Verdict: GUILTY for both Millard and Smich of 1st degree murder #3

[MsSherlock]

I have always been suspicious of Millard's motives for defending himself for LB's trial. As a result, he was given full disclosure of the Crown's evidence very early on. Causing trial delays would be a natural assumption, but could it also have given him more opportunity sooner, rather than later to build a story around the evidence that could be plausable?

IMO, DM doesn't have anything else better to do. He's probably still delusional in believing he's smarter than everyone else and can work a story around his other charges. It's sad to think that LB & WM's family has to wait longer for closure. It's also not fair for MS- the Courts have an obligation to make sure he gets tried in a timely fashion. IMO, TD is quite correct in his assertion that DM is attempting to manipulate the courts. Same as DM and MB are probably trying to manipulate the money. MOO

 

[Alethea Dice]

I think that it isn't so much that it is his issue alone, but rather that he is between a rock and a hard place, due to his funds being held in limbo, unaccessible, and yet he was refused legal aid due to being wealthy on paper. MS likely doesn't have a dime to his name, so he wouldn't have an issue getting legal aid assistance, and perhaps same with CN, since they are both adults and even if their parents have money, they don't have an obligation to spend it on their adult children's legal defence. jmo

Yes, I was referring more specifically to the Bosma civil case not being DM's issue alone. But, I agree that he was left between a rock and a hard place in being able to obtain legal council.

 

[Alethea Dice]

Here's the last one- freeing up 75K
http://www.zeifmans.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Order-June-16-2016-2.pdf

The receiver has been in place since November 2015. I wonder how much of that $75k went towards legal fees for the first trial? Or for that matter, how much lawyer fees would amount to for a first degree murder trial? Since anything over $50,000 has to go through court before it can be released.

 

[Alethea Dice]

Since he has been denied legal aid, I guess he's going to have to dig a little deeper into his mother's pockets to pay for his legal costs.

It isn't his mother's responsibility to pay his legal costs. And despite how anyone feels about him personally, everyone is supposed to have the right to an attorney. JMO

 

[Alethea Dice]

I have always been suspicious of Millard's motives for defending himself for LB's trial. As a result, he was given full disclosure of the Crown's evidence very early on. Causing trial delays would be a natural assumption, but could it also have given him more opportunity sooner, rather than later to build a story around the evidence that could be plausable?

He would have had full disclosure whether he had a lawyer or whether he defended himself. Same amount of time either way. Maybe he felt like he was stuck with no way to pay and felt he would have to defend himself. Or maybe he discovered something that might require a little more investigation than he would have access to on his own behind bars. I doubt we've ever know what was happening behind the scenes for his decisions. JMO

 

[MsSherlock]

It isn't his mother's responsibility to pay his legal costs. And despite how anyone feels about him personally, everyone is supposed to have the right to an attorney. JMO

IIRC, the liquidation of the assets under DM's control started just hours after his arrest. By the time the Bank got it's act in gear and LE laid charges against DM for WM's death, there was lots of time for the cash from these assets freed up for DM's defence. MB and SS even stayed behind as employees of Millardair for a couple of years. I don't feel one ounce of concern for DM- he started out in his adult life with enough cash to live a luxurious life for the rest of his days. He resorted to murder- because he wanted to. All they have to do is go to the Court and ask for more money out of WM's estate. Of course, that requires some accountability- but it's an option none the less. MOO

 

[marymcd]

It isn't his mother's responsibility to pay his legal costs. And despite how anyone feels about him personally, everyone is supposed to have the right to an attorney. JMO

I actually agree with you under most circumstances. I guess the point which I didn't make very clearly and is only speculation on my part is that Millard may have hidden money and quite possibly in the early days after his arrest during financial dealings with his mother. A legal expert had said in the Toronto Star article that I had linked that it was not necessary for him to transfer the properties to his mother since he had given her Power of Attorney or he could have simply added her to the title. Also, if there were a financial audit, many of the expenses allocated to Millardair or Millard Properties may have been personal expenses, and then would have been considered draws that would ultimately reduce Millard's shareholder loans to Millard Properties. That is how I understood the Receiver's report however and I may be wrong.

