Millard charged with 1st-degree murder in Tim Bosma’s death

A man has appeared in a Hamilton court to face charges including first-degree murder in the death of Tim Bosma, a married father who died after taking two men for a test drive of his pickup truck.

Charges of first-degree murder, forcible confinement and theft over $5,000 were read against Dellen Millard, 27, on Wednesday. The heir to Millard Air must remain in police custody while he awaits his next court appearance via video link on June 13 and cannot contact a list of witnesses who were subject to a publication ban.

Millard’s lawyer said Wednesday his client is exercising his right to remain silent while he remains in police custody but maintains his innocence and will defend the charges in court.

“We’re going to plead not guilty,” lawyer Deepak Paradkar said. “There’s a story behind this which I can’t get into. Obviously it’s more than what it appears to be.”

When asked what Millard would say to the Bosma family, Paradkar said “any human being would be extremely remorseful and sad for what’s happened. He maintains his innocence.”

The court appearance comes a day after Hamilton police said that the badly burned remains of Bosma, 32, were found on Millard’s farm near Cambridge, about 50 kilometres away from Bosma’s Ancaster home.

Bosma’s family said it would make a public statement at 4 p.m. Wednesday and is expected to provide information about a fund in his memory.

Bosma disappeared on the evening of May 6 after taking two men on a test drive of his pickup truck, which he’d posted for sale on the Internet.

On Saturday, police announced they had arrested Millard. He was charged at the time with forcible confinement and theft over $5,000.

With the discovery of Bosma’s remains, Millard, who at 14 became the youngest Canadian to fly solo in both an airplane and a helicopter, now faces the murder charge.

Paradkar described Millard as a very humble, intelligent and unassuming person “not someone who’s cocky or arrogant or one of these rich brat kids.” His client is “very concerned and distraught” and knows it’ll be a long haul.

He dispelled rumours that Millard was hurting financially.

“His finances are fine. He’s not in debt,” he said, adding Millard owns a number of properties which are paid for.

Paradkar also said Millard’s mother was in shock over the charges and had no knowledge of the trailer containing Bosma’s pickup truck being parked on her driveway in Kleinburg, Ont.

Det. Sgt. Matt Kavanagh said Tuesday he believes Bosma was targeted and “died shortly after he was abducted,” but hasn’t determined a motive in the case.

Police are still looking for at least two more suspects, including a man who went on the test drive of Bosma’s 2007 Dodge Ram pickup, and at least one other suspect who followed behind in another vehicle which was caught on surveillance video.

Officers are also executing search warrants on two of Millard’s properties — his farm near Cambridge and the Millard Air hangar in Waterloo — and on three vehicles in Hamilton.

Police confirmed Tuesday that Bosma’s pickup was located in Kleinburg in a trailer owned by Millard’s business. It was found on Sunday at the home of Millard’s mother Madeleine Burns, but Kavanagh said she has “no involvement or knowledge in this case.”

An earlier version of this article misstated the surname of Dellen Millard’s mother.

Trust Fund Information

Here’s how you can make a donation to the “In Memory of Tim Bosma” fund:
1.    Make an email transfer. Log on to your bank website and follow the instructions to send an Interac e-transfer to email address inmemoryoftimbosma@gmail.com
2.    Make a direct deposit to TD Canada Trust account number 2047-6332096.
3.    Visit a TD Canada Trust bank and make a donation to the Tim Bosma fund.