Judge admits error, changes Travis Vader murder verdict
Posted October 31, 2016 10:37 am.
Last Updated October 31, 2016 11:01 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
EDMONTON, AB. (NEWS 1130) – An Edmonton judge has changed his murder verdict to manslaughter in the high-profile case of Travis Vader and the two missing seniors he was convicted of killing.
Lawyers had returned to court today to argue about whether there should be a mistrial because Justice Denny Thomas used an outdated section of the Criminal Code in his original verdict. Thomas told the court he made a mistake when he convicted Vader last month of second-degree murder in the deaths of Lyle and Marie McCann who were travelling to the Fraser Valley.
The McCann’s, in their late 70s, disappeared after setting out on a camping trip from their Edmonton-area home back in 2010.
But in finding Vader guilty, the judge used Section 230 of the Criminal Code, which the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional in 1990. The government did not remove that specific section from the books because antiquated laws are rarely repealed.
Last month, Thomas had said his verdict was based on the fact Vader was a desperate drug addict who came across the couple and shot them during a robbery.
Thomas told court his written decision will follow. “I accept that it was an error,” Thomas told the court.
The bodies of the couple have never been found.
