Top stories of 2016 in Edmonton: No. 5, Travis Vader tried and convicted, finally

Every year, a few stories stand out as the most important in Edmonton — stories that get us talking around the proverbial water cooler and resonate deeply in our city. Postmedia is counting down our picks for the Top 5 stories of 2016 in our city.

Top story #5: Vader saga continues

There are few recent stories with as many twists and turns as the seemingly never-ending and tragic saga that is the criminal investigation, trial and sentencing hearing of Travis Vader. And it’s still not over.

As 2016 began, it had been nearly six years since Lyle McCann, 78, and his wife, Marie, 77, were last seen buying gas at a St. Albert Superstore, two days before their burning motor home was found near a campground southeast of Edson.

The St. Albert couple disappeared while driving to British Columbia for a family holiday, and Vader was the prime suspect almost from the start. But legal wrangling and investigative bungling held up any trial, and there was fear the case would never be resolved.

But by the end of January, after a lengthy abuse-of-process hearing, Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Denny Thomas ruled Vader would go to trial in March on charges of first-degree murder — charges which had previously been stayed, but were reactivated in December 2014.

By the time the trial wrapped up at the end of June, the court had heard testimony from Vader’s friends and acquaintances, police investigators and forensic experts, who testified about DNA and blood spatter patterns.

Vader repeatedly showing up late for his trial and eventually had his bail revoked. But the real drama was still to come.

In September, after an application from the media, including Postmedia, the court gave approval for a camera to be placed in the courtroom as Thomas read aloud his verdict. A few days later, on a live feed broadcast online and on television across the country, Vader was convicted of second-degree murder in the deaths of the McCanns.

Almost immediately, legal experts said Thomas had erred by citing a section of the Criminal Code ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court nearly 30 years earlier. What had felt like the end led to a new round of legal hand-wringing.   

While the defence argued there should be a mistrial, the Crown urged the judge to "amend" the verdict. On Oct. 31, in a stunning turnaround, Thomas told Vader he was vacating his second-degree murder convictions based on a legal "error" in his earlier verdict, finding him instead guilty of the lesser offences of manslaughter.

"I accept that it was an error," Thomas said.

A sentencing hearing began Dec. 12, and is set to resume in the new year.

Meanwhile, the McCanns’ son, Brett, is urging the federal government to eliminate so-called "zombie" laws from the books that could cause mistakes like in Vader’s trial.

While the Vader story is #5 in our countdown of top stories of 2016, here’s hoping it doesn’t make an appearance in next year’s list. 

To read more of our Year in Review coverage, click here.