Laura Babcock murder trial day 5

The love triangle the crown alleges led up to 23-year-old Laura Babcock’s murder was played out in a Toronto courtroom today. Dellen Millard, acting as his own lawyer, and Mark Smich face first degree murder charges.

Laura Babcock worked for an escort agency for months before she disappeared at the beginning of July 2012; she hadn’t found other work since finishing a degree and quitting at a toy store. It was a friend named Julia who introduced her to the business, court heard.

Julia also introduced Babcock to Dr. Sohail Khattak; a 53-year-old pediatrician who testified today. He said he met Laura three times, spending hours with her and Julia drinking in a hotel room. He says they did not have sex, but that he offered to give Babcock money for an apartment and co-sign her lease but after their last night together, he didn’t hear back.

The next witness was Karoline Shirinian, who met Babcock when they worked at the same toy store. They were friends, but a rift came between them in 2011. Karoline’s best friend, still to this day she says, is Christina Noudga. Shirinian and Noudga met Dellen Millard the same night at a party in his air plane hangar at Pearson. Millard and Babcock were dating at one point, she says, but Noudga and Millard started seeing each other in February 2011 at Laura’s birthday party. After that, she told the court, Noudga and Babcock stopped getting along.

February 12, 2012 was Laura Babcock’s birthday. Noudga and Shirinian thought it would be clever to send her a catty message.

“Happy Birthday!” Christina Noudga wrote to Babcock.
“Today marks one year since I first slept with Dellen.”

Babcock wrote back,
“That’s OK, I slept with him a couple of weeks ago.”

Neither Noudga nor Shirinian knew if Babcock was telling the truth but Noudga’s mood changed dramatically, Shirinian told the court.

Karoline Shirinian will be back on the stand when this trial resumes Monday morning, she’ll be back to be cross examined by Dellen Millard and Mark Smich’s lawyer.