EDMONTON — The trial of a man accused of killing an elderly Edmonton-area couple has heard their blood was found on items in their SUV.
An RCMP scientist testified Friday that a ball cap discovered on the floor below the back seat had Lyle McCann's blood on it while blood from his wife, Marie, was found on canned goods in the back of the vehicle.
The scientist also testified that DNA from a second person was also found on the hat and that it was a possible match to accused Travis Vader — with only a one-in-140,000 chance it could belong to someone else.
Vader is charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
The McCanns, both in their late 70s, vanished in the summer of 2010 after they set out on a road trip to British Columbia. Their bodies have never been found.
Defence lawyer Brian Beresh noted the possible DNA match to Vader wasn't found until a second DNA test was done.
Beresh has repeatedly tried to poke holes in the DNA evidence presented by the Crown, suggesting on Thursday that sneezing into a vehicle or onto items might be enough to transfer DNA.
The McCanns were last seen driving their motorhome with their green Hyundai Tucson towed behind it as they set out from St. Albert, a bedroom community north of Edmonton, on July 3, 2010.
Two days later their motorhome was found burning in the bush in the Peers area. Their SUV was later found hidden in some trees on a nearby rural property.
The Crown alleges Vader was a desperate drug user on the run from police, and living in a makeshift camp in the region, when he came across the McCanns and killed them. The defence has suggested there's not enough evidence to prove the couple is really dead and that police should have looked at other suspects.
