Accused killer and girlfriend compare Babcock to 'herpes'

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."

Messages between Millard and his then-girlfriend, Christina Noudga, were presented in court today as retired OPP officer Jim Falconer testified at the first-degree murder trial of Millard, 32, of Toronto, and his co accused, Mark Smich, 30, of Oakville, Ont.

Falconer, who began his testimony Tuesday, is one of the Crown's key witnesses in the Ontario Superior Court trial. He's taking the jury through a wealth of information found on electronic devices connected to Millard and Smich.​

• Read CBC News's full coverage of the Laura Babcock murder trial

The Crown alleges that a love triangle between Millard, Noudga and Babcock was the motive for the 23-year-old Toronto woman's slaying in July 2012.

In one message from April of 2012, Noudga compared Babcock to herpes. Millard responded, saying, "There's a difference, herpes you cant really hurt or get rid of, it just feeds off you until you die. First I'm going to hurt her. Then I'll make her leave."

The Crown alleges Babcock's body was burned in an animal incinerator after she was killed by the two accused. No body was ever found.

Millard and Smich have both pleaded not guilty. Millard is acting as his own lawyer, while Smich is represented by two lawyers.

'I will remove her from our lives'

Members of Babcock's family wiped away tears through the afternoon, as sexually explicit messages between Babcock and Millard were discussed.

In one message from December 2011, Babcock texted Millard saying, "U know I want you." Millard responded by calling her a "bad girl," saying her "timing is terrible."

At one particularly explicit passage between Millard and Noudga, Babcock's mother looked over at Millard, scowling.

"I fancy myself something of an undercover doctor. I think with the right treatment, these herpes can be gotten rid of," Millard wrote in a message to Noudga.

"I will remove her from our lives," Millard wrote in another message.

In a text from Noudga to Millard on April 19, 2012, she wrote, "I don't know why, but when you say things like, 'I'm going to hurt her, make her leave, remove her from our lives,' I feel really loved and warm on the inside."

Homemade incinerator

Court also saw pictures of a homemade incinerator that Millard asked a person referred to as "Shaner" to build in May  2012. It looked like several green oil drums welded together on top of each other.

In messages between Millard and Smich from that month, the two talked about "testing it." At one point, Smich wrote that "we gotta bring something with bones in it."

"Maybe we should get me a dog. Or your neighbors dog. Lol," Smich wrote in another message.

Other messages between the two describing Smich's money troubles were also shown in court, earlier in the day. 

"How ruthless are you willing to be to make $$? I have some ideas, but it's next level stuff," read one text sent from Millard's phone in March 2012 to Smich.

"We'll talk about this weekend. I know you need income," Millard continued.

"I gotta do something. Or else I'm screwed," was the response.

Falconer told the court on Wednesday that it took a team of five people several months to comb through the sheer volume of electronic data linked to the case.

"There was a huge amount of data that was necessary to review," Falconer said.

Justice Michael Code told the jury yesterday that Falconer is "undoubtedly the most substantial witness of the trial."

"This is a big, long, complex body of evidence," Code said. "He'll be on the stand for a couple of days."

Falconer will continue his testimony when the trial resumes Thursday at 9:30 a.m. for its 13th day.

You can read a recap of today's live blog for more in-depth coverage. On mobile? View the live blog here.

adam.carter@cbc.ca