GUILTY - Wayne Millard Murder Trial - Dellen Millard Charged With Murder - #4

[MistyWaters]

If you follow that post back to its origin, I was saying that DM's behavior was absolutely not normal, in that he did NOT call 911, and that he did not touch the body, and as a layman unfamiliar with finding dead bodies in his home (presumably at least???), a normal reaction would be to want to make darned sure that his dad was in fact dead, that he couldn't possibly be saved, but instead he called his mom who lived a distance away, and had HER make the call, and even then, instead of her making the call immediately so as to save WM if there was any possible chance, or even instead of her telling DM to make the call, she drove there to see for herself (ie good thing the guy was already dead, huh?). Had DM made the call himself, I was saying that the operator/dispatcher would have told him to do certain things to ENSURE the guy was dead.. but someone disagreed.. so I was responding to that.
I think I just beat sillybilly's longest sentence ever rating??

Thanks for the excellent summary. My question would be, how is “normal” determined?

Because the part I get lost on, in the ordinary world, I see absolutely nothing wrong for an adult child who goes to a parent’s home and is unexpectedly confronted with the shock of finding their loved one obviously dead, especially in a case of presumed natural death or suicide, to respond by immediately calling a spouse, mother, sibling, etc for moral support. Then waiting a short time for that person to arrive before calling 911 rather than being alone, considering 911s response time can be in a matter of a few minutes.

I don’t see that as suspicious behaviour in itself as every person reacts in different ways, especially those who are not trained to act rationally when faced with the death. Nor was there trial testimony indicating DM’s behaviour to be highly uncommon, let alone oddly unusual....because possibly there’s no normal way that people cope with death.

In this particular case, it certainly could be said DM was faking the way he responded, but the same could also be said if he’d called 911 immediately and was standing all alone, loudly wailing at the front of the driveway in a frenzied panic, waiting to wave down the first responders as they arrived.

I think the missing piece is the Crown chose not to call MB as a witness, therefore we also have no idea what transpired between them. I don’t even recall hearing the audio of her 911 call. Regardless of personal opinions about MB, she may have insisted that he wait for her so she be there for her son....that’s the sort of thing a loving mother might do.

 

[Arnie M]

My speculation ...... after 1.5 years the Millard MRO finally receives Transport Canada certification dated November 1 st..... as we know for many months hangar managers had been asking Dellen to remove his toys and junk from the hangar ...... and we know he did not ..... and we know there was some friction between DM and the hangar managers .

Dellen said he last spoke to his dad during the November 28 business meeting with hangar managers .... (during police interview) he said he wanted his dad to fire Manager (John Barnes) .... I betcha John had informed Dellen he must remove all his stuff because Monday December 3 would be the officially announced opening of the new MRO

Wayne told Dellen "maybe later" they could get rid of Mr Barnes ..... not fast enough for Dellen so he decided to get rid of Wayne instead .... and "conveniently" spent November 29 "cleaning the hangar" (forming an alibi)

Whether my speculation has merit or not we know Dellen got to do what he wanted with the hangar , got to fire all the managers and staff December 3 , and got to administer the Millard hangar and funds from then on .

 

[JoS13]

The whole suicide thing just does a number on my head, my heart truly goes out to anyone who has lost a loved one to suicide. I can only imagine the anguish and guilt, anger and sadness, the full rainbow of emotions that they would go through, and likely forever. I *can't* imagine topping it off by having police treat those same people as potential suspects.... to only add to their grief and woes.

This is true. But I think that LE should (in theory) be able to investigate a death in a somewhat objective way without treating the loved ones as suspects. I would think that loved ones would support this to a certain degree and want to know the truth about what happened.
In this case, I doubt that MB and DM were privy to the coroner's determination at the scene that it was "60-70 percent suicide, 30-40 percent suspicious", but if they had been, don't you think (assuming they were in fact shocked and surprised by WM's death...) that they would want LE to investigate further and be more sure?

 

[Sillybilly]

This is the Wayne Millard murder trial thread. Posts about an ex-gf are OT and her social media, and social media about her (including videos and non-approved blogs), is off-limits.

To clarify ... the ex-gf who is off-limits and referred to in the above post is EG (not Elizabeth Glass) who was at one time employed by Millard Air.

Mild discussion (but no sleuthing) re the ex-fiancee JS is allowed because ABro has been a valuable source of accurate information in these cases.

 

[Claroon]

Would creep me out to touch a dead body, just saying. But logically, why would Millard make that call to his mom without being certain that Wayne wasn't in a deep sleep? A normal person might walk in to the room, Say "Dad" several time, then maybe shake him a little. Until you do that the logical assumption would be he's sleeping.

of course because he knew he was dead, but he saw blood as he reported.

