Bosma Murder Trial 05.11.16 - Day 47 - Smich Defence commences

[Elisabeth]

Just saw Peter Ackman on the CTV news. He said again that because MS presented new evidence, DM has the right to apply to reopen his case. Experts say he almost has to, because MS has testified.

aah what does that mean? what else were they expecting? Each defense is asked if they want to present new evidence. Were they not? Surely this isn't a new trial?

 

[Alethea Dice]

No computer for me tonight. Can someone check the video of the trucks when they pull over to the curb and see if the Yukon pulls over and did not have the headlights on? If so, then Smich is full of s*** and Bosma was already dead. TIA

The headlights appear to be on on both vehicles. Why would the headlights be off?

[video=youtube;e20Ib-wZtmQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e20Ib-wZtmQ[/video]

 

[RandomName479]

I'm pretty sure this has to be on the paperwork when they cross

This is absolutely incorrect. A commercial vehicle carrying goods for import needs paperwork. A personal use vehicle does not. Unless there was a reason for the border officials to believe this was a stolen vehicle they would not be looking closely at the registration. If I get caught up I will try and find a link for you.....but I was a customs officer at a land border for 3 years.

 

[rmoeller]

First time post. I might be exhausted, so bear with me! If MS knew of the plan, why did he go up the Bosma's driveway? Why not wait in the Yukon and follow the Ram from the road?

 

[canadiangirl]

All the new detail from 9 pm May 6 to the next morning?

I wouldn't call that new evidence. It's his "story" of what happened

 

[don_quixote]

billandrew pointed out a while back that, while Plaxton didn't "claim" that the Bosma truck drove past the Super Soaker place northbound and then turned around and came back, in the cross examination by Pillay he admitted that this was quite possibly so, as he had omitted from his report the capturing of a truck consistent with Tim's truck doing exactly that. I will paste in the tweets from Adam Carter:

• Adam Carter
  
  
  Mar 9 2016 3:45 PM​
• A vehicle with the characteristics of the Bosma vehicle travels north at 9:05 p.m. (6:05 p.m. by the Supersucker timestamp) on Trinity Road, Plaxton says. Then a vehicle with similar characteristics goes by at 9:20 p.m. -- but that isn't in the report. "They may very well be the same vehicle," Plaxton says. "You didn't include that in your report?" Pillay says. "No," Plaxton says.
  Adam Carter
  
  
  ​
• Mar 9 2016 3:49 PM
  Pillay showing a truck going south on Trinity Road at 9:15 p.m. with similar features to the Bosma truck.
  Adam Carter
  
  ​
• Mar 9 2016 3:51 PM
  "You can't say this is not the same vehicle returning? You can't say this is not the Bosma vehicle returning?" Plaxton responds he can't.
  Adam Carter
  
  ​
• Mar 9 2016 3:56 PM
  This is another segment that was not in Plaxton's report. "The first time you're providing evidence about it in front of this jury is now?" Pillay says. Plaxton says yes.
  
  Adam Carter
  
  ​
• Mar 9 2016 3:57 PM
  Pillay says the video is consistent with a vehicle consistent with Bosma's truck going north on Trinity Road at 9:05 p.m., then going south at 9:15 p.m. ten minutes later. "Yes it is," Plaxton says. Pillay then says it's consistent with Bosma vehicle travelling north again at 9:20 p.m., Plaxton agrees.
• 
  
  ​
• Mar 9 2016 3:57 PM
  Pillay also says it's consistent with the Bosma vehicle going alone at 9:05 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. Plaxton agrees.
  Adam Carter
  
  
  ​
• Mar 9 2016 3:58 PM
  Pillay's point here, basically, is that there are images of a truck "consistent" with Bosma's truck in this video taken from Super Sucker that aren't in Plaxton's report.
  

• _____________________________________________________________________
  
  • 
    
  
  Obviously I do not know how to post tweets (also don't know how to fix the formatting. Hope this is readable anyway).
  
