HAMILTON — Dellen Millard appeared alert but said little as he heard in court Wednesday morning that he is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Tim Bosma.

His appearance lasted about 15 minutes in a courtroom that was packed with spectators.

Millard, 27, who is tall and lanky, was dressed in a wrinkled dress shirt and had a scruffy growth of beard.

His hair was short and a natural brown, a sharp contrast to the shock of bright red dyed hair in a Mohawk haircut that appears in online photos of him.

He did not appear nervous, but didn’t speak other than to give his name in a clear voice.

Millard, who was unshackled in court, was ordered held in custody for his next court appearance, and a publication ban was ordered on evidence presented at Wednesday’s hearing.

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Defence lawyer Deepak Paradkar said his client plans to plead not guilty.

Although he maintains his innocence, he’s not speaking with police for fear of being unfairly implicated in the murder, Paradkar said.

“He’s exercising his constitutional right to remain silent,” Paradkar told several dozen journalists outside the downtown Hamilton courthouse.

“We’re defending it,” Paradkar said. “We’re pleading not guilty.”

The lawyer said he is baffled by the motives of whoever killed Bosma, described by police, neighbours and family as a church-going family man.

“That’s the biggest question mark anybody could have in this case,” Paradkar said.

Paradkar said that his client is a wealthy man who has never been to jail.

Bosma was lured from his home in Ancaster on May 6 by two men who said they were interested in a test drive of his 2007 truck.

Police said he was murdered within hours of leaving his home.

Paradkar said his client could easily have purchased the truck.

“His finances are fine,” Paradkar said. “He’s not in debt… He was not hurting financially.”

Paradkar dismissed a question about whether his client may have been running an illegal chop shop for stolen vehicles out of a Waterloo Region aircraft hangar.

The Millard family’s airline business was recently revamped, with the aircraft hangar in Waterloo Region converted into an airline repair facility, Paradkar said.

That work cost in the “upper seven” figures, Paradkar said.

Millard employed engineers and mechanics in the firm, he said.

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Paradkar said he doesn’t expect the case to actually go to court for two years, as the police investigation isn’t yet complete.

There are at least two suspects still at large, police said.

Paradkar said he expects it will take at least six months just to obtain disclosure of the Crown’s case against his client.

“He does know he’s in for long haul,” Paradkar said.

“He’s a bit of a philosopher,” Paradkar said. “… He’s taking it one step at a time.”

Paradkar said that Millard’s mother is “very distraught” over her son’s predicament.

She knows him as a “good son, an obedient son, and someone who’s always excelling at things,” Paradkar said.

The accusations against him are completely against his character, Paradkar said.

“He’s not somebody who’s cocky or arrogant or one of those rich brat kids,” Paradkar said.

Millard is being held in the Barton Street East Jail in Hamilton, where he is under heavy guard but not in protective custody.

“I’m not saying [he’s in] isolation but similar to isolation,” Paradkar said.

He’s also not under a suicide watch, he said.

Paradkar said that his client is upset over the pain that the Bosma family has suffered, although he maintains his innocence concerning the crime.

“Any human being would be extremely remorseful and sad over what has happened,” he said.

Although he maintained his client’s innocence, Paradkar also had praise for police investigators.

Hamilton police said on Tuesday that there are some 120 investigators working on the case.

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