 

[winter2017]

My speculation ...... after 1.5 years the Millard MRO finally receives Transport Canada certification dated November 1 st..... as we know for many months hangar managers had been asking Dellen to remove his toys and junk from the hangar ...... and we know he did not ..... and we know there was some friction between DM and the hangar managers .

Dellen said he last spoke to his dad during the November 28 business meeting with hangar managers .... (during police interview) he said he wanted his dad to fire Manager (John Barnes) .... I betcha John had informed Dellen he must remove all his stuff because Monday December 3 would be the officially announced opening of the new MRO

Wayne told Dellen "maybe later" they could get rid of Mr Barnes ..... not fast enough for Dellen so he decided to get rid of Wayne instead .... and "conveniently" spent November 29 "cleaning the hangar" (forming an alibi)

Whether my speculation has merit or not we know Dellen got to do what he wanted with the hangar , got to fire all the managers and staff December 3 , and got to administer the Millard hangar and funds from then on .

Did he say why he wanted to fire Barnes? Was it because he was storing his cars at the hangar?

 

[Claroon]

Just reading stuff. Want to propose a theory which has no substantiation, but when I read this...

"Phone records indicate one of Millard’s phones moved from Smich’s house around 1 a.m. on Nov. 29, 2012, to his father’s home where it stayed until shortly after 6 a.m." Dellen Millard blamed dad for family business woes, trial told

...why has no one questioned if MS left his house and headed over to be lookout or do the deed? Other than MM's alibi for him, and the pizza receipt, does anyone else have an alibi for MS at that time? Maybe MM was asleep.

Maybe that's why the truck was left, for MS to drive. Earlier in the year they'd had conversations about him driving without a license

Apr 14 12:26 pm
Millard texts Smich: "If you get caught with no license, I will be the one that end up paying for lawyers. Don't do that to me." (1/4)
Babcock Day 12: Falconer testimony

Apr 14 12:26 pm
Millard texts Smich: "Be smart bro. We are gonna take this world, but we've got to be smart about it. I'd rather just pay..." (2/4)
Babcock Day 12: Falconer testimony

Apr 14 12:26 pm
Millard texts Smich: "...for your exam fee, and not have to worry about the rest. It's worth it, I know, you get stopped..." (3/4)
Babcock Day 12: Falconer testimony

When he says "Nov 16 2:44 pm Smich texts Millard: "I'll link u back after I'm done callin the place." Babcock Day 13: Falconer testimony could he have meant the pizza place?

 

[Claroon]

Did he say why he wanted to fire Barnes? Was it because he was storing his cars at the hangar?

He just said he didn't trust him or something of that nature. But Barnes had been critical of all the junk in the hangar which rubbed DM the wrong way.

 

[jash]

And BTW, the strangest comment from Millard was that after finding the body, he went to do something in his room for about ten minutes. Did he feel the need to rub one out or something?

In the police interview, he said he went back to his room "for a moment" and got his phone. It was his mother who he said was inside the house for "less than 10 minutes, more than 5".

When the interview was first released, I started to transcribe it (see below). Note: I included the ums, uhs, ers and pauses because I thought they might be telling.

Officer 1: Ok Dellen um, we are here with respect to an incident that actually happened yesterday, um Thursday, November 29th, 2012 at uh, at I believe your home at uh, 5 Maple Gate --

DM: Yes.

Officer 1: -- in Etobicoke. And what I’d like you to do is, is just start from beginning as to what happened and -- that brought the police into this, uh, incident.

DM: From the beginning?

Officer 1: Well --

DM: I don’t know what time what happened yesterday but, uh today, uh I got back to the house, um, sometime between 6 and 6:30 --

Officer 1: OK just, just today is, we’re after midnight.

Officer 2: It’s Friday.

Officer 1: It’s Friday so that’s why I say yesterday as far as Thursday.

