Hamilton police say a cellphone that was used to arrange a test drive with homicide victim Tim Bosma was also used to call a third man who was trying to sell a pickup truck.
That phone call was placed May 5, the day before Bosma disappeared, but the Toronto-area man who was selling his truck slept through the call and a test drive was not arranged, police Det.-Sgt. Matt Kavanagh told CP24 reporter Sue Sgambati on Wednesday.
The man advertised his truck for sale online, just as Bosma did, Kavanagh said.
So far, police say they have confirmed three calls from the cellphone to people who were trying to sell a truck – two on May 5 and the call to Bosma.
The other May 5 call involved an Etobicoke business owner, who went on a test drive with two men. The business owner told police he was suspicious of the men, and he was not harmed.
In a similar scenario, Bosma went on a test drive with two men May 6. His remains were found days later on a Cambridge-area farm belonging to one of the suspects.
Police have charged 27-year-old Dellen Millard and 25-year-old Mark Smich with first-degree murder, and they are still looking for a third male suspect.
After Millard’s arrest, Toronto police began taking a closer look at the disappearance of Lara Babcock, who was 23 when she vanished during the summer of 2012.
At a news conference Tuesday, Toronto police confirmed Babcock and Millard were “romantically linked” and she placed a telephone call to him July 3, 2012.
Babcock’s ex-boyfriend, Shawn Lerner, previously told CTV News that the phone call to Millard was the final call from her phone.
Last week, Toronto police officers searched Millard’s Cambridge-area farm in connection with Babcock’s disappearance, but police said no evidence was found.
Meanwhile, the Toronto Star reported Wednesday that Millard, the CEO of Millard Air, transferred ownership of three residential properties to his mother for $1 after his arrest.
Kavanagh told CP24 that police are working on an “asset forfeiture” aspect of the case.
With files from CP24 reporter Sue Sgambati.
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