EDMONTON - Travis Vader, accused in the deaths of two St. Albert seniors, is facing a new charge for allegedly breaching a curfew at his residence in Camrose.
Information from Alberta Justice shows Vader was charged Tuesday night with failing to comply with a condition to be "indoors at his approved residence between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. daily, except for medical emergencies." Camrose police Sgt. Rene Brisson said electronic monitoring alerted officers. Vader was arrested at hospital in Camrose. Brisson said there is "some information he went to the hospital to seek medical treatment" — which would be an exception under the curfew condition — but police nonetheless felt it was a breach. Brisson said the breach involves a period of time of about 20 or 25 minutes.
Vader was released from custody Wednesday night. He has a court appearance set for April 29.
It is the third time Vader has faced breach allegations in the four months since murder charges were recommenced against him in the death of St. Albert couple Lyle and Marie McCann.
Vader alleges the breach charges are part of a campaign of harassment by police. He has filed a million-dollar lawsuit alleging malicious prosecution and mistreatment by police, the Crown and others. The lawsuit remains before the courts.
Vader became a familiar figure in Alberta in July 2010, after the McCanns disappeared while travelling by motorhome to visit their daughter in B.C. Vader was named by RCMP as a suspect in the case.
He was arrested on other charges and was remanded in custody and awaiting trial in April 2012 when RCMP charged him with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of the McCanns. The murder charges were stayed n March 2014, just weeks before Vader’s trial was set to begin. He was then released from custody in the fall, after being found not guilty of unrelated charges.
The murder charges were reinstated in December, at which time Vader was re-arrested, then released on bail.
In February, he was charged with an alleged assault on his mother’s boyfriend. Then he was charged with one count of dangerous driving and six breaches of bail conditions after being pulled over with his fiancé at a property in the Niton Junction-Carrot Creek area, about 160 kilometres west of Edmonton. The breach charges in that case included failing to comply with a condition not to possess firearms, ammunition, or weapons, and another not to be in possession of non-prescription drugs.
His trial on the murder charges is set to take place from March 7 to April 8, 2016. Jury selection is slated for March 3.
Lyle and Marie McCann, aged 78 and 77, were last seen in St. Albert filling up their motorhome with gas. The green 2006 Hyundai Tucson SUV they were towing was later found in the bush near Carrot Creek. Their burned motorhome was found at the Minnow Lake campground, about a 45-minute south drive south. Their bodies have never been found.
jpruden@edmontonjournal.com
Twitter.com/@jana_pruden
