The men accused of killing Tim Bosma are going straight to trial for the first-degree murder of Laura Babcock.

A direct indictment was granted Thursday by the attorney general's office, confirmed Jill Cameron, the Toronto assistant Crown attorney who will prosecute the first-degree Babcock murder case along with assistant Crown Ken Lockhart.

Accused killers Dellen Millard and Mark Smich were also sent right to trial for Bosma's first-degree murder when a direct indictment was issued in July 2014. That trial is scheduled to begin in January.

Babcock, 23, vanished in Toronto in June 2012. Her body has not been found. Her phone records show some of her last calls before she disappeared were to Millard's phone.

On May 6, 2013, Bosma, 32, left his Ancaster home to take two strangers for a test drive of his truck that was for sale. He never returned.

Bosma's charred remains were found on a farm property owned by Millard near Waterloo.

A direct indictment is a rare process by which a case skips the usual preliminary hearing stage after which a judge decides if there is enough evidence to commit it to trial.

Direct indictments are applied for by the Crown and are granted by the attorney general or deputy attorney general, and only in the most serious and complicated criminal cases.

Ontario's Crown policy manual says: "This power is an extraordinary one and is used infrequently in Ontario."

An application generally indicates the Crown believes it has a strong likelihood of conviction. The fast-tracking speeds up the judicial process, can reduce violations of publication bans (which are in place for both the Bosma and Babcock matters), spares witnesses from having to testify twice and the family from having to endure two lengthy hearings. It can prevent the defence from knowing the details of the Crown's strategy.

A direct indictment can also protect the integrity of evidence if there are related cases before the court.

For defence lawyers, it eliminates the opportunity to prove there is insufficient evidence for their clients to stand trial.

Calls to Ravin Pillay, counsel for Millard, and Thomas Dungey, the lawyer for Smich, were not returned. Cameron says she does not know if the defence lawyers opposed the direct indictment when it was being considered. There is no way to appeal a direct indictment.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

The next court date for the Babcock case is Dec. 11. A trial date has not yet been set.

Millard is also charged with the first-degree murder of his own father, Wayne Millard, whose November 2012 shotgun death was originally ruled a suicide. There is no trial date yet for that case.