A friend of Travis Vader’s told police the accused killer told him he had stolen an SUV belonging to a missing and presumed murdered elderly St. Albert couple, but did not kill them.

However, William Nikolyuk testified Wednesday at Vader’s first-degree murder trial that he had lied to police when he said that.

Court heard Nikolyuk spoke to RCMP on Aug. 9, 2010, and, according to a transcript of the recorded interview read out by Crown prosecutor Ashley Finlayson, he told officers he brought groceries to a field by his home on July 17, 2010, for Vader, who was on the run from police at the time, and had a conversation with him.

According to the transcript, Nikolyuk told police Vader had said to him that he had stolen the SUV that was "on the news" for having belonged to Lyle McCann, 78, and his 77-year-old wife Marie — who had disappeared after leaving St. Albert for a camping trip to B.C. — but that "those people" were not in it.

Nikolyuk agreed Wednesday he told police that Vader said: "I didn’t do nothing to those people. I just stole the wrong vehicle at the wrong time."

When Finlayson then asked him if his statement to police was true, Nikolyuk replied "No." He then claimed that he "was told" that Vader had stolen the SUV, "but not by Travis."

Nikolyuk was also asked about telling police that Vader had told him that he had taken the SUV from a rest area that the McCanns were supposedly at, then drove it for a few days. Nikolyuk again claimed he was lying to the officers.

When pressed by the prosecutor as to why he would lie to police with a statement that would get his friend in trouble, Nikolyuk said he did it to get police "off my back" as he wanted to attend a friend’s funeral and didn’t want police to stop him from going.

The Wildwood man also testified that he was a crystal meth addict at the time and "wasn’t all there" during the interview because he was "grieving" and was on medication for lead poisoning.

Finlayson again asked Nikolyuk why he would tell police he had a conversation with Vader in the field if he wasn’t actually there, when he knew Vader was wanted for the McCanns’ disappearance, and he replied it was because the officers said they knew he knew more.

"You did know more," suggested Finlayson.

"No I didn’t," said Nikolyuk. "It wasn’t the truth."

The prosecutor then asked why, if he wanted to give police what they wanted, he didn’t tell them that Vader was responsible for the McCanns’ disappearance and only said he had stolen their SUV.

"I don’t have an answer to that," said Nikolyuk.

This evidence photo from the Travis Vader trial shows the SUV belonging to Lyle and Marie McCann that was found in the woods after their disappearance. Greg Southam / Postmedia

In an unusual court procedure, the Crown was allowed to cross-examine Nikolyuk, despite being their witness. Justice Denny Thomas ruled there were inconsistencies between his police statement and his testimony and said it was a "serious" case and the "ends of justice would best be obtained" by allowing it.

Nikolyuk’s testimony is set to continue Thursday.

Vader, 44, is accused of killing the McCanns.

They were last seen leaving a Superstore in St. Albert on July 3, 2010. Two days later, their motorhome was found ablaze and abandoned at a campground by Minnow Lake near Edson.

The 2006 Hyundai Tucson SUV they were towing was found in a remote wooded area east of Edson on July 16, 2010.

Court has heard police found blood spatter from the McCanns on items in the SUV, as well as Vader’s DNA, blood and fingerprints.