I don't know what the criteria is to be approved or denied legal aid. I did notice that MB, 24, the son of the president of a successful Kitchener construction firm has also been denied legal aid to cover costs of his 2nd murder trial following the mistrial at the end of the first trial. He is appealing the legal aid decision.

http://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/michael-ball-makes-court-appearance-in-fight-for-legal-aid-1.3096244

In the star article that announced Millard's trial delay, Superior Court Justice John McMahon stated that the trial will proceed in September (2017) whether or not Millard has retained a lawyer.

https://www.thestar.com/news/crime/...-of-laura-babcock-postponed-to-sept-2017.html

 

[matou]

I also am wondering if he's siphoned money since he's been arrested? To some little island like many other people have done? JMO

 

[marymcd]

He would have had full disclosure whether he had a lawyer or whether he defended himself. Same amount of time either way. Maybe he felt like he was stuck with no way to pay and felt he would have to defend himself. Or maybe he discovered something that might require a little more investigation than he would have access to on his own behind bars. I doubt we've ever know what was happening behind the scenes for his decisions. JMO

Well, many have described Millard as manipulative, and IMO I think he would have thought that the idea of representing himself would be of some advantage to him, besides causing trial delays. As I said, perhaps not clearly again, it gives him the opportunity to present his 'story' written to fit the evidence to a lawyer he planned from the beginning to retain. Just MOO though.

I think if he had wanted to put on a show, he would have taken the stand at the Bosma trial, which would have been hopeless at that point and to gain any credibility, he would have had to have shown some form of remorse or show of sympathy toward the Bosma family, but he probably could have done a lot of damage to Smich in spite of the throttling he would have been served by TD. JMO though.

ETA: IDK why he ultimately chose not to testify, if it may have been that he was loathe to show remorse or sympathy, or that he was so intimidated by Dungee, or both among other things

 

[MsSherlock]

Well, many have described Millard as manipulative, and IMO I think he would have thought that the idea of representing himself would be of some advantage to him, besides causing trial delays. As I said, perhaps not clearly again, it gives him the opportunity to present his 'story' written to fit the evidence to a lawyer he planned from the beginning to retain. Just MOO though.

I think if he had wanted to put on a show, he would have taken the stand at the Bosma trial, which would have been hopeless at that point and to gain any credibility, he would have had to have shown some form of remorse or show of sympathy toward the Bosma family, but he probably could have done a lot of damage to Smich in spite of the throttling he would have been served by TD. JMO though.

ETA: IDK why he ultimately chose not to testify, if it may have been that he was loathe to show remorse or sympathy, or that he was so intimidated by Dungee, or both among other things

I know that some may have thought DM was representing himself to get info about the LB case, but I tend to think that he did it because he actually believed that he is a brilliant mind-much more brilliant than his lawyers and that with his talents, he'd be able to do a much better job- just like he was going to "address the Jury" in the TB case. His words to the Judge in concern to needing a delay in the LB case smacks of simple manipulation- just as TD called it- he doesn't want a delay to get a lawyer; rather, getting a lawyer is a good reason for a delay.

The world according to DM. IMHO, DM would have taken the stand in a NY minute- I'm thinking that RP and NS had a lot of convincing to do to stop him from getting up there; he did show a bit of shock when his partner in crime MS decided to take the option. In no time at all, DM's days in court will be finished and he'll be existing for the rest of his days in a maximum security facility; nothing more than the memories of freedom and all of those things money once bought. MOO

 

[MsSherlock]

I also am wondering if he's siphoned money since he's been arrested? To some little island like many other people have done? JMO

Oh I think there's been lots of siphoning, but IMHO, MB and SS were the ones with the straws. When you think that they had to go to the courts to get 75K freed up, you can't help but wonder where all the money from the sale of equipment from the hangar, planes, cars and properties went. There was enough money in the kitty to float payroll for a couple of years. If I had to venture a guess? SS may have got set up in biz- MB may have beefed up retirement funds and DM may believe his team has stashed some moola on an imaginary island. lol MOO

 

[SnooperDuper]

Courts scramble under new rules on trial delays
Three months after a landmark Supreme Courts of Canada ruling set out clear limits on how long trials should take, the courts are struggling to adjust.
https://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2016/10/16/courts-scramble-under-new-rules-on-trial-delays.html

The new rules established by the R v Jordan decision to ensure accused persons get a trial within a reasonable time have left courts across the country scrambling to deal with a new reality.

Instead of trying to figure out whose fault the delay was, the court determined that cases at the provincial court level shouldn’t take longer than 18 months and cases at the Superior Court level shouldn’t take longer than 30 months from the time charges were laid.