DM: Alright, alright, yes I see. Um, and so Thursday, uh sometime between 6 and 6:30 I got back to the house. I had been, uh, working at our family business in Waterloo. Um, I came in through the side door, that’s the door most everybody uses in the house. And uh, I opened up the next door which leads to the cat area of the house. It’s the door from the kitchen to the hallway and my dog Pedo was waiting for me there. Um, and I walked down the hallway, and I walked to my room and um, I picked a sweater out of the closet - it had been a cold day - and then I was on my way back to the kitchen to make a snack, and I noticed that my father seemed to still be asleep, in bed, which was odd, because it was, um, late in the afternoon and so I poked my head in and something didn’t really seem right, um, about the way he was laying, he was laying very still. And I walked into the room and uh, I saw blood on the pillow (pause) and uh, uh for a moment I had to leave the room, actually went back to my room and uh, I got out my phone and I walked back into my dad’s room and I called my mother (pause) and I told her what I was seeing. And I literally said I‘m standing in my dad’s room and there’s blood all over his pillow and um, and he’s dead. And at first she thought I actually meant, um uh, my dog Pedo because she kept asking about his dog bed. And I said no, not the dog bed. His bed’s pillow. And she said well Pedo’s not dead, who’s dead? I said my dad. And then she just started screaming on the phone. And um (pause), um (pause) uhhh, what happened? (pause) And uh, well I stayed on the phone with her for awhile. I went out to the front, I left the room, I paced in the front driveway, and I stayed with her on phone for awhile and I tried to get her to take a taxi but she insisted she drive out. And um, and so she drove over, and I texted a, um, a friend of mine, Andrew – Andrew Michalski – and I told him that something terrible had happened and would he please come over, I didn’t want to be alone. Uh and he did and we waited in the driveway together until my mother got there. Uh, and then she went in the house, by herself, for (pause) less than 10 minutes (pause), more than 5 (pause) and she came back out and uh, and she pulled out her phone and she called the police, er well she dialed 911 and um, firetruck came first, then the ambulance then the squad cars. (pause) And uh, I talked to some of the officers. They asked me when was the last time I spoke with my father. (long pause) And what time I came home that day. (long pause) That’s what happened yesterday.

 

[deugirtni]

That's what I mean about cat door--the sliding door. DM said his dad would let the cats in and out there which is why it may have been unlocked.

Claroon.. as I was looking back at trialtweets, I noticed a particular tweet from AC in regard to one of the photos shown at trial.. I'm assuming he would have had a much clearer, larger view than the tiny blurry photo we have access to, and I think he would have noticed if the item on the chair arm was a cat. Just FYI, I wanted to post it but in a reply to you so that you would see it, so here it is:

May 31 2018 2:49 PM

We're now seeing photos from the bedroom where Wayne Millard was found. There's an armchair and computer chair with a lot of clothes piled on them.

 

[nuff]

I think the missing piece is the Crown chose not to call MB as a witness, therefore we also have no idea what transpired between them. I don’t even recall hearing the audio of her 911 call. Regardless of personal opinions about MB, she may have insisted that he wait for her so she be there for her son....that’s the sort of thing a loving mother might do.

Have to wonder why the Crown didn't require MB to testify, given that she was called as presumably a possible hostile witness. She was, I think, the only witness present at the scene who did not testify and, even if her testimony hadn't helped the prosecution case much, it also probably wouldn't have helped the defence. It's a missing piece of the already messy picture of events after DM "discovered" the body.

 

[clefk27]

Have to wonder why the Crown didn't require MB to testify, given that she was called as presumably a possible hostile witness. She was, I think, the only witness present at the scene who did not testify and, even if her testimony hadn't helped the prosecution case much, it also probably wouldn't have helped the defence. It's a missing piece of the already messy picture of events after DM "discovered" the body.

The Crown had a thin case to start with. Calling MB was surely a risk but she easily could have stumbled or slipped up in her testimony. I think that they would have had more to gain than to lose by calling her. JMO

 

[winter2017]

The Crown had a thin case to start with. Calling MB was surely a risk but she easily could have stumbled or slipped up in her testimony. I think that they would have had more to gain than to lose by calling her. JMO

If they got her up on the stand they could have tried to trip her up in her lies. I think they thought she would be as bad as CN and a very hostile witness.

 

[Deleted member 102539]

And BTW, the strangest comment from Millard was that after finding the body, he went to do something in his room for about ten minutes. Did he feel the need to rub one out or something?

Google translation is my friend.

 

[andreww]

If they got her up on the stand they could have tried to trip her up in her lies. I think they thought she would be as bad as CN and a very hostile witness.

Not sure what she would lie about. She got the call, she went, she mourned and consoled. I don't think there is anything she could say that would be crucial to the case. I honestly believe the only reason she was on the witness list was to keep her out of the courtroom. I doubt that anyone involved in this case can stand to look at her.

 

[Deleted member 102539]

rsbm...

If I were JS, I would have changed my name and moved, a long time ago. I wouldn't want to be connected to DM for any reason whatsoever. And the creepy thing is, I actually know people who are associated with him (friend of a friend kind of thing) that have boasted about it. People are just creepy. I think JS is smart to avoid the media.

I would like to know, when she and DM did solve their engagement? Years ago, I knew. Now it's gone.

 

[deugirtni]

Google translation is my friend.

Don't feel bad, even born here, I can't always understand English posts.

 

[deugirtni]

Have to wonder why the Crown didn't require MB to testify, given that she was called as presumably a possible hostile witness. She was, I think, the only witness present at the scene who did not testify and, even if her testimony hadn't helped the prosecution case much, it also probably wouldn't have helped the defence. It's a missing piece of the already messy picture of events after DM "discovered" the body.

