HAMILTON — The Crown in the Tim Bosma trial says a series of text messages between the Hamilton man's accused killers shows the pair meticulously planned to steal a truck, kill its owner with a gun and incinerate the remains.
Crown attorney Craig Fraser has shown court texts between Mark Smich and Dellen Millard that talk about stealing a Dodge truck, the same one Bosma was trying to sell online when he disappeared on May 6, 2013, after taking two strangers on a test drive.
Police found Bosma's body more than a week later burned beyond recognition.
Smich, 28, of Oakville, Ont., and Millard, 30, of Toronto, have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in Bosma's death.
Millard has chosen not to take the stand in his own defence, but Smich has testified that killing Bosma was never part of their plan.
Fraser, however, points to text messages between Smich and Millard dated to early 2012 in which they discuss guns and an incinerator.
Smich has testified that Millard shot and killed Bosma inside his truck and burned his body in an incinerator — dubbed "The Eliminator" — that Millard had purchased for $15,000.
Smich has said he went along with the coverup because he was terrified of his friend.