‘We are disgusted:’ Tim Bosma’s family speaks out after Dellen Millard moved to medium security prison

Dellen Millard, who is convicted of first-degree murder in the killing of Tim Bosma, has been moved to a medium security prison in Gravenhurst, Ont.

The family of murdered Ancaster man Tim Bosma is speaking out after they say that they were informed that his killer has been moved to a medium security prison.

Dellen Millard and Mark Smich were convicted of first-degree murder in June 2016, three years after Tim Bosma, a stranger to both men, was killed.

Bosma was murdered shortly after taking Millard and Smich for a test drive of the truck he was selling on May 6, 2013.

One year after the verdict in that trial, the two were also convicted of murdering 23-year-old Laura Babcock, who was romantically linked to Millard and disappeared in July 2012. Her body was never found.

Bosma’s father told CTV News that the family learned of Millard’s transfer two weeks ago.

“We are disgusted by the news that Dellen Millard has recently been moved to a medium security prison,” read a written statement sent to CTV News on behalf of Bosma’s widow, Sharlene, and his parents, Hank and Mary.

“Corrections Canada disregarded the feedback provided by our families in response to the possibility of such a move, instead giving a condescending pat on the head to the victims’ families, and carrying forward anyway.”

The move comes less than five years after Smich was transferred to Beaver Creek Institution, a medium-security prison in Gravenhurst, Ont. in May of 2021.

Both men were initially sent to Millhaven Institution in Bath, Ont., a maximum-security prison near Kingston.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Corrections Canada would not confirm the move, adding that they are “limited in what we can share about an offender and their location.”

“We can confirm that this offender remains securely incarcerated in one of our facilities,” the statement from spokesperson Esther Mailhot read.

“In all of our decisions, public safety remains our paramount consideration. CSC is legally required to reassess the security classification of inmates at least every two years.”

Bosma’s family questioned the point of seeking input from victims on these decisions if Corrections Canada has “no intention of heeding the pleas.”

“What then is the point of forcing them to revisit the trauma caused by the individual incarcerated? In our case, that individual is a psychopath monster,” the statement continued.

Mailhot asserted that the concerns voiced by victims and their families “are considered in our decision-making.”

“Our thoughts remain with the victims and their families. We know that each and every contact with them, especially regarding an offender’s case can be unsettling,” the spokesperson added.

She went on to say that “evidence-based assessment tools,” along with “professional judgment of specialized staff” and “psychological evaluations” are part of the decision-making process, along with “institutional adjustment, escape risk, and risk to public safety.”

“Before transferring an offender, CSC considers the degree and type of control required to ensure the safety of victims, the public, staff, and other offenders. Transfers only occur when it is determined that an offender can be safely managed at a different security level,” Mailhot said.

“At any time an inmate may be transferred back to a higher-security institution if deemed necessary to ensure the safety of the public or the institution.”

Bosma’s family said they are “utterly disappointed” with the current justice and penal systems.

“Over the last decade, victims’ rights have been stripped one by one, whilst the rights of convicted murderers have increased,” the statement read.

“If a three-time convicted 1st degree murderer is rewarded for ‘good behaviour’ in the Canadian penal system and moved to a lower security prison, who then is filling the maximum security prisons? White collar criminals? Does our government really see them as the largest threat to society’s safety?”

With files from The Canadian Press