2017-01-25 A life sentence for Travis Vader, but no end to grief for the McCanns | Edmonton Journal
Published by Bretton McCann,
Paula Simons: Life sentence not the end of the story for Travis Vader
Paula Simons, Edmonton JournalTravis Vader ended his trial the same way he began — cocksure, defiant, unrepentant.
Right before Justice Denny Thomas of Alberta’s Court of Queen’s Bench prepared to pass sentence, he asked Vader if he had anything to say.
"With all due respect for the court, I want to say this," said Vader. "This court has convicted an innocent man and I will continue to fight until I can clear my name."
Vader’s bravado made no difference, though, to his sentence.
Originally, Thomas convicted Vader, 45, of two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of St. Albert seniors Lyle and Marie McCann. But he used an outdated "felony murder" provision in the Criminal Code, one struck down by the Supreme Court years ago.
Once it became clear to Thomas that he’d convicted Vader under a defunct law, the judge substituted two manslaughter convictions instead.
But on Wednesday, Thomas seemed keen to make up for his earlier blunder. He had it at his discretion to sentence Vader to anything from four years to a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Marie Ann and Lyle Thomas McCann celebrating a family Christmas in 2006. Bret McCann / Supplied
Thomas handed down one global life sentence for the deaths of the two McCanns, who disappeared in 2010, while on a camping holiday in central Alberta. Their bodies have never been found.
A life sentence for manslaughter in Canada is extremely rare. Vader’s lawyer, Brian Beresh, describes it as draconian.
"Life means life," said Beresh. "It means he could be held in custody all of his life."
Even if Vader were eventually released on parole, the life sentence means he would be under supervision, and subject to parole violation, until his dying day.
On the other hand, Vader will be eligible for parole far earlier than if he’d actually been convicted of murder.
He can apply for parole in just seven years. And that’s not seven years from today — it’s seven years from when he was first taken into custody. Since Vader was in and out of remand so often, it’s hard to calculate precisely. But he’ll likely be eligible for parole in four years or less.
Thomas’s life sentence brought some sense of satisfaction to the McCann family, who demonstrated their usual understated dignity and quiet grief as they spoke to reporters via a courtroom video link from Melbourne, Australia.
But this story is far from over. Beresh plans to file appeals of both the verdict and the sentence this week — and to fight all the way to the Supreme Court.
The McCann case hasn’t just put Vader on trial. It’s put Alberta’s justice system on trial — and not in a flattering way. There have been so many legal errors — made by the RCMP, by the Crown prosecutor’s office, by the judge himself. Mistakes in everything from the way the crime scene was secured, to the way the Crown mismanaged the evidence, to the judge’s wonky verdict. The case has been a hot mess since the investigation began, tainting whatever satisfaction we might feel in seeing an arrogant killer locked away.
So, no. We’ve not heard the last of Travis Vader. He’s not releasing his grip on the public imagination any time soon.
Travis Vader told Justice Denny Thomas in court on Jan. 25, 2017 that he will continue to fight until he can clear his name. Larry Wong / Postmedia News
Thomas’s blistering ruling paints a vivid picture of Vader as a canny, narcissistic predator, a shameless, fluent liar, with a virtuoso ability to manipulate other people — and some real legal talent.
True "murder mysteries" — the kind we watch on TV or enjoy in detective stories — are remarkably rare. So too are articulate, charismatic criminals. Vader — cunning, charming, vain as a peacock — seems more like a movie character than a typical thug.
"Mr. Vader represents something encountered more often in fiction than in real life — an intelligent criminal," wrote Thomas.
"I find that Mr. Vader is a capable individual whose apparent expertise extends past his professional skill … It is not uncommon for persons with a criminal history to develop a certain degree of lawyer’s expertise. Mr. Vader had that, and more," Thomas continued.
"Mr. Vader during his in-court sentencing testimony advanced what were effective legal arguments for his perspectives."
He used that skill and intelligence, Thomas found, to execute and cover up his crime, to manipulate witnesses, to manipulate police, to dance around the prosecutor in court. It’s a remarkably personal takedown from a judge — which may reflect Thomas’s own frustrations with the strange twists this case has taken.
And so Travis Vader is going away — for life. Or maybe not for life.
And the grieving McCanns may never know exactly how their beloved parents and grandparents died — or where their bodies lie.
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