  I thought (at the time) that this was puzzling on two fronts, first, that Plaxton had omitted this detail, which seems significant, and second, that Pillay thought it important to get on the record. I suspect Pillay will be coming back to this in his cross of MS.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Yes, billandrew directed me to the cross a couple of weeks ago. I am aware of that.

Crown didn't find it significant though... May be they had some extra info... And now MS is saying they went straight to Bullmann Sr.'s field.

And I could totally believe that it was just a similar vehicle. As one drives away from downtown Toronto, the chances of seeing a black RAM grow exponentially.

 

[ArianeEmory]

First time post. I might be exhausted, so bear with me! If MS knew of the plan, why did he go up the Bosma's driveway? Why not wait in the Yukon and follow the Ram from the road?

Yeah, I asked this earlier. Seems like he could have lay in wait. My only alternate theory is that they thought one guy walking up to the house alone would be just too sketchy. Or maybe DM was afraid to go to a strange house alone.

 

[RandomName479]

Did any of the tweets imply how DM supposedly shot TB once he picked up the gun from the Yukon? ie. did MS imply DM was outside the vehicle or back in the vehicle. If outside, on which side?

This has likely already been responded to, but I think you may be misunderstanding MS's testimony. He said that DM had the gun with him the whole time, but once they stopped at the Bobcat dealership MS witnessed DM leaving TB's truck and putting the gun BACK in the satchel. DM did not go to the Yukon to get the gun. Of course, MOO

 

[SnooperDuper]

aah what does that mean? what else were they expecting? Each defense is asked if they want to present new evidence. Were they not? Surely this isn't a new trial?

No, it just means that while DM previously gave up his right to testify or call witnesses, he now gets a do-over on that decision. DM's lawyers would present their case after TD is done presenting MS's.

 

[SnooperDuper]

I wouldn't call that new evidence. It's his "story" of what happened

Are you related to CN?

No, MS's testimony is evidence.

 

[dar107]

http://breakdown.myajc.com/law-school-101-should-the-defendant-take-the-stand/

Interesting article on defendants taking the stand

 

[canadiangirl]

Are you related to CN?

No, MS's testimony is evidence.

No. Hers was a story too

 

[MrsThreadgoode]

Why wasn't there any blood or GSR in the Yukon after DM fueled it up ?

Probably because he had cleaned himself up a bit and changed his clothes.

MOO

 

[canadiangirl]

This is absolutely incorrect. A commercial vehicle carrying goods for import needs paperwork. A personal use vehicle does not. Unless there was a reason for the border officials to believe this was a stolen vehicle they would not be looking closely at the registration. If I get caught up I will try and find a link for you.....but I was a customs officer at a land border for 3 years.

I'd be interested to read if you get the chance. I find it very odd that 2 borders (both USA and Mexico) would just wave through a Dodge Ram truck towing a large trailer carrying a Jeep in it and not ask for any type of ownership or registration of any of the vehicles in question.

And at the time, TB truck was posted everywhere to be on the lookout. Even border crossings. I have no reason to believe border officials were not scrutinizing every Ram that went through there considering Ancaster is very close to the border. JMO

 

[palisadesk]

Would a defence lawyer FRABICATE a story with his client?

This is possible, in the absolute sense, but is extremely unlikely.No defense lawyer with any reputation to protect would fabricate a story with his client. It is totally unethical and if it could be shown to have occurred would be grounds for serious sanctions. The criminal law community is a fairly small one, and most of the Crowns and defense lawyers know each other, and a lot of mutual respect exists between parties (and the respective lawyers frequently change roles -- Crowns becoming defense attorneys, or vice versa).

Since in the usual course of events, defense lawyers have clients who do in fact lie or tell partial or misleading truths, the lawyer may not know when the client is lying for certain, but he is ethically bound not to present evidence he himself knows or has reason to think is false. To actually INVENT such "evidence" would be grounds for penalties, perhaps even criminal ones.

