2015-12-11 Crown prosecutor felt 'betrayed' by RCMP in Travis Vader investigation | CBC
Published by Bretton McCann,
Notes taken by a paralegal reveal Crown prosecutor Michelle Doyle felt "betrayed" by the RCMP's failure to disclose evidence after working for two years to keep Travis Vader in jail. (CBC)
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A paralegal with the Edmonton Crown prosecutor's office defended the case against Travis Vader at an abuse-of-process hearing Tuesday.
Stella Aloneissi-Hatoum was assigned to work on the first-degree murder case being built against Travis Vader in the deaths of elderly St. Albert couple Lyle and Marie McCann.
- ■Travis Vader's lawyer accuses Crown of strategic ploy to delay trial
- ■Travis Vader's lawyer to grill RCMP, Crown about handling of McCann murder case
The Crown stayed charges against Vader in March 2014 over what it says were problems with the RCMP's disclosure of evidence.
Leading up to the stay, Aloneissi-Hatoum took notes during hours of meetings held between the crown's office and the RCMP.
At an abuse-of-process hearing launched by Vader's lawyer, the paralegal was grilled about the contents of those notes during cross examination.
During one of the meetings, she wrote Crown prosecutor Michelle Doyle said she worked for two years to keep Vader in jail and "feels betrayed" by the RCMP.
Vader's lawyer, Brian Beresh asked, "Is that how you felt too?"
"Absolutely," Aloneissi-Hatoum replied. "Yes. Betrayed by them telling us the disclosure was complete. And every couple of weeks or months we were receiving a new drive that had new disclosure on it."
'They're human'
At that same meeting, the paralegal also noted Doyle said she felt she had to defend the RCMP, because "they're human".
The crown reactivated the murder charges against Vader nine months after they were stayed.
Beresh believes the prosecutors only put the trial on hold to buy themselves more time to bolster a weak case.
During a spirited exchange with Aloneissi-Hatoum, Beresh called the disclosure excuse "a convenient escape hatch" in a circumstantial case.
"That's not true," the paralegal angrily replied. "The evidence was always there. The case was always right from the very beginning."
Vader is set to go to trial next March, unless Justice Denny Thomas grants the defence motion to stay the charges because of an abuse-of-the-judicial process.
The hearing is expected to wrap up after one more day of testimony next Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Vader will apply for bail on Friday afternoon. He was recently taken back into custody on unrelated charges.