Tim Bosma trial: 5 key exhibits the jury has seen - Action News
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Hamilton

Tim Bosma trial: 5 key exhibits the jury has seen

A jury in Hamilton Superior Court is now three weeks deep into the Tim Bosma trial, and in that time they have seen an avalanche of evidence as the Crown builds its case. Here are five key exhibits the jury has seen so far.

Trial of Dellen Millard and Mark Smich on 1st-degree murder charges continues

Tim Bosma vanished after going on a test drive while trying to sell his truck in May of 2013. The third week of proceedings in the trial of two men accused of first-degree murder in connection with his death wrapped up Friday. (Facebook)

A jury in Hamilton Superior Court is now three weeks deep into the Tim Bosma trial, and in that time they have seen an avalanche of evidence as the Crown builds its case.

There's the forensic evidence like blood spatter and bones, and technological evidence from GPS and cellphone records.

The Crown has called this evidence in an attempt to prove its allegation that Bosma was burned after being shot and killed at close range inside a Dodge pickup truck he had been trying to sell online.

The Ancaster, Ont. father was last seen on May 6, 2013, leaving his home with two men who wanted to test drive the vehicle.

Dellen Millard, 30, of Toronto, and co-accused Mark Smich, 28, of Oakville, Ont., have both pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in Bosma's death.

Here are five key exhibits the jury has seen so far.

1. Blood spatter on Bosma's truck

Investigators found blood splattered over the truck's muffler. (Halton police/Court exhibit)

For hours last week, Halton Regional Police Det. Const. Laura McLellan explained in meticulous detail the blood spatter found inside and outside Tim Bosma's truck.

She testified that 64 swabs of blood from the truck and trailer in which it was found were sent to the Centre of Forensic Sciences for further examination.

Blood was found on the truck's centre console, on the dash, in a rear wheel well and on a tarp in the truck's bed.

Blood was also found splattered across the muffler and underneath the front passenger door.

McLellan did not testify whose blood was found. That's the responsibility of officials at the Centre for Forensic Science, and they haven't been called..

2. The Eliminator

An animal incinerator called "The Eliminator" was found on a farm in Ayr, Ont. while police were carrying out a search warrant in relation to the disappearance of Tim Bosma. (Court exhibit)

Photos of the livestock incinerator dubbed "The Eliminator" shown in court were among the starkest images the jury has seen.

It was found in the treeline on a farm once owned by Dellen Millard. When the incinerator was opened, investigators found human bones the largest was a human left radius,a bone in the forearm.

It should have been straight, but it was curved because of fire damage, said forensic anthropologist Dr. Tracy Rogers.

But while other bone pieces including that of a bone in the palm of the hand were found, a complete body wasn't.

"There should have been a complete body there basically, but there wasn't So obviously, it had been cleaned out at some point," Rogers testified.

3. Bosma's key found in Millard's SUV

The large black Dodge key on this keychain belonged to Tim Bosma's truck, the jury has heard. It was found inside Dellen Millard's SUV. (Court exhibit)

After finding out the particulars of Millard's gunpoint arrest, the jury then later saw photos of a carabineer that was found inside his GMC SUV.

Tim Bosma's truck key was found among those keys, court heard. A Hamilton police officer tried the key in Bosma's truck once it was in police custody and it started.

But that wasn't the only thing found in Millard's SUV. Investigators also found the receipt for the Eliminator in a duffle bag in the back.

4. Cellphone call records and GPS locations

Cellphone technology has been an integral part of the Crown's case.

Using records of phone calls/text messages and what cell phone towers they were pinging off of at the time, experts displayed the locations of phones belonging to Millard, Smich and their girlfriends during crucial times in the investigation in painstaking detail.

According to a presentation from Phillip Wilkinson, who works as an intelligence analyst with Ontario Provincial Police, Millard's phone, Smich's phone and a phone registered under thename "Lucas Bate" were pinging off cell towers in Ancaster close to each other at similar times on the night Bosma disappeared. Police said they were never able to track down anyone under that name.

5. Bosma's truck in the Millard Air hangar

Arthur Jennings told a Hamilton court that he took this photo of Tim Bosma's truck inside the Millard Air hangar in 2013. (Arthur Jennings/Court exhibit)

In the first week of the trial, the jury saw photos taken by Arthur Jennings from inside the Millard Air hangar of Tim Bosma's truck.

Jennings, who was on a school work placement with the company, told the court that he recognized the truck from seeing it on the news when Bosma went missing.

"My exact words to myself were, 'Oh my God, could that be the truck?'" Jennings testified.

"I kept looking at that truck and thinking of that poor man and hoping [Millard] hasn't gotten himself into something."

adam.carter@cbc.ca