Dellen Millard’s lawyer got his chance to question Mark Smich on Monday at the trial of the two men accused of killing Tim Bosma.
The opening day of that cross-examination provided few of the fireworks some outside observers were expecting from the affair, with only a couple of notable exceptions.
One of them came near the end of the day’s testimony, when lawyer Ravin Pillay turned his attention to Millard’s toolbox, which came into Smich’s position after his friend Millard was arrested.
Jurors have heard that Smich knew the toolbox to contain drugs, and that investigators found it with traces of gunpowder, but no actual weapon.
Smich has testified that he found a gun inside the toolbox, thought about selling it to pay legal fees, and ended up burying it at a location he can no longer remember.
Under questioning from Pillay, Smich said that he was expecting to find drugs inside the toolbox, and was surprised when it turned out to have a gun inside.
Asked if he wanted to get his “thing” out of the locked toolbox, Smich replied “absolutely not.”
Smich and Millard have both pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in connection with the May 2013 death of Bosma, a Hamilton resident.
Over the course of a three-month trial, jurors have heard that Smich and Millard were good friends who would work occasionally work together to steal items like lawnmowers and construction equipment.
Bosma disappeared after taking two men to test drive a truck he was trying to sell.
Investigators believe Bosma was shot inside that truck, after which his remains were incinerated at the Region of Waterloo International Airport – where Millard had access to a hangar – and moved to a farm property in North Dumfries, also owned by Millard.
Last week, Smich told jurors that he did not kill Bosma, and was not even in the truck when the Hamilton man died.
Smich claimed that Millard had asked him to get out of the truck and follow in a second vehicle.
According to Smich’s testimony, Millard then pulled the truck over to the side of the road, with Smich following suit.
Smich said that he saw Millard walking away from the truck with a gun, then looked into the truck and saw Bosma’s body slumped over the dashboard, as well as a bullet hole.
Millard has elected not to testify in his own defence, meaning his lawyer’s questioning of Smich represents one of his last chances to present Millard’s version of events.
Earlier in the day Monday, Pillay repeatedly quizzed Smich about the current whereabouts of the gun, with Smich saying each time that he did not remember where he had buried it, in part because he was in shock at the time.
Asked why he didn’t tell police about the whereabouts of the gun, Smich also expressed concern that police might falsely accuse him of murder.
“I knew I handled the gun before. I knew Millard used the gun to kill Bosma,” he said.
The cross-examination continues Tuesday. The 14-person jury selected in February has been reduced to 13, as one juror has been excused due to a death in their family.
