‘I wouldn’t treat my dog like that’
Convicted killer alleges abuse while in custody for killing missing Alberta seniors couple
EDMONTON — An Alberta man convicted of killing two missing seniors says he was humiliated with strip searches, attacked by guards and subjected to horrendous living conditions while in custody.
Travis Vader, who did not testify during his high-profile murder trial, stood in the prisoner’s box Tuesday during his sentencing hearing in Edmonton and listed numerous allegations of abuse over the past six years.
“I wouldn’t treat my dog like that,” the 44-year-old said about the many times he spent crammed in a holding tank with about 20 other people.
Other times he was in segregation, alone in a cell for 23 hours a day with no TV or radio, and feces was squeezed under his door. Guards also taunted him, he said. “Did you do it?” he said they repeatedly asked him. “Where’s the bodies, Vader?” Vader was convicted earlier this year of manslaughter in the July 2010 deaths of Lyle and Marie McCann. The couple, in their late 70s, vanished on their way to a camping trip in British Columbia. Their burned-out motorhome and a vehicle they had been towing were discovered in the days after they vanished. But their bodies have never been found.
Defence lawyer Nathan Whitling is asking the court to stay Vader’s conviction, or at least reduce his sentence — even to time served — because of mistreatment. An application before the court also claims RCMP prevented Vader from consulting with a lawyer when he was questioned about the McCanns.
Whitling has suggested a maximum sentence of four to six years, before credit, while the Crown wants a life term.
Bret McCann read his victim impact statement in court Monday, demanding Vader admit where his parents’ bodies are. After listening to Vader’s complaints Tuesday, McCann said outside court being in custody isn’t supposed to be nice.
There was another attack by guards in 1, before a bail hearing, in which he was jumped from behind and repeatedly kicked, he said. His mother and sister then saw him with a bloody face on a closed-circuit court camera.
Just last month, he said staff refused to give him an antifungal cream for a razor rash on his face. Guards suspected he was using drugs and he was placed in a detox cell.
Vader also said he converted to Islam while in custody and staff didn’t always honour his no-pork diet.