The former girlfriend of Dellen Millard, one of the two men accused of killing Tim Bosma, says she helped move the incinerator that police say was used to destroy the Ontario man's remains.
Christina Noudga told a Hamilton court Wednesday that she helped Millard moved the animal incinerator, called "The Eliminator," from his barn, near Waterloo, Ont., into the bush on his property. She said both of them had on gloves during the move.
Noudga’s court appearance followed three days of testimony from co-accused Mark Smich’s former girlfriend Marlena Meneses.
Millard, 30, of Toronto and Smich, 28, of Oakville, Ont., have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. Bosma, a 32-year-old husband and father of one went missing from his Ancaster home on May 6, 2013, after taking two strangers on a test driver of a pickup truck he was trying to sell.
In 2014, Noudga was charged with accessory after the fact to the murder in connection to Bosma’s death. Her trial is set to begin in November.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Noudga was expected to be one of the prosecution's star witnesses, but she appeared to have had trouble remembering details when questioned by Crown attorney Tony Leitch Wednesday.
During her testimony, Noudga was asked about the nature of her relationship with Millard. She said they met when she was 18-years-old and they were a couple for three years. Noudga told the court she loved Millard, but he often did strange things.
She also answered questions about Smich and Millard’s relationship, saying they “smoked a lot of dope together” and worked on Smich’s rap career.
Under questioning from the Crown, Noudga said Millard told her he used the incinerator to burn scrap metal, and that she never saw it in Millard’s hangar. In court, Noudga was also shown a picture of a gun that Millard allegedly texted to her in 2012. However, Noudga testified that she didn’t recall receiving or discussing the message.
Noudga also said she wasn't aware of Millard's activities in the days following Bosma's disappearance. She told the court she didn't see Millard until three days after Bosma's death, when he picked her up at her Toronto home on May 9. Noudga said he told her he was tied up by a "mission" that began on the night of May 6.
Noudga told the court she was annoyed with him because he hadn't said what he had been up to, but she didn't ask any questions. The pair got high on marijuana before driving a trailer, with Bosma's truck inside.
Noudga said she helped Millard park the trailer at his mother's home in Kleinburg, Ont. She said it was so close to the garage that the back doors couldn't be opened.
Then, Noudga said, Millard's mother came out and asked about the trailer, but he didn't respond.
"At this point, we are both extremely stoned," she said.
The pair then drove to Millard's hanger. When asked what they talked about during the drive, Noudga said, "I was performing sexual acts on him as we drove away. There was no room for discussion."
There, they switched vehicles and proceeded to his barn. At the barn, Noudga said, they put on black gloves and moved the incinerator to a place where it was concealed.
Noudga said Millard "wanted to move it because the floor boards (in the barn) were getting creaky."
Investigators later found blood, likely Bosma's according to a DNA analysis, on the outside of the machine. They also found two human bones and numerous bone fragments inside.
When Millard was arrested, Noudga said she spent a couple of days with his mother trying to figure out what may have been inside the trailer. Noudga said she thought it was a Mother's Day gift, and she had no idea Bosma's truck was inside.
Noudga also told the court that she remembers nothing leading up to Bosma's death.
When confronted with texts from between she and Millard about a "mission" and doing an all-nighter, Noudga told the court that term was used to refer to a variety of activities, including: shopping, picking up furniture and sometimes buying marijuana.
She said that she wasn't aware of it being used to refer to criminal ventures.
Noudga said she never asked him for details about the mission and was not aware of a plan by Millard to steal a truck.
Earlier testimony from Meneses said the mission referred to stealing a truck.
"I knew he was inquiring into purchasing a vehicle, I never knew he was going to steal a truck," Noudga told the court.
Noudga also told the court that Millard gave her a video camera, on May 9, which she stashed in her closet. She said she thought nothing of it, even after he was charged with Bosma's murder. She said didn't think of turning it in until she was arrested as an accessory nearly a year later.
"Ever consider taking it to police?" Leitch asked.
"Honestly, I didn't think it was related," Noudga said, adding she thought it was a stereo.
The court has already seen the video from the camera, which showed a truck hauling what appears to be Millard's incinerator outside his hanger.
It also shows two men walking through the hanger early on May 7, just hours after Bosma's disappearance, as well as flares coming from the machine.
On Wednesday morning, the jury also briefly heard from a police officer, who testified that Noudga’s bedroom was searched after her arrest. There, officers found letters that appeared to be from Millard, written when he was in jail.
With files from The Canadian Press and reports from CTV National News Reporter Peter Akman, CTV Kitchener and CTV Toronto
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