





The case

After placing an ad online, Tim Bosma waved goodbye to his wife on May 6, 2013, as he left the house with two men who'd come to test drive the pickup truck he was trying to sell. That was the last time Sharlene Bosma would see her husband.

For days, police followed the mysterious case in their hunt for the missing man. The community rallied together to help find the young Christian dad. Thousands of posters were hung, search parties were organized, and a social media campaign was launched. Police had to set up a separate tip line to handle all the calls they received from the public.

Three days after he went missing, police announced they'd found Bosma's discarded cellphone in an industrial part of Brantford.

On the evening of May 10, a suspect was arrested. Dellen Millard, 27— a wealthy heir to an aviation dynasty — was charged with forcible confinement and theft over $5,000. But there was still no Tim — and no truck.

On May 12, police announced they found Bosma's truck parked inside a trailer in the driveway of Millard's mother's home in Kleinburg. On May 15, Millard's charges were upgraded to first-degree murder after police said they found Bosma's burned remains on Millard's Waterloo-area farm.

On May 22, while mourners filled a Hamilton banquet hall for a memorial service for Tim Bosma, police arrested a second man in his death. Millard's friend Mark Smich, 25, was charged with first-degree murder in Bosma's death.

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The victim

Tim Bosma: The 32-year-old husband and young father disappeared on May 6, 2013 after taking two men out for a test drive in a pickup truck he was selling online. There was a massive public outreach during the hunt for the missing man, and condolences poured in from across the country after police announced he had been murdered. Bosma's widow, Sharlene, has launched a charity for other families of homicide victims, called Tim's Tribute, in his honour.

The accused

Dellen Millard: The wealthy aviation heir was 27 when he was charged in 2013 with the first-degree murder of Tim Bosma. Police allege he was one of the men who went out on a test drive of the truck.

Mark Smich: A friend of Millard's, Smich was 25 when he was charged with the first-degree murder of Tim Bosma. Police allege he was the other man in the truck that night.

The police

Hamilton Police Det. Matt Kavanagh: Kavanagh led the Hamilton Police investigation into the disappearance and then murder of Tim Bosma.

OPP Insp. Dave Hillman: Hillman is the case manager for the OPP who is responsible for overseeing both the Bosma case as well as two other murder cases they have deemed as linked.

The Crown

Tony Leitch, Craig Fraser, Brett Moodie: The three assistant Crown attorneys prosecuting the Bosma case. Leitch will lead the Crown team.

The defence

Ravin Pillay: Millard's Toronto-based defence lawyer.

Thomas Dungey: Smich's Toronto-based defence lawyer.

Key dates

May 6, 2013: Tim Bosma disappears. He left his rural Ancaster home to go for a ride with two men who had come to test drive a truck he was looking to sell online. He never came home.

May 7: He is declared missing.

May 10: Police announce his cellphone was located in an industrial area in Brantford.

May 10: Dellen Millard, 27, is arrested and charged with theft and forcible confinement. Police announce the arrest on May 11.

May 12: Police find what they allege is Bosma's pickup truck parked in a trailer in the driveway of a Kleinberg home belonging to Millard's mother.

May 14: Police announce Bosma's remains have been discovered. Millard's charges are upgraded to first-degree murder the next day.

May 22: A second man, 25-year-old Mark Smich, is charged with first-degree murder in Bosma's death.

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A community gathered in prayer

People pray during memorial service for Tim Bosma at Carmen's Banquet Centre. Hamilton Spectator file photo

A s Tim Bosma’s family prepares for trial, their church community is ensuring they will be comforted with prayers.

A dedicated service took place at the Ancaster Christian Reformed Church Thursday night, where the congregation gathered to say prayers for Bosma’s family, including his wife Sharlene and their daughter, and his parents, Hank and Mary.

Rev. Rita Klein-Geltink described the event as “bittersweet.”

When the trial begins, Klein-Geltink says they will hold a daily prayer service for anyone who wants to pray in solidarity, but it will exist online, rather than in the church.

Each day, they will post a new scripture passage http://www.ancastercrc.org/on their websiteEND, and they are hoping that people will pray together – from home or at work, wherever they are – at 10 a.m. – the start of the trial.

“When I talked to Sharlene about this, I was thinking first thing in the morning. And she said ‘why don’t we do it at 10 a.m. when the court starts?’ And so that’s what we’re going to do,” Klein-Geltink says.

“The family is dealing with this every day, so this is one day to walk with them.”

Family friend Peter Lowe said Friday that the family is taking solace in the idea that their community will be praying for them and that the services will be a refuge from what can often feel like a “living crime novel.”

“Two and a half years ago, our community…showed love and concern for the family. They didn’t treat it like a crime novel,” Lowe said.

“For two and a half years people have been asking how the family is and what they can do,” Lowe says. Praying is what they can do.

To find the daily scripture passages, visit the ACRC website at http://www.ancastercrc.org.

Correction Published: 20160119 - Hamilton Police Det. Sgt. Matt Kavanagh led the Hamilton police investigation into the disappearance and death of Tim Bosma. His title in the story Saturday was incorrect. The Spectator regrets the error.

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