at how Millard thought the case against him would go.

"Because there is so much disclosure still to come," Millard wrote to Noudga, "it's not certain what defence I will use. It is clear though, that police are going to use my phone record in an attempt to pinpoint my location at a given time.

"This is based on the assumption that I am carrying the phone. I need to attack this assumption ... I want supporting evidence, and testimony evidence, that it was usual/normal for me to lend my phone to Mark [Smich]."

• Tim Bosma trial: Girlfriend felt like she was being 'played' by Dellen Millard

On Tuesday, the jury heard thatNoudga fell out of love.

Noudga told Smich's lawyer, Thomas Dungey, "I have absolutely no feelings of emotion towards him." Dungey asked"And when did that happen?" Noudga replied"When he got me arrested.

"I got to spend four months of my life in a tiny little box," Noudga said,"and over time I started to feel a contempt towards him ... a loathing. He put me in a situation I didn't belong in ... he also cheated on me and I found out after the fact."

• Tim Bosma trial: Christina Noudga now 'loathes' Millard, court hears

On Wednesday, cross-examination continued for Noudga, with her answers sometimes resulting in laughter erupting in the courtroom. One of those times was when Noudgatestified she did not think she was destroying evidence when she wiped down parts of a trailer that containedBosma'struck, under the instruction of Millard's mother,MadeleineBurns.

Then Dungeyasked why she wiped the trailer down if she didn't think there was evidence. Noudgaresponded saying thatshe didn't think it was evidence. More laughter.Justice Andrew Goodman had enough andcalled for order.

Dungeyended his cross-examination of Noudga by pointing to a line in a letter sent to her by Millard. It read"I deserve you, and you deserve me."

"That's what he wrote to you, right?" Dungey said.Noudga agreed. "No further questions," Dungey said.

• Tim Bosma trial: Courtroom erupts in laughter at Christina Noudga's testimony

The judge heardlegal arguments on Thursday without the jury present. The trial will resume in front of the jury on Monday morning. You can follow CBC Hamilton'slive coverage starting at 10 a.m.