Today the Laura Babcock murder trial centred around the animal incinerator owned by one of the two accused, Dellen Millard. He and Mark Smich have pleaded not guilty, but the crown believes the two killed the 23 year old Toronto woman and cremated her remains in July of 2012.
William Penner flew in from Winnipeg to testify. He works for the Canadian distributor of the large and small animal incinerators, which used to all be labelled “the eliminator.” Penner testified that he dealt with Shane Schlatman, Millard’s employee and court saw emails between the two discussing options and price. In the end, the incinerator cost more than $15 000.
Penner testified he had never seen one mounted on a trailer before; usually the manufacturer recommends that a farmer put the incinerator on a permanent concrete pad. Penner also testified that the incinerator comes with a rake. A long pole with a metal end, used for scooping ashes out of the bottom after an animal has been incinerated, similar to the tool the jury has seen Mark Smich hold in nighttime photos taken at Millard’s airplane hangar.
Up next in this trial we expect to hear from Shane Schlatman, who worked for Dellen Millard and tried to build a homemade incinerator before buying one from the manufacturer.
