Laura Babcock Murder Trial 12.11.17 - Charge to the Jury - Day 3

[Just4TB]

Awesome to have Adam back again this week reporting from the courtroom. ... Adam has incredible "listen-tweet" multitasking skills. (No disrespect to Shannon)

 

[ab-initio]

"They indicate when a particular telephone number contacted another telephone number, whether it was a call or text message, and the duration of any call," Code says. In particular, they indicate which telephone number was in contact with Ms. Babcock's telephone number shortly before her phone stopped sending and receiving phone calls and text messages on July 3/4, 2012. Second, they indicate which cell tower was used by a particular phone number when sending or receiving a call or text message. The cell tower location provides some evidence as to the vicinity of the phone at the time it sent or received a particular call or text message. In particular, it provides some evidence as to the vicinity of Ms. Babcock's phone at the time of her final calls and text messages."
by Adam Carter 10:41 AM

Did they ever show the incoming calls/texts that weren't received/read after the alleged murder?
From what I gather, the cell provider records should still show missed calls (maybe not texts-in-waiting, though?)

Point is ... it could be just as telling as the contact leading up to her alleged murder.
Before -- lots of DM communication
After -- never once called or texted

I don't know if this was ever introduced. I can't remember any chatter or testimony on it.

Actually -- thinking now about my phone bill ... I don't see missed calls on it. Would the provider be pulling this from their raw data though?

 

[DeaconBrodie]

1. Can sentencing fora new crime be concurrent? I thought, different crime, different penalty. Notconcurrent.
Is it up to the judge? What is the law?
Looking for DB to help us here.

Last edited byOreck; Yesterday at 08:48 PM.


In general, the sentencing judge has the discretion to makesentences concurrent or consecutive and I don’t believe that the Criminal Code tieshis or her hands. Case law howeverindicates that if the offences occur around the same set of events and aroundthe same time, the sentences can be concurrent. It is however very much in the judge’s hands.

Consecutive life sentences is a new thing that the Harpergovernment brought in. Previously, theywere always concurrent and as I understand it, it was primarily for prisonstaff safety that this was done so that all inmates would at least have a hopeof release, even though the reality was that the Bernardos and Olsens of ourworld would never be released. The Harpergovernment also got rid of the ‘faint hope clause’ which allowed M1 inmates toapply for parole after 15 years regardless of their parole eligibilitydate. That clause was also designed tomake prisons safer.
In the Darren Saretzky case he murdered 3 people within afew days. Two of them were a father anddaughter who were killed within a short time frame and he received threeconsecutive life sentences. JustinBorque who killed 3 RCMP offices in Moncton also received consecutivesentences.
I can’t imagine how any convictions in this case would notbe consecutive given the time frame and the previous precedents which seem topoint to judges giving consecutive parole ineligibility sentences when thecrimes really shock the community.
Disclaimer - I haven’t taken the time to source checkeverything that I have written here but I believe that it is all correct.

 

[ab-initio]

In the LB case, more so than the TB case, much of the evidence is circumstantial. For this reason, I believe that Code is going further in assisting the jury as to the legal "weight" of the various pieces of evidence. But each judge also has some latitude in bringing their own "style" of instruction to the jury.

I'm appreciating it.
Kind of lays to rest any confusion that may have arisen from dense testimony.
This evidence serves this purpose in your deliberations, etc.

 

[meterclicks]

Code says that Babcock's phone also moved west along the lakeshore that morning, at 11:08 a.m. and 11:10 a.m.
by Adam Carter 10:56 AM

The judge is now moving on to evidence from Kulvinder Bassi, who testified that he sold Millard a king size mattress on July 4. "Mr. Millard told Mr. Bassi that he needed the mattress right away and he agreed to pay an extra charge of $100 in order to obtain the delivery as soon as possible," Code says.
by Adam Carter 10:59 AM

Code says when Millard went to Sleep Country that day, he was behaving normally, and didn't seem agitated.
by Adam Carter 11:00 AM

 

[meterclicks]

Code also noting that Millard bought three mattresses from the company from 2010 to 2012.
by Adam Carter 11:02 AM

"In his cross-examination of Mr. Michalski, Mr. Millard introduced a number of photographs depicting him and some male friends engaged in what was described as "horseplay" with a mattress at the Maple Gate home," Code says.
by Adam Carter 11:04 AM

Code says he's now turning to what is "arguably the most important part of the Crown's case" -- the forensic info about texts, photos and videos found on devices connected to the case.
by Adam Carter 11:05 AM

 

[DeaconBrodie]

Is it routine from LE to offer up leniency to a criminal if they have info on a larger crime?

I wouldn’t say that it is common but it certainly doeshappen.

LE tries as hard as they can not to offer up anything inexchange for testimony because it can taint the evidence. If a jury hears that someone was given alighter sentence for providing their testimony the jury will automaticallyquestion the reliability of that evidence.

Much more common is an unspoken understanding between LE andthe informant that somehow things will be better for them if they speak up. This way, everyone can say that there was nodeal made for the evidence.

 

[meterclicks]

If you recall from that time period, this was the testimony from retired OPP officer Jim Falconer. It was a massive amount of information -- some 300 slides in a presentation.
by Adam Carter 11:07 AM

You can read some of Falconer's testimony here:

Laura Babcock murder trial: Former detective tells jury what was found on seized electronic devices
A retired OPP officer, described by the judge at the Laura Babcock murder as "undoubtedly the most substantial witness of the trial," began testifying on Tuesday afternoon in Ontario Superior Court in Toronto.
by Adam Carter 11:08 AM
And more here:

Dellen Millard and girlfriend compared Laura Babcock to 'herpes,' trial hears
In a text message to his girlfriend, Dellen Millard compared Laura Babcock, the Toronto woman he is accused of killing in 2012, to "herpes" that he was going to get "rid of."
by Adam Carter 11:08 AM

We're up to page 208 of Code's charge to the jury now. It's expected to be a little more than 300 pages.
by Adam Carter 11:09 AM

 

[andreww]

Something I was noticing this weekend while going over billandrew's timeline. There are no texts between Smich & Millard from June 8 to July 3rd. I think this shows that Smich was not involved in the planning of this murder. He cleaned up, thats it.