AM was at the scene too, and not called, and according to ABro, JS was also at the scene. The housekeeper too....... who else don't we know about?

 

[JoS13]

In the police interview, he said he went back to his room "for a moment" and got his phone. It was his mother who he said was inside the house for "less than 10 minutes, more than 5".

I interpreted it as the sight of his father was upsetting/shocking so he had to leave the room for a minute ("And I walked into the room and uh, I saw blood on the pillow (pause) and uh, uh for a moment I had to leave the room").

I agree with MistyWaters post yesterday (quoted below) that in a situation where the person is very obviously dead, it doesn't seem that weird to not call 911 immediately because you know there is nothing that can be done. So maybe DM, and then MB when she got there, just wanted to spend some time with WM (to say their goodbyes, etc.) before calling 911 and having his body taken away. I don't think that would be that unusual, IMO. If they had had some time to process things that could also account for DM not seeming very emotional when first responders and LE arrived?

One thing that I question in this scenario, though, is had they really been taking the time (say, "more than five minutes but less than ten") to be with the body and say their goodbyes, don't you think they would have gotten close and touched him and probably noticed that there was a bloody hole where his eye should have been? But maybe not as I guess it was kind of hidden in the pillow? I'm also unsure (it wasn't 100% clear to me in the tweets) about their initial discussions with the paramedics and LE - It seems like they brought up the alcoholism right away with the paramedic, and presumably at that time were they thinking the death was due to "natural causes"...so did they only start talking about the depression, etc. once LE told them a gun had been found? Or were they planting the suicide idea from the beginning?

Thanks for the excellent summary. My question would be, how is “normal” determined?

Because the part I get lost on, in the ordinary world, I see absolutely nothing wrong for an adult child who goes to a parent’s home and is unexpectedly confronted with the shock of finding their loved one obviously dead, especially in a case of presumed natural death or suicide, to respond by immediately calling a spouse, mother, sibling, etc for moral support. Then waiting a short time for that person to arrive before calling 911 rather than being alone, considering 911s response time can be in a matter of a few minutes.

I don’t see that as suspicious behaviour in itself as every person reacts in different ways, especially those who are not trained to act rationally when faced with the death. Nor was there trial testimony indicating DM’s behaviour to be highly uncommon, let alone oddly unusual....because possibly there’s no normal way that people cope with death.

In this particular case, it certainly could be said DM was faking the way he responded, but the same could also be said if he’d called 911 immediately and was standing all alone, loudly wailing at the front of the driveway in a frenzied panic, waiting to wave down the first responders as they arrived.

I think the missing piece is the Crown chose not to call MB as a witness, therefore we also have no idea what transpired between them. I don’t even recall hearing the audio of her 911 call. Regardless of personal opinions about MB, she may have insisted that he wait for her so she be there for her son....that’s the sort of thing a loving mother might do.

 

[andreww]

I interpreted it as the sight of his father was upsetting/shocking so he had to leave the room for a minute ("And I walked into the room and uh, I saw blood on the pillow (pause) and uh, uh for a moment I had to leave the room").

I agree with MistyWaters post yesterday (quoted below) that in a situation where the person is very obviously dead, it doesn't seem that weird to not call 911 immediately because you know there is nothing that can be done. So maybe DM, and then MB when she got there, just wanted to spend some time with WM (to say their goodbyes, etc.) before calling 911 and having his body taken away. I don't think that would be that unusual, IMO. If they had had some time to process things that could also account for DM not seeming very emotional when first responders and LE arrived?

One thing that I question in this scenario, though, is had they really been taking the time (say, "more than five minutes but less than ten") to be with the body and say their goodbyes, don't you think they would have gotten close and touched him and probably noticed that there was a bloody hole where his eye should have been? But maybe not as I guess it was kind of hidden in the pillow? I'm also unsure (it wasn't 100% clear to me in the tweets) about their initial discussions with the paramedics and LE - It seems like they brought up the alcoholism right away with the paramedic, and presumably at that time were they thinking the death was due to "natural causes"...so did they only start talking about the depression, etc. once LE told them a gun had been found? Or were they planting the suicide idea from the beginning?

To me the reason Millard did not want to call 911 as he knew the call would be recorded and he wasn't sure he could pull it off. The plan was actually for the housekeeper to find the body, but when that didn't pan out it seems like he may have called AM to go check up on his dad. When he couldn't make it, he was out of options, but he left the 911 call to his Mother.

As for bringing up the alcoholism, I think that happened pretty quickly as the bullet hole and gun had not yet been discovered. The paramedic says that alcoholism can sometimes cause bleeding. Obviously Millard is already setting up the depression/alcoholism scenario in anticipation of the soon to be discovered gunshot wound.