Uncertainty surrounds Travis Vader's Monday court date

By Tony Blais

Convicted killer Travis Vader is slated to be in court Monday; however, exactly what will happen then is not clear.

The date was set Sept. 15, when Vader, 44, was convicted of second-degree murder for the 2010 killings of an elderly St. Albert couple, and Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Denny Thomas indicated he would inquire as to whether any pre-sentence reports should be ordered and a sentencing hearing date would be set.

However, a legal firestorm erupted shortly after the televised verdict was broadcast, with law experts saying Thomas had used a section of the Criminal Code struck down in 1990 as unconstitutional to convict Vader of two counts of second-degree murder.

That led to Vader’s defence lawyers filing an appeal of the verdict and then an application seeking an order vacating the two guilty verdicts and another declaring a mistrial.

The defence application indicates the lawyers are seeking to have the mistrial application heard Monday.

Some legal experts suggest that, rather than declare a mistrial, Thomas could re-open the case and find Vader guilty of the lesser and included offence of manslaughter based on his fact-finding outlined in his lengthy written decision.

However, Vader’s lawyers argue in their application that would be an abuse of process and would tarnish the integrity of the court and bring the administration of justice into disrepute.

As well, lawyers for media outlets including Postmedia, which owns the Edmonton Journal and the Edmonton Sun, and CBC are planning to attend Monday’s court session to apply to Thomas to have the next stage of the proceedings be live-streamed just like his verdict was.

Vader was found guilty of killing Lyle McCann, 78, and his wife Marie, 77. The couple disappeared on July 3, 2010, while driving to B.C. for a family camping holiday. Two days later, their motorhome was found ablaze at a campground near Edson and the SUV they were towing was discovered in the woods on July 16, 2010. Their bodies have never been found.

In his 131-page decision, Thomas found Vader was a methamphetamine-addicted drug dealer who was in "desperate circumstances" at the time with no money or food and concluded he killed the McCanns in a violent interaction during a robbery.