A second man was arrested in connection with the murder of Timothy Bosma at the same time the slain man’s family and friends gathered at a public memorial service to pay him tribute.
News of the arrest came moments after the memorial service for Bosma wrapped up and minutes after his widow Sharlene told the large crowd that the devil himself had walked down her driveway on May 6, the night her husband disappeared. This man smiled at her, she said, as he and another unknown man accompanied Bosma out of their Ancaster home to test drive his vehicle which he had listed for sale on the Internet.
That was the last time she saw her husband alive. His charred remains were found a week later but police have said they believe he was killed the same night he left home – which also happened to be the same day as his mother’s birthday.
Police announced Wednesday afternoon that they had arrested a suspect, identified as 25-year-old Oakville resident Mark Smich, earlier in the day.
The suspect will be charged with first-degree murder in connection with the case.
Police follow new leads
Supt. Dan Kinsella held a news conference to announce the new charges and to give the media some new details on their investigation.
Police say they now believe that a second vehicle seen following Bosma’s pick-up truck as it was driven away from his home the night he went missing was a dark blue GMC Yukon.
This vehicle belongs to the first suspect arrested in the case, Dellen Millard, Kinsella told reporters.
Millard and Smich “are known to each other,” Kinsella said, but he would not elaborate on their relationship.
Investigators still believe a third suspect is on the loose.
Kinsella also laid to rest rumours that police had found remains belonging to other people on the same Waterloo region property where Bosma’s remains were found.
“At this point in our investigation, there is no evidence other human remains have been located. The remains found all belong to Mr. Bosma,” he said.
Kinsella said the investigation is a “time-consuming but rewarding” process that has involved the ongoing efforts of about 120 police officers.
More than 15 search warrants and production orders have been executed as police search for additional evidence.
Kinsella took note of the timing of the arrest, saying that while police followed up on their leads, Bosma’s family and friends gathered to lay their loved one to rest.
Bosma eulogized
It was standing-room only at the service, as about 1,000 mourners filled Carmen’s banquet Hall in Hamilton, the same facility where the Bosmas married more than three years ago.
The service, decorated with purple lighting – the same purple colour scheme seen at the Bosma wedding – was meant to celebrate Bosma’s life and all the joys he experienced, said Pastor John Veenstra, the service officiant.
The 32-year-old man was eulogized by his wife, best friend, sister, father and father-in-law, all of whom recalled the many ways he liked to tease, his infectious laugh and his desire to help everyone live a better life.
“We constantly made fun of each other," said Gerry Kikkert, Bosma’s colleague and best man at his wedding. “Tim would call it tough love. With that tough love, Tim realized I had a problem with alcohol. I haven’t had a drink in 27 months. I know if I did, Tim would kick my butt. Tim, you’ll always be my best friend.”
Sharlene Bosma, who was the last to speak at the service, sat on stage, at times silently weeping and other times laughing as people shared their memories of her late husband.
Bosma’s sister, Michelle DenBak, recalled how her brother would come over and immediately start riling up the children, getting them to chase him, screaming through the house.
“The kids would get all riled up and with a smirk he would turn to me and say, “Your kids are too loud.”
DenBak said the family has had many questions and have “wept like we’ve never wept before.” However, she reiterated the family’s devotion to the church and lauded their faith.
“We weep for you Sharlene, we weep for your daughter who will never be teased by her daddy again,” she said. “Our family will not be ripped apart, our family will not lose hope,” said DenBak. “Our faith will not be shaken, it will be strengthened.”
Sharlene Bosma addresses critics
Sharlene Bosma remained stoic as she took the stage, telling the crowd of their “disastrous” first date, their quest to finish their dream home and their love for their two-year-old daughter.
But first, she addressed those who have been posting comments online, musing about whether or not Tim Bosma had criminal connections.
“I know there are skeptics out there who can’t believe Tim wasn’t involved in something,” she said. “I understand fear. This kind of thing doesn’t happen in Canada and it doesn’t happen to people like us. It’s hard to accept he was just a regular guy. It’s difficult to accept, he was an average guy who did an average thing that people do every day. By accepting that, it means, this could have happened to anyone. But for me, it didn’t happen to just anyone. It happened to my husband, the father of my child. He was my someone, my person, my other half.”
The young widow also spoke openly of their struggles, saying they fought hard but always managed to pull through.
“There was never anything that couldn’t be resolved or work through and we always did,” she said. “I’m telling you this just so you know we were just like every other married couple.”
She laughed about him leaving his socks in the living room and falling asleep on the couch, and leaving his dishes on top of the dishwasher rather than in the dishwasher.
“If I could see all those things that used to drive me crazy again, I’d be the happiest girl in the world,” she said through her tears.
She recalled how much her husband loved to play with their daughter and how he was “amazed” by their little girl. She called her daughter the “female image of her daddy.”
“This is a blessing and a curse at the same time,” she said. “Sometimes I look at her and it makes my heart ache because I miss him so much. Other times I think God created her in his image so that he would always be near me and I would never have to worry about forgetting his face.”
Bosma ended her eulogy by admitting her anger and sadness over her family’s loss but believing that in the end, “good will prevail over evil.”
“Why? Why my Tim? why my little girls’ daddy?” she said. “I have cried because our little girl won’t remember the sound of her daddy’s voice, won’t remember the feel of her father’s arms when he held her. I’ve cried because the life we shared was supposed to be our happy ending.
“What happened to Tim was not God’s doing and I know that. If it wasn’t Tim, it could have been another man, another family feeling this pain and the sorrow. And what if they didn’t have support that we have? How would they manage because I couldn’t do this without you,” she said.
