Tired and angry, Travis Vader told RCMP they bungled their case against him and were trying to get him to slip up.
Court heard 2014 interviews with RCMP as Vader’s double murder trial continued Thursday.
“You guys are looking for the hole you know is in the case,” he told RCMP while they questioned him about his alibi.
READ MORE: ‘Why do they want me so bad?’: Texts between Vader’s phone and ex shown in court
Vader was arrested on Dec. 19, 2014, and charged for the second time in the murders of Lyle and Marie McCann.
The St. Albert couple was last seen fuelling up their motorhome on July 3, 2010 before heading to B.C. for a family camping trip. Their burned out motorhome was discovered two days later near the Minnow Lake campground. The green SUV the McCanns were towing behind the motorhome was found on July 16. Their bodies were never found.
Vader was named a person of interest in their disappearance, but he wasn’t charged until two years later. The case was scheduled to go to trial on April 28, 2014, but the month before the trial, the Crown stayed the charges.
The Crown didn’t give a reason at the time, but nine months later, that stay was lifted. The Crown had one year to reapply charges.
TIMELINE: The key events in the Travis Vader case
Two recorded interviews were played in court on Thursday. During the first, on Dec. 19, 2014, Vader repeatedly told the investigator he didn’t want to talk to him and he wanted to speak to his lawyer.
Sgt. Michael McCauley said part of the RCMP strategy was to make Vader believe he had been screwed over in the investigation. McCauley said they wanted him to tell the truth. He said Vader’s answers were “highly intelligent.”
Throughout the interviews, Vader denied having anything to do with the McCanns or their SUV. Vader’s DNA was found on the steering wheel, console, seat and on a beer can found in the cup holder.
READ MORE: 1 in 3 trillion chance DNA was someone other than Vader: forensics expert
Frustrated, Vader told McCauley he was ready to go to trial.
“I spend years and years in jail, now I spend more time in jail.”
“You guys just F****d my life up again. I was ready to go back to work.”
READ MORE: Travis Vader will go to trial for murder of Lyle and Marie McCann
Vader filed an Abuse of Process motion, his lawyer arguing the Crown stayed the charges to buy more time to investigate. The justice ruled it was close, but in the end the problems with disclosure were not intentional.
“You guys cost the community and public millions of dollars in this investigation,” Vader said.
“If we’re going to trial, let’s go to trial.”
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