A judge has dismissed a mistrial request from a man accused of killing a former lover and burning her body as a jury continues to deliberate on a verdict in the case.
Dellen Millard, who is representing himself, had argued that the lawyer of his co-accused, Mark Smich, crossed the line in his closing address to the jury when he purportedly blamed Millard for the death of Laura Babcock.
The judge presiding over the case says Smich's counsel simply pointed at the evidence brought forth by the Crown during the eight-week trial.
The Crown alleges Millard and Smich killed Babcock in the summer of 2012 because she was the odd woman out in a love triangle with Millard and his girlfriend.
They contend the pair covered up their crime by burning Babcock's remains in an animal incinerator. Babcock's body has not been found.
Both Millard and Smich have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in Babcock's presumed death.