A court date has been set for the appeal of Travis Vader’s manslaughter convictions in the deaths of two St. Albert seniors.
Vader, who is currently serving a life sentence in the deaths of Lyle and Marie McCann, is slated to come before the Court of Appeal of Alberta on Nov. 28.
Vader was convicted of manslaughter in the deaths of the senior couple in 2016.
The criminal trial of the disappearance and deaths of the McCanns spanned six years and was finally wrapped up with a life sentence on Sept. 15, 2016.
The McCanns were last seen filling their motorhome with gas in St. Albert on July 3, 2010, before setting off on a planned trip to visit with family and camp on the West Coast. Their burned-out motorhome was found near Minnow Lake campground, southeast of Edson, two days later.
Their bodies have never been recovered.
Vader was originally convicted of second-degree murder by Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Denny Thomas in the deaths of the McCann couple. Thomas relied on a section of the Criminal Code, which had been deemed unconstitutional by the courts 26 years earlier. The verdict was eventually substituted for two counts of manslaughter.
Vader was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for seven years.
In January 2017, Vader’s defence lawyer, Brian Beresh, filed the documents for an appeal, stating that Vader is looking for a stay of proceedings on the sentence or an acquittal. If the matter was to go to trial again, Vader would request his case be heard by a judge and jury.
