EDMONTON – Travis Vader’s murder trial was delayed Monday morning after the accused’s vehicle broke down and he was unable to get to the courthouse for the start of day four of the trial.
Vader, 44, pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Lyle and Marie McCann from St. Albert.
The McCanns, who were in their late 70s, were last seen fuelling up their motorhome in their hometown near Edmonton on July 3, 2010. The motorhome was found on fire about 200 kilometres west of the city two days later.
READ MORE: ‘I plead not guilty to that charge’: Travis Vader at start of McCann murder trial
The bodies of the McCanns have never been found, but the Crown is arguing they were robbed and killed by a desperate meth addict. The Defence is arguing the Crown targeted Vader and “picked the wrong villain.”
READ MORE: No human remains in burned-out motorhome: Forensic expert at Travis Vader trial
On Friday, an expert in accelerant detection told the court the McCanns’ burned motorhome was moved several times before he had a chance to investigate.
The investigator testified he and his sniffer dog were called in a week later to search for accelerants. By then, he said, the burned debris had been moved to a storage yard and garbage dump.
The dog did detect an ignitable liquid but the investigator said there’s no way to determine when and how it got there.
Day four of the trial was adjourned until 2 p.m. Monday and court will only sit until 4:30.