FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

News

Man Says He's Innocent of Murder — Because He Claims the Victims Aren't Dead

Travis Vader, a crystal meth user charged with the murder of two Alberta seniors, is questioning whether or not the the couple he is accused of killing are even dead, a courtroom heard at the start of his trial this week.
Photo by Amber Bracken/The Canadian Press

A crystal meth user charged with the murder of two Alberta seniors is questioning whether or not the the couple he is accused of killing are even dead.

The surprising claim was made by Travis Vader's lawyer at the start of his trial in Edmonton, Alberta, this week.

Vader, 44, is charged with first degree murder in the deaths of killing Lyle and Marie McCann, a couple in their late 70s, who were last seen in 2010, but whose bodies have never been found. And because of that, argued Vader's lawyer Brian Beresh, the idea that the McCanns are dead is mere "speculation."

Advertisement

However, Crown prosecutor Jim Stewart said that Vader's DNA links him to an abandoned SUV owned by the McCanns, The Canadian Press reported.

Stewart also said a witness saw Vader behind the wheel of the car a few hours after they were last seen, filling up on gas and buying groceries at a Superstore in St. Albert, Alberta, about to embark on a trip to British Columbia to visit family.

The McCanns' motorhome and the Hyundai Tuscon attached to it were found separately — someone had tried to set fire to the motorhome, found ablaze in the woods outside of Edmonton two days later by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The SUV was found days later on a rural property nearby.

Related: Man Who Gunned Down Ex-Girlfriend on Campus Gets Life in Prison

In his opening statement on Tuesday, Stewart said the evidence against Vader also includes text messages sent from the McCanns' cell phone to an ex-girlfriend.

Vader's lawyer Beresh argued that it was "speculation" to say the couple was really dead since their bodies were never recovered.

He also said the police, under pressure to solve the case, paid undue attention to Vader, who was depicted by the Crown as an oilfield worker who once had enough money to support a wife and nine children only to "squander" it "all away" on his addiction.

Vader, who was living in makeshift camps at the time the couple went missing, was already wanted by police.

"The names of those suspects will be revealed at this trial," Beresh said, according to The Canadian Press. "Authorities picked the wrong villain."

Beresh claimed there are issues with the DNA evidence — blood and a fingerprint, and a can of beer — that places Vader inside the SUV. He added the trial will reveal "negligence and inept investigation" by the RCMP, The Canadian Press reported.

Follow Tamara Khandaker on Twitter: @anima_tk