Marlena Meneses was back on the witness stand at the murder trial of Mark Smich and Dellen Millard on Tuesday, being cross-examined by both men’s lawyers.

Meneses was dating and living with Smich at the time of his arrest in May 2013.

Millard was arrested about two weeks earlier.

Both men have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in connection with the death of Tim Bosma.

Bosma disappeared on May 6, 2013, after taking two men for a test drive of a pickup truck he was selling. The Crown contends that Smich and Millard killed him in the truck, cremated his remains in an animal incinerator kept at Millard’s hangar at the Region of Waterloo International Airport, and then moved the remains to a Millard-owned farm property in North Dumfries.

Over two days of testimony, Meneses had said that she was in love with Smich to the point where she was willing to overlook physical and verbal abuse.

She has said that Millard and Smich were in a celebratory mood the morning after Bosma disappeared, claiming to have completed a “mission” – a word they often used as a euphemism for criminal activity.

Her testimony has also revealed that in the days prior to Bosma’s vanishing, Smich and Millard – who she has described as best friends – were plotting to steal a black pickup truck.

Tuesday’s testimony marked the first time Meneses was questioned by Smich’s lawyer, Thomas Dungey.

At the outset of that questioning, Meneses agreed with Dungey that she never meant to mislead police when she spoke with investigators in the past.

The jury has previously heard that Meneses didn’t mention any morning celebrations involving Smich and Millard for nearly three years, until five days before she testified at the trial.

At Dungey’s prompting, Meneses suggested a different sort of relationship with Smich than what jurors heard during earlier testimony.

Meneses agreed with suggestions that Smich paid her living expenses, wanted her to go back to school and provided her with a more stable living situation than she’d had at home.

When talk turned to Millard, Meneses described “creepy” behaviour including long stares and sexual comments. She said if she brought the issue up, Smich would get mad at her.

Jurors heard that Meneses first started to put the pieces of the puzzle together three days after Bosma disappeared, when she learned that a black pickup truck had showed up at Millard’s hangar, and that Bosma and his truck had both disappeared.

Meneses said she felt Smich was protecting her, and Millard, by saying little about their “mission” until she confronted him seeking answers.

“I don’t think he wanted to tell me because he was involved,” she testified.

Over time, jurors heard, Smich eventually told Meneses that Millard had told him he killed Bosma.

The trial resumes Wednesday morning with testimony expected from Christina Noudga, the ex-girlfriend of Millard who is also charged with being an accessory to murder after the fact.