 

[andreww]

"In his cross-examination of Mr. Michalski, Mr. Millard introduced a number of photographs depicting him and some male friends engaged in what was described as "horseplay" with a mattress at the Maple Gate home," Code says.
by Adam Carter 11:04 AM

Did we ever see this photo?

 

[meterclicks]

Code is now running through all of the computers and device backups that were seized as part of the case. There were devices connected to Millard, Christina Noudga, Smich, and Andrew Michalski.
by Adam Carter 11:12 AM

Code says iPhone messages and the iPhone accounts that police found were "overwhelmingly connected to Mr. Millard."
by Adam Carter 11:16 AM

The judge is now giving an overview of some of the info the jury saw from Falconer's testimony: The close relationship between Millard and Smich, Millard's apparent financial responsibility for Smich's celll phone, and Smich's lack of income. One of those texts was from Millard to Smich: "How ruthless are you willing to be ... I have some ideas, but it's next level stuff."
by Adam Carter 11:21 AM

 

[meterclicks]

Another text from Millard to Smich: "think of how far we can go ... good times aren't here yet, but we're going to bring them."
by Adam Carter 11:23 AM

Code is now moving to more texts, this time the ones between Millard and Babcock, to show their relationship and background.
by Adam Carter 11:24 AM

Babcock's parents look a little drained today. They've been here every single day the trial has been sitting, from Oct. 23 on.
by Adam Carter 11:26 AM

 

[5150]

Something I was noticing this weekend while going over billandrew's timeline. There are no texts between Smich & Millard from June 8 to July 3rd. I think this shows that Smich was not involved in the planning of this murder. He cleaned up, thats it.

Wasn't DM out of the country in parts of June? Probably nothing relevant that crown wanted to present as evidence. These guys seemed to be serial texters.

 

[ab-initio]

Something I was noticing this weekend while going over billandrew's timeline. There are no texts between Smich & Millard from June 8 to July 3rd. I think this shows that Smich was not involved in the planning of this murder. He cleaned up, thats it.

I do not think they have entered/shown the totality of the texts recovered.
I believe they are only showing texts they feel relevant to the case so as to not convolute their message.

If there's a period of time where texts are absent, I suggest it's because they were either
1/ not recovered, or
2/ recovered, and deemed irrelevant or inadmissible.

 

[ab-initio]

Did we ever see this photo?

I don't recall it.

 

[winter2017]

It is coming to an end , probably a verdict could be known by the end of this week. Then the Babcock s can move on with their life.
They will know that even though the TPS ignored Laura s disappearance, now the justice system has done all they can to bring those believed to be responsible for her death to justice.
It took another innocent person to be murdered before they could capture those probably responsible for Laura s death. It is was not Tim Bosma it would have been another person.
Tim Bosma s disappearance could not be ignored and thank god for members of the public like Igor who told the police about the tattoo that would be one of the biggest helpful tips to capture DM.

 

[meterclicks]

Code says in a text from Nov. 15, 2011 from Millard to Babcock, the two have a conversation about weddings and having children, "in which Mr. Millard states that he and Christina 'keep trying but nothing yet.'" Code says it's unclear if he's being serious there or not.
by Adam Carter 11:28 AM

Code is also going through texts where Babcock is saying she broke up with her boyfriend Shawn Lerner, and that she is "not looking for a relationship, just fun."
by Adam Carter 11:30 AM

Code now talking about a text in which Babcock says she wants Millard to hurt her while they have "sexual intercourse." "Excuse me if I don't use some of the same language as the parties use," Code says.
by Adam Carter 11:32 AM

 

[dar107]

Something I was noticing this weekend while going over billandrew's timeline. There are no texts between Smich & Millard from June 8 to July 3rd. I think this shows that Smich was not involved in the planning of this murder. He cleaned up, thats it.

Do we know if we are seeing all the texts sent back and forth though? Or are we seeing only ones selected by the crown, and then there is a good chance some texts have been restricted from the jury. So it is hard to say for sure there are no texts during that period.

I do agree from what we have seen he was not involved in the planning to murder Laura. I have seen nothing to suggest he ever even met her.

 

[meterclicks]

Millard also made a calendar entry on his iPhone on Jan. 9, 2012: "Make a deal w/ Laura, what does she want from me, what does she have to offer?"
by Adam Carter 11:34 AM

In Feb of 2012, Babcock texts Millard and says, "I really do love you." Millard responds: "It would be better for you if you found someone else to love ... I am not available."
by Adam Carter 11:35 AM

"The Crown relies on this series of text messages, in this early time period, as background evidence to the alleged motive," Code says. "Mr. Millard relies on these texts for their friendly and flirtatious tone."
by Adam Carter 11:37 AM

 

[meterclicks]

Code is now running through the evidence about Millard trying to get in touch with Matthew Ward Jackson, about buying a gun. This started in Jan and Feb 2012.
by Adam Carter 11:38 AM

The actual sale of the .32 calibre gun Millard bought happened sometime in late Jun/early July.
by Adam Carter 11:40 AM

We're now taking the morning recess. Back in 20 minutes.
by Adam Carter 11:41 AM