As a result, lawyers say, relatively minor charges may be less likely to be thrown out, but – in a dramatic change – charges as serious as murder are now in jeopardy.

The Jordan decision loomed large when Dellen Millard asked Friday to postpone his trial for the first-degree murder of Laura Babcock for a year. Justice John McMahon noted that the delay would be unreasonable to both Millard’s co-accused Mark Smich and the Crown and allowed the February 2017 trial to be moved to September 2017 at the latest.

 

[Georgeo]

Courts scramble under new rules on trial delays
Three months after a landmark Supreme Courts of Canada ruling set out clear limits on how long trials should take, the courts are struggling to adjust.
https://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2016/10/16/courts-scramble-under-new-rules-on-trial-delays.html

The LB trial should not be delayed yet again..what about her rights?

 

[Alethea Dice]

IIRC, the liquidation of the assets under DM's control started just hours after his arrest. By the time the Bank got it's act in gear and LE laid charges against DM for WM's death, there was lots of time for the cash from these assets freed up for DM's defence. MB and SS even stayed behind as employees of Millardair for a couple of years. I don't feel one ounce of concern for DM- he started out in his adult life with enough cash to live a luxurious life for the rest of his days. He resorted to murder- because he wanted to. All they have to do is go to the Court and ask for more money out of WM's estate. Of course, that requires some accountability- but it's an option none the less. MOO

Wasn't there some discussion that some of those funds may have been used to pay off other mortgages/debt? For example, the $3M+ charge that the bank put on the Riverside property.

 

[Alethea Dice]

Courts scramble under new rules on trial delays
Three months after a landmark Supreme Courts of Canada ruling set out clear limits on how long trials should take, the courts are struggling to adjust.
https://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2016/10/16/courts-scramble-under-new-rules-on-trial-delays.html

Unfortunately for LB's family, this was already past the 30 months with the February date.

 

[Variant]

Unfortunately for LB's family, this was already past the 30 months with the February date.

Fortunately for the LB family, justice will still be served because the process adds any delays caused by defence to the 30 months and considers mitigating circumstances such as time needed to complete preceding trials.

 

[Alethea Dice]

Fortunately for the LB family, justice will still be served because the process adds any delays caused by defence to the 30 months and considers mitigating circumstances such as time needed to complete preceding trials.

Really? Then I wonder why the article says:

Instead of trying to figure out whose fault the delay was, the court determined that cases at the provincial court level shouldn’t take longer than 18 months and cases at the Superior Court level shouldn’t take longer than 30 months from the time charges were laid.

and...

In the criminal courts too, the impact of the Jordan decision is already clearly visible. Brown says Crowns and judges are actively pushing cases forward – sometimes even when the defence does not yet have all the information.

“It’s not really addressing the issues that lead to delay in the first place like a shortage of judges and Crowns, a lack of court space and delayed disclosure,” Brown says.

If they're not taking into account delays in the defense receiving disclosure, judge or courtroom shortages, or even, as in the example given in the article, the Crown applying for direct indictments just when the preliminary hearing is set to begin, I don't know why they would look at any delays, or trying to determine who is at fault for the majority of the delays.

It seems that it's still "murky" which "exceptionally complex" cases will be allowed to exceed the time limits.

Having said all that, I doubt that anything would stop this trial from going forward at this point.

Perhaps a good place to start in correcting these ever increasing time frames in to going to trial would be to appoint more judges and start holding criminal trials during the summer months.

JMO

 

[deugirtni]

Today's Spec:

The tangled financial web of Bosma killer Dellen Millard

Dellen Millard can't inherit his father's estate because he has yet to stand trial for his murder --- but court documents show that is where some of the cash to fund his defence may come from.


Millard had spent at least $1.2 million in legal fees by November 2015, civil court documents obtained by the Toronto Star show. ....

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/6918565-the-tangled-financial-web-of-bosma-killer-dellen-millard/

 

[SnooperDuper]

Following a "protracted and difficult sale process" Millard Properties sold its interest in the Waterloo airport lease and hangar for $4.8 million in April 2015 – $3.2 million in cash, the rest as a promissory note, a report by a court-appointed receiver states.

Great return on a $9.5.M investment, huh?

 

[MsSherlock]

Great return on a $9.5.M investment, huh?

Well, it looks like we weren't too far off on a lot of the finance stuff. They were worried about "stigma"? lol Anyhow, it doesn't add up and I hope all those owed money have some good forensic accountants in there. MOO