EDMONTON — A drug and weapons trial is underway for a man once charged in the slaying of two Alberta seniors.
First-degree murder charges were stayed against Travis Vader earlier this year and he has filed lawsuits against prosecutors and the RCMP.
Lyle McCann and his wife, Marie, both in their 70s, were last seen alive when they fuelled up their motorhome in their hometown of St. Albert, north of Edmonton, in 2010.
Police discovered the charred remains of the motorhome but the McCanns have never been found.
Vader has pleaded not guilty to nine unrelated charges, including several involving drug trafficking and weapons.
He was convicted on several of the charges in 2012, but a judge later declared a mistrial.
Justice June Ross cited the RCMP as negligent because some evidence had not been properly disclosed to the defence.
She ruled that the Mounties “were focused exclusively on the McCanns investigation” and there was no co-ordination with investigations on the other charges.
Vader’s new trial is scheduled to last five days.