Self-represented Millard calls a defence in Babcock murder trial
Posted November 27, 2017 5:55 am.
Last Updated November 27, 2017 1:44 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The first-degree murder trial for two Toronto-area men accused of killing a young woman continued Monday, with one of the men calling a defence.
Dellen Millard, 32, and Mark Smich, 30, are accused of killing Laura Babcock in the summer of 2012 and burning her body in an animal incinerator. They have pleaded not guilty.
On Monday, the self-represented Millard decided to call a defence, which could include taking the stand himself.
Read CityNews court reporter Marianne Boucher’s coverage from the trial below. For a mobile-friendly link, click here.
Millard started his defence by reading several admissions to the jury. He also read a transcript of a police interview given by Shawn Lerner, a former boyfriend of Babcock.
Lerner told police that while doing his own investigation into her disappearance, he spoke to a man who claimed to have seen Babcock in Yorkville on July 10 or July 17 — which would have been several days after the Crown alleges she was murdered.
He also read text messages between himself and Babcock from 2011 and 2012, where she asks if they can get together but he says he is too busy at work. He also detailed texts between and himself, Smich and other friends about his needing sleep and being overworked.
Millard is expected to continue his defence on Tuesday. It is not yet known if he will testify.
Last week, the Crown concluded its case against the two men, alleging they killed Babcock, 23, because she became a problem for Millard and his girlfriend.
Babcock’s body has not been found.
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Smoke, crackling sound coming from incinerator in 2012, Smich’s ex tells Babcock trial
