Lawyers ask for new trial for Travis Vader in deaths of missing Alberta couple
Posted November 30, 2018 1:30 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
EDMONTON — Lawyers for a man convicted of killing two missing Alberta seniors have asked for a new trial.
Travis Vader was sentenced in January 2017 to life in prison for manslaughter in the deaths of Lyle and Marie McCann.
Defence lawyers have asked the Alberta Court of Appeal for a new trial on the grounds that there were a number of errors in the original one.
They argue the trial took too long so the convictions should be stayed.
They also note that the judge mistakenly used an outdated section of the Criminal Code and later substituted manslaughter for the original verdict of second-degree murder.
The McCanns, who were in their late 70s, vanished in 2010 after leaving their Edmonton-area home to go camping in British Columbia.
The Court of Appeal has reserved its decision.
The Canadian Press
