Man sentenced to life in jail for killing seniors will appeal
EDMONTON — A judge sentenced Travis Vader to life in prison for killing two Alberta seniors who disappeared on a camping trip, but Vader’s lawyer says an appeal will be filed before the week is out.
Vader was found guilty of manslaughter last fall in the deaths of Lyle and Marie McCann, in their 70s when they vanished after leaving their home in St. Albert, just north of Edmonton, in July 2010.
Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Denny Thomas dismissed a defence submission that Vader should get a lesser sentence because his rights were violated in custody. He did, however, agree to a defence request that Vader serve his sentence in British Columbia because of threats he has received.
Thomas said Vader will be eligible for parole in seven years.
“This court has convicted an innocent man and I will continue to fight until I clear my name,” Vader said Wednesday before the sentence was handed down.
Vader’s lawyer, Brian Beresh, said outside court that his client “was not pleased.”
“As he said in court, he will fight to his last day to prove he is innocent. We intend to launch that fight, probably this week, by filing a notice of appeal.”
Beresh said the case is troubling.
“After 40 years of practice, I must say this is one of those few cases which haunts me and remains a mystery in terms of what occurred and how we have gotten to this point.”
Some members of the McCann family, including son Bret McCann, were listening via video link from Australia. They had to get up at 2 a.m. for a two-hour drive to a courthouse in Melbourne to hear the sentence.
“When the judge said life imprisonment, it was a huge relief,” McCann said. “I would have gone anywhere to hear that.”
McCann said the family is thrilled to know “Vader will spend the prime years of his life in prison and the public will be protected from this criminal.”
Prosecutor Ashley Finlayson said just because Vader will be eligible for parole after seven years, “it does not mean he will get parole.”
“In fact, we’re confident the parole board will deal with everything appropriately.”
The McCanns’ burnt-out motorhome and a vehicle they had been towing were discovered after they disappeared, but their bodies have never been found.