Tim Bosma's truck found in driveway of Millard's mother's home
A key piece of evidence in the trial of two men accused of killing Tim Bosma was found sitting in an affluent neighbourhood in Kleinburg, Ont., court heard Tuesday.
It was May 11, 2013 when a reporter came to Frank Cianfarani's door on Tinsmith Court and asked him to look at some photos of Dellen Millard, who had just been arrested in connection with the disappearance of the 32-year-old father from Ancaster, Ont.
Cianfarani recognized something in one of those photos, he testified Tuesday in Superior Court: "I did notice there was a trailer in the background of the photo — and that same trailer was parked in the driveway next to my home."
That driveway belonged to Dellen Millard's mother, Madeline Burns.
Millard, 30, of Toronto, and Mark Smich, 28, of Oakville, Ont., have both pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder.
Police believed Bosma might be inside trailer
Cianfarani called police, and investigators from York Regional police were dispatched to the neighbourhood.
When police got to the home and saw the trailer, they thought Bosma might still be inside, court heard.
"It was expressed to us that there were urgent circumstances, that a missing person could essentially be inside the trailer," York Regional Police Const. Mark Levangi testified.
The trailer had been parked in such a way that it was impossible to gain entrance to the main door or see its licence plates, court heard. Witness Gian Luca Consiglio, who lives across the street, told the court it was dropped off late on May 9.
Pictures displayed to the jury showed a large black trailer backed right up against the doorway of the home's garage.
"It appeared to me this was done either to conceal the licence plate or to prevent the rear door from being opened," York Regional Police Det. Const. Cory Weick testified.
Truck found without plates, partially stripped
The officers knocked on the door of the home, but no one answered. Investigators had to use a bolt cutter to remove locks on two smaller side doors to get inside the trailer.
Bosma wasn't inside — but his truck was, court heard.
"As I entered the doorway, I recognized it as being a Dodge Ram," Weick testified. There were no plates on the truck, and "the interior of the truck appeared to have been partially stripped," he said.
The officers relayed the VIN number on the truck to Hamilton police, who told them it was Bosma's truck. They also checked the VIN number on the trailer — it was registered to Millard Air.
During cross examination, Millard's lawyer Ravin Pillay asked Cianfarani whether there was any attempt to conceal the trailer, and he said no, it was out in the open and could be seen from the street.
Cellphone expert testifies
Court also heard testimony from Rogers Communications representative Danielle Fortier, a senior investigator in corporate investigations. She was qualified as a witness on cellphone records and the Rogers phone network.
Police made several requests to Rogers about phones pertaining to the case.
One of them was Millard's, court heard. The jury was shown phone records that indicated Millard's phone pinged off a tower in Ancaster at 9:02 p.m. on the night Bosma disappeared.
During cross-examination, Fortier said Rogers doesn't keep statistics on the percentage of cellphone calls that access the nearest tower. Some calls might be directed to a tower that's farther away because of weather or other obstructions, she said.
In rural areas, she testified, cellphones can be up to 35 kilometres away from the towers they ping.
The trial resumes Wednesday morning.
CBC reporter Adam Carter is in the courtroom each day reporting live on the trial. You can view a recap of his live blog here:
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adam.carter@cbc.ca
