Bosma Murder Trial 02.18.16 - Day 11

[Night_is_Mine]

And it will. The attorneys have legal arguments. The day started off today with legal arguments. The judge obviously made a decision to postpone those arguments until tomorrow and not call in the jury. So it is a court day, the reporters will be there, but the jury won't. So nothing can be tweeted.

HTH

Well that sucks. I took a day off from work to attend court tomorrow and there will be nothing to see .

 

[ArianeEmory]

Well that sucks. I took a day off from work to attend court tomorrow and there will be nothing to see .

Sounds like you might get to hear some interesting off-the-record stuff, if I understand correctly.

 

[RandomName479]

And she'll get to see his face again when she testifies, but IIRC they were still friends at the time of his arrest

I wouldn't be surprised if she does testify, but is this something that has been stated or because she was involved is some of the phone activity we are assuming she will be testifying? IIRC she is no longer in Canada.....MOO

 

[Kamille]

Feb 18 2016 2:14 PM
Snider now marking the fields on a map he would farm on 2548 Roseville Road.

Susan Clairmont ‏@susanclairmont 5m5 minutes ago
Asked to ID Millard in court. Points to him. Millard raises his hand and gives him a little wave back.

Susan Clairmont ‏@susanclairmont 4m4 minutes ago
Growing season mid-April to mid-December.

Susan Clairmont ‏@susanclairmont 3m3 minutes ago
He would be off land at latest, mid-December.

Susan Clairmont ‏@susanclairmont 1m1 minute ago
Showing him a map of the farm land. He is to mark the fields he farmed.

 

[Juballee]

Uh, well, DM hasn't been shown to be good about the details. He probably did not know that (not common knowledge anyway) and probably didn't take that into account when he planned this crime...just like he didn't pre-plan to hide phone activity, fingerprints, the incinerator...

I'd call that more a lack of planning, which to me suggests that this wasn't a planned event for DM. At least MS knew enough to turn off his phone and not to leave any fingerprints and to hide his face from witnesses.

 

[Kamille]

Feb 18 2016 2:16 PM
Crown Craig Fraser asking Snider if he used the treeline laneway -- he says yes. It was a way in to the back of the farm without driving through the fields.

Feb 18 2016 2:16 PM
That laneway is where The Eliminator was found.

 

[Night_is_Mine]

Sounds like you might get to hear some interesting off-the-record stuff, if I understand correctly.

Will the accused be there? I wanna see those <modsnip>.

 

[Tealgrove]

Well that sucks. I took a day off from work to attend court tomorrow and there will be nothing to see .

I'm going to take a day off next week and go to court. I was thinking about tomorrow as well but with forecasted freezing rain I think I'll pass.

 

[Kamille]

Feb 18 2016 2:18 PM
Snider farmed in fields right next to where The Eliminator was found

Feb 18 2016 2:19 PM
He'd pay once on a yearly basis to use those fields. He paid Millard $7,800 by cheque, he says.

Feb 18 2016 2:20 PM
Snider says "his darling secretary" - Mrs. Snider - looked after sending the cheque in the mail.
Adam Carter

 

[Night_is_Mine]

Watch DM's attorney ask that hog farmer if DM ever tried to conceal the barn or if he kept it in the open SMH

 

[Kamille]

Sounds like you might get to hear some interesting off-the-record stuff, if I understand correctly.

And just to clarify, whatever you may hear cannot be posted here due to the publication ban.

 

[Kamille]

Feb 18 2016 2:22 PM
Court now seeing a copy of the check made out to "Del Millard."
Adam Carter

 

[Juballee]

I think this refers back to yesterday...

There was a question about a long pole with a flat piece on the end. The question was vague and DM's lawyer made a comment about it (about assuming or something?).
They were talking about the clean-out pole for the incinerator. It can be seen in the image below. Wonder if there were prints on it, or residue from the clean-out.

http://i.cbc.ca/1.3452584.145574914...tives/4x3_620/millard-farm-the-eliminator.png

That was MS's lawyer who had objections to the pole being discussed.

 

[Kamille]

Feb 18 2016 2:24 PM
Snider says he was on the property on May 13, 2013. "The Waterloo Regional Police came to my place and asked if I'd go with them and help define the borders of the property."

Feb 18 2016 2:24 PM
"As we were driving into the property, I noticed a bunch of trees knocked over that weren't knocked over the fall before. I also noticed an incinerator in the laneway."

Feb 18 2016 2:25 PM
Snider says he noticed the incinerator on May 13, but had never seen it before.

Feb 18 2016 2:26 PM
Millard's lawyer Nadir Sachak now cross examining.
Adam Carter

Feb 18 2016 2:25 PM
He farmed on that location that year. "I've quit since then," he says -- he does not have a similar arrangement with the new owner.

 

[Night_is_Mine]

And just to clarify, whatever you may hear cannot be posted here due to the publication ban.

So why do reporters even bother going tomorrow?

 

[Juballee]

IMO, DM would have had the truck legally registered. It's possible. MOO

"3. Where a vehicle for which a permit is currently validated is modified so that it does not correspond to the description of the vehicle on the permit, the owner of the vehicle shall apply to the Ministry for a new permit for the vehicle within six days after the modification. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 628, s. 3."
https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/900628

Follow up question: would that then change the records that LE could see when they run a VIN?

 

[Kamille]

Feb 18 2016 2:26 PM
Millard's lawyer Nadir Sachak now cross examining.

Feb 18 2016 2:27 PM
He's asking about when the planting season starts. Snider says he started planting in April 2013.

Feb 18 2016 2:28 PM
Snider says he wouldn't have been using the laneway around that time.

Feb 18 2016 2:29 PM
"That's the laneway you have used or walked on many times over the years, correct?" Sachak says. "Yes," he says.

Feb 18 2016 2:29 PM
He says he has never seen other people use that laneway. "It's not public property," he says, adding that he's also not on that property all the time.

 

[Kamille]

Feb 18 2016 2:31 PM
Snider says someone who is agile might be able to jump the locked gate at the end of the roadway, but he wouldn't be able to.

Feb 18 2016 2:31 PM
Dungey doesn't cross-examine. Snider is done.

 

[Juballee]

Well that sucks. I took a day off from work to attend court tomorrow and there will be nothing to see .

I would think the opposite, lucky you to get to see all the stuff we don't get to hear about. Unless the courtroom is closed tomorrow, but I don't think it is. You will still get to see all the players but the jury.

 

[palisadesk]

Is it possible that they (or one or the other) are witholding the information on the whereabouts of the missing remains to use as a bargaining chip for a lesser sentence if they are convicted?

Not at all likely. Any bargaining would have taken place before trial, in an effort to get charges reduced, for example from first-degree to second-degree murder. One or the other might have offered to plead guilty and "spare the family" if they shared certain information and were charged with second-degree murder. (This kind of bargaining took place before Bernardo's trial - he agreed to plead guilty to second degree murder and prevent a trial, but his plea attempt was rejected).These sorts of negotiations are common, and take some pressure off the court and legal system, as protracted trials like this one are very costly.

But the sentences for both first and second degree murder are mandated by law and not subject to negotiation. Life without parole for a minimum of 25 years (for first degree murder), life without parole for a minimum of ten years for second-degree murder, but with parole eligibility date to be determined by the sentencing judge.