For Dungey or any other criminal lawyer to assist his client in presenting his case in the best possible light is perfectly legitimate, and is in fact what, in an adversarial system, he is obliged to do. To become a co-conspirator in crime is not. While there are shyster lawyers, criminal doctors, and felonious engineers, it is hardly the usual or default situation. In the legal profession, as in medicine, a person's professional reputation is a very valuable commodity. It it not worth playing fast and loose with.

 

[Claroon]

This has likely already been responded to, but I think you may be misunderstanding MS's testimony. He said that DM had the gun with him the whole time, but once they stopped at the Bobcat dealership MS witnessed DM leaving TB's truck and putting the gun BACK in the satchel. DM did not go to the Yukon to get the gun. Of course, MOO

Yes, I did misunderstand, thanks for clarifying. Whew so much to mix up. I thought the stuff he got out of the back of the Yukon included the gun.

 

[Wondergirl]

Well, I haven't been on Tim's thread in forever. I have been following the trial on CBC daily and trying to read as many live tweets as possible.

I was shocked and happy that Smich stepped up to testify. His counsel has come across to me as superior to Millards.

I'm not sure why, given all the various sordid details of these creeps and their lifestyles - but, I felt that Smichs testimony had the ring of truth to it. Gut instinct.

I also feel that Noudga was an arrogant , who seemed well matched to Millard - offside. Who the hell acts like that in a murder trial? What a bag. I hope she gets what she deserves.

Keep up the good work hashing all the angles. I wish I had time to participate.

WG

JMO

 

[Claroon]

Forgot to say, for the person who wondered about not finding blood at the farm outside--I looked up the historic weather report and May 9 & 10, 2013 there was light rain, so environmental conditions could have played a part. IMO

 

[Kamille]

At least MS told the truth about how they stole the woodchipper....

Adam Carter
May 11 2016 10:46 AM Smich says there were other things he stole with Millard, like a wood chipper. It came from a City of Oakville storage unit.

May 11 2016 10:46 AM "It was locked up, cameras, stuff like that. We looked at it one time through the back of the fence ... it was a wood chipper, he wanted it."

May 11 2016 10:47 AM They came back with bolt cutters. "We chopped the lock, drove right in there, hooked up the wood chipper to the Yukon, and drove on."


http://news.nationalpost.com/posted-toronto/police-search-for-oakville-wood-chipper

Of all the things thieves might be interested in stealing, it’s unlikely the Town of Oakville expected this: Sometime between January 6th and 9th, an unknown number of suspects cut a padlock at the entrance to a parks department yard on Cornwall Road and stole a $35,000 wood chipper.

After breaking in, the suspect, or suspects, backed up an unknown vehicle to the large machine and towed it off the lot, according to a release from Halton Regional Police.

 

[canadiangirl]

At least MS told the truth about how they stole the woodchipper....

Adam Carter
May 11 2016 10:46 AM Smich says there were other things he stole with Millard, like a wood chipper. It came from a City of Oakville storage unit.

May 11 2016 10:46 AM "It was locked up, cameras, stuff like that. We looked at it one time through the back of the fence ... it was a wood chipper, he wanted it."

May 11 2016 10:47 AM They came back with bolt cutters. "We chopped the lock, drove right in there, hooked up the wood chipper to the Yukon, and drove on."


http://news.nationalpost.com/posted-toronto/police-search-for-oakville-wood-chipper

Of all the things thieves might be interested in stealing, it’s unlikely the Town of Oakville expected this: Sometime between January 6th and 9th, an unknown number of suspects cut a padlock at the entrance to a parks department yard on Cornwall Road and stole a $35,000 wood chipper.

After breaking in, the suspect, or suspects, backed up an unknown vehicle to the large machine and towed it off the lot, according to a release from Halton Regional Police.

Quite satisfying WS knew about this a long time ago. Good job sleuths