By: Tony Blais

Travis Vader will go to trial on charges of first-degree murder in the case of an elderly St. Albert couple who disappeared in 2010, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Following a lengthy abuse of process hearing, Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Denny Thomas denied a defence application to have the charges against Vader judicially stayed, although he said it was a "very close call."

Thomas ruled the public’s confidence in the administration of justice requires Vader, 43, to be tried for the slayings of Lyle McCann, 78, and his 77-year-old wife Marie.

"Mr. Vader’s long and interrupted march to the courtroom is troubling, however, given the seriousness of the charges, and the shared interests of Mr. Vader and the public in his very public name being cleared, align to favour a full adjudication of the charges against him."

Thomas cited an "obvious and serious failure in the disclosure process" by the RCMP, but he ruled the "bungling" was unintentional and not an abuse of process.

"Certainly, there was negligence on the part of some members of the RCMP and therefore the overall institution of the RCMP, and that was fully acknowledged by (the Crown) as being egregious," said Thomas, calling it a "disclosure disaster."

He also cleared the Crown prosecutor’s office of any abuse or wrongdoing and rejected the defence argument that there had been an "unreasonable delay" in the case.

"The principles of justice are not violated by effectively endorsing Crown counsel’s decision to stay and then recommence these proceedings in allowing this prosecution to proceed to trial," Thomas said in a written decision.

The five-week trial is scheduled to start March 8.

Vader, who is free on bail, did not show any apparent emotion when the decision was given, but quickly took a large drink of water.

The couple’s son and his wife cried tears of relief at the judge’s decision.

Outside court, Bret McCann said the family is "very pleased" there will be a trial.

"We are keenly looking forward to finding out what happened to my parents back in July 2010," he said, adding the process has been a "marathon" and stressful.

Defence lawyer Brian Beresh said Vader was "disappointed" by the ruling, but is "looking forward" to trial and denies "having any involvement" in the incident.

The hearing heard a "staggering" amount of evidence in the investigation was not disclosed to the defence, which the Crown said was the RCMP’s fault.

Court documents ordered released to the media during the hearing show police believe forensic evidence, cellphone records, an undercover sting and a bullet hole in a hat link Vader to the couple’s disappearance.

A beer can, a ruby ring and a cellphone make up the major physical evidence that RCMP allege they have against Vader, according to notes taken during meetings between the Crown and the Mounties.

The documents have not been presented or proven in court, nor have the allegations been proven in court.

But they show RCMP believe they found Vader’s fingerprint and DNA on a beer can inside the vehicle the McCanns were towing with their motorhome.

Police also believed Vader had used a cellphone belonging to the McCanns on the day they disappeared in July 2010 and the documents say a man told RCMP that Vader had given him a ruby ring that belonged to the McCanns.

The man said Vader took the ring from the motorhome and kept it at a cabin near his father’s place, along with "a lot more stuff."

In a 2013 memorandum, the Crown wrote that "forensic evidence ties" Vader to the McCanns’ SUV. It also says Marie McCann’s blood was found inside the vehicle as well as Lyle McCann’s hat with a bullet hole in it. The Crown also alleges Vader used the couple’s cellphone on the afternoon that they went missing.

The couple last seen July 3, 2010, fuelling up their motorhome in St. Albert while on their way to Chilliwack, B.C., for a vacation.

Two days later, their RV was found engulfed in flames near a campground close to Edson. The SUV they were towing was discovered six days later in a remote wooded area about 30 km east of Edson. Their bodies haven’t been recovered, although RCMP have declared them dead.

Vader was first charged with the killings in April 2012, but the charges were stayed in March 2014, just a few weeks before the case was to go before a jury, when the Crown realized the RCMP hadn’t disclosed all evidence in the case. The charges were reinstated Dec. 19, 2014.