2017-09-07 Vader admits to meth use, stolen truck possession | Edmonton Journal
Published by Bretton McCann,
Travis Vader admits to meth use, stolen truck possession in mid-trial plea deal
A plea deal was reached mid-trial between Travis Vader and the Crown on charges laid while he was out on bail for murder.
After nearly 2-1/2 days of witness testimony, Travis Vader entered guilty pleas Thursday to two of the charges he faced for offences committed while out on bail during a double-murder trial.
Vader, 45, admitted to consuming the street drug version of methamphetamine shortly before a urine test found evidence of the drug in his system in early May 2016. He also pleaded guilty to having been in possession of a stolen truck when he was arrested by investigators after they learned he’d failed the drug test.
At the time of the arrest, Vader was on trial for the 2010 deaths of St. Albert couple Lyle and Marie McCann, ages 78 and 77.
Vader was sentenced to life in prison in January after being found guilty of the lesser charges of manslaughter.
For his two convictions Thursday, Vader was handed a one month and a three-month sentence, both to be served at the same time as his life sentence.
Vader’s lawyers have filed an appeal in the McCann case, and are asking for the conviction to be set aside and for him to receive either a stay of proceedings or an acquittal.
While explaining that a resolution had been reached with Vader on Thursday, Crown prosecutor Jim Stewart told the court the new convictions would be on Vader’s criminal record should he seek bail during the appeal process.
Marie McCann’s younger sister, Alice Chalmers, sat through the trial with her husband, and said she wanted Vader to know she was there to see him held accountable for his actions.
"He’s taken a part of my life away that I’ll never get back. I’m sad everyday," Chalmers said.
The sister said she thought the resolution reached Thursday was "fair."
