Close X
Saturday, September 21, 2024
ADVT 
National

More DNA Evidence Presented At First-Degree Murder Trial Of Travis Vader

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 09 Apr, 2016 11:44 AM
    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.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Firefighters Rescue 9-Year-Old Twins From Ice Floe: 'It Kept Drifting Out A Little Further'

    Firefighters Rescue 9-Year-Old Twins From Ice Floe: 'It Kept Drifting Out A Little Further'
    The girl and boy had been jumping on cakes of ice when one started moving out shortly before 3 p.m. on Easter Sunday, said Sgt. Walter Vessey of Charlottetown police.

    Firefighters Rescue 9-Year-Old Twins From Ice Floe: 'It Kept Drifting Out A Little Further'

    Manitoba NDP Promise To Cut Health-care Fees On Campaign Trail

    NDP Leader Greg Selinger says he would cut ambulance fees in half — similar to a promise already made by the Progressive Conservatives.

    Manitoba NDP Promise To Cut Health-care Fees On Campaign Trail

    Scores Pay Final Respects As Rob Ford Lies In Repose At City Hall

    Scores Pay Final Respects As Rob Ford Lies In Repose At City Hall
    Mayor John Tory, who gave permission for Ford to lie in repose, was first to pause quietly at his predecessor's casket, then shake hands with relatives, among them Ford's brother Doug, mother, wife and two children.

    Scores Pay Final Respects As Rob Ford Lies In Repose At City Hall

    Canadian Man Faces Multiple 'Brutal Sexual Assault' Charges In Denver

    Canadian Man Faces Multiple 'Brutal Sexual Assault' Charges In Denver
    Denver District Attorney's office says 30-year-old Colby James Messer has been charged with six counts of sexual assault.

    Canadian Man Faces Multiple 'Brutal Sexual Assault' Charges In Denver

    Nearly 70 Killed In Lahore, Amid Easter Celebrations

    Nearly 70 Killed In Lahore, Amid Easter Celebrations
    At least 67 people were killed and over 300 others injured in a deadly suicide explosion near the crowded and popular Gulshan-e-Iqbal park here on Sunday, rescue and security officials said.

    Nearly 70 Killed In Lahore, Amid Easter Celebrations

    Dead Manitoba Boy's Family Says They Are 'Completely Devastated'

    Dead Manitoba Boy's Family Says They Are 'Completely Devastated'
    The Canadian Centre for Child Protection issued the release on behalf of the family of two-year-old Chase Martens, whose body was located in a creek on Saturday near the family's rural home.

    Dead Manitoba Boy's Family Says They Are 'Completely Devastated'