Dellen Millard applying for legal aid in upcoming trials

A convicted killer who is the heir to a multi-million dollar aviation company will apply for legal aid to help fund his defence in two upcoming murder trials.

Dellen Millard, who was convicted of first-degree murder along with Mark Smich in the death of Tim Bosma in June, told court Friday he cannot access his assets in order to hire lawyers.

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He and Smich are charged with first-degree murder in the death of Toronto woman Laura Babcock and Millard alone is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his father, Wayne Millard, whosedeath was initially deemed a suicide.

Both of those trials have been delayed as Millard continues on without a lawyer.

Upcomingtrials

On Friday,Justice John McMahon set the date for the trial in Wayne Millard's death for March 20, 2018.

Last week, the trial for Babcock was pushed back from February to September 2017.

Court also heard Friday that Millard will file two motions in the spring.

The first, Millard said, is a motion to quash the direct indictment in the Babcock case. Skipping preliminary hearings is rare in Ontario, although the same thing occurred in the Bosma case.

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According to a Crown policy manual on the Ministry of the Attorney General's website, "this power is an extraordinary one and is used infrequently."

Millard also plans to file a severance motion because he wants to be tried separately from Smich in Babcock's case.

For those two motions he told court he wants to hire Ravin Pillay, who represented Millard in the Bosma trial.

McMahon has repeatedly tried to get Millard to hire legal representation for both trials, but as of Friday Millard still didn't have any on record.

"Mr. Millard, you can apply for legal aid Monday morning, but you have to be diligent hiring counsel," McMahon said.

"Diligence takes time your honour," Millard said.

May defend himself

He told court he is looking for a lawyer for the Babcock trial and may represent himself for his father's murder trial.

There are two civil matters that have complicated matters, Millard said. His company, Millardair, which he inherited after his father died in 2012, is in receivership and the Bosma family hasfiled a $14-million lawsuit.

Millard cannot inherit his father's estate because he is charged with his murder.

Lawyers for the civil case as well as legal aid lawyers are scheduled to return to court next Friday to help speed up the process.