EDMONTON – Travis Edward Vader, accused of killing a vacationing St. Albert couple two years ago, reserved his plea Tuesday in an Edson courtroom.
Vader, 40, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the July 2010 deaths of Lyle McCann, 78, and his 77-year-old wife Marie.
Vader has reserved his plea several times, a common practice in the early stages of a prosecution. The case will come before the court in Edson again on Sept. 18.
Vader was charged with murder in April 2012 after being arrested at the Edmonton Remand Centre, where he was being held on unrelated charges.
The McCanns left St. Albert on the morning of July 3, 2010, to meet their daughter in Abbotsford, B.C. Their burned motorhome was found two days later in an isolated area near the Minnow Lake campground, about 150 km west of Edmonton.
Though RCMP were immediately able to identify the McCanns as the vehicle’s owners, they didn’t realize a serious crime had been committed until the couple was reported missing by family July 10. At that point, the case became a double-homicide investigation.
The SUV the couple had been towing was found in a remote wooded area six days later.
Though their remains have never been found, the McCanns were legally declared dead last summer.
According to court documents, Vader is alleged to have killed them on or about July 3, the day they were last seen.
The deaths are alleged to have occurred near Peers, a hamlet 35 km northeast of Edson.
Comments