Two men found guilty in Toronto woman’s death

The father of a young Toronto woman whose killers were found guilty of first-degree murder on Saturday says that while justice has been done, the verdict doesn’t ease his family’s suffering.

Dellen Millard and Mark Smich were automatically sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole for 25 years in the death of 23-year-old Laura Babcock, whose body has not been found.

“We’ve sat through a six-week funeral for our daughter Laura, and you all know what a wonderful woman she was, as well as all the pains and struggles that she faced. You also know about the evil beings that took her life, and if society’s lucky, we will not see them again on the streets,” said Clayton Babcock outside of court.

“Today’s verdict really brings us little joy. The loss of Laura is no easier today than when it was realized five years ago,” he added.

Babcock’s family and several jurors cried as the verdict was read out, amid quiet cheers from the courtroom.

The Crown alleged Babcock was killed in July 2012 because she had become the odd woman out in a love triangle with Millard and his girlfriend.

Prosecutors said Millard and Smich planned the murder for months and covered up their crime by burning Babcock’s body in an animal incinerator that was later found on Millard’s farm.

Millard, 32, of Toronto, and Smich, 30, of Oakville, Ont., said the Crown failed to prove that Babcock is dead.

The two men were convicted last year of killing Tim Bosma, a 32-year-old Ancaster, Ont., man who disappeared in May 2013 while trying to sell his pickup truck, and burning his body in Millard’s incinerator.

The pair was automatically sentenced to life imprisonment with- out a chance of parole for 25 years in Babock’s death. All 12 jurors recommended consecutive sentences for Millard, while only five recommended that Smich receive the maximum parole ineligibility — the seven others made no recommendation.

Justice Michael Code told jurors the consecutive sentencing provision is new to the criminal code and said the final decision on sentencing rests with him, but he will consider their recommendations.

A sentencing hearing will likely take place in the new year.

Babcock has not been heard from since July 2012.