Tim Bosma trial: Praying woman interrupts proceedings
Adam Carter | CBC News | Posted: June 15, 2016 3:09 PM | Last Updated: June 15, 2016
Judge temporarily suspended jury deliberations after juror fell ill
A woman barged into a courtroom and interrupted the proceedings as jurors in the Tim Bosma trial reconvened to review evidence in the case of two men accused of killing the Hamilton resident.
The disruption in Ontario Superior Court happened just before 10:30 a.m. ET. The jury was reviewing the testimony of Matt Hagerman, who had been in the witness box in April.
The woman, who appeared to be in her late 40s or early 50s, walked into court in Hamilton and said something unintelligible.
She then went to a corner of the courtroom, knelt and began to pray, with her hands clasped together.
Justice Andrew Goodman stopped the playback of Hagerman's testimony, and court officers escorted the woman out.
"That's all I had to say. I'm on my way," the woman said as she was taken out.
It was one of the strangest moments in a 4½-month trial that has seen many twists and turns.
Dellen Millard, 30, of Toronto, and Mark Smich, 28, of Oakville, Ont., are waiting for the 12 men and women of the jury to decide their fate.
Both have pleaded not guilty.
Court took a recess for about half an hour after the woman's outburst because a male juror fell ill. Goodman then suspended the proceedings as the juror was given medical attention.
It was later revealed the juror was suffering from an intense migraine. Court resumed Wednesday afternoon after he recovered.
The jurors begin their discussions at the courthouse, guarded by courthouse staff, at 9:30 a.m. ET. They'll continue deliberating until 8:30 p.m. each night, with breaks for lunch and dinner.
The jury is being sequestered until verdicts are reached.
Before the juror got ill, audio clips of Hagerman's testimony were being played in court. They were focusing on the portions of Hagerman's testimony in which he talked about receiving a toolbox from Millard, early on the morning the accused killer was arrested.
On the recording, Hagerman said Millard looked "disheveled" when passing off the toolbox, and told him he'd be hanging onto it for a "couple of weeks."
Millard didn't tell him what was in the toolbox, Hagerman said.
After Millard's arrest, Hagerman started getting text messages from Andrew Michalski, Millard's friend and former roommate.
"It's really important, we'll talk. It's about the thing someone gave you," Michalski texted Hagerman, court previously heard.
Hagerman and Michalski previously testified that they brought the toolbox Millard gave Hagerman and drugs that Michalski rounded up from Millard's home to a maintenance stairwell in Oakville, and left them there for Mark Smich.
Smich testified that he found a gun inside the box, which he later buried.