EDMONTON – A judge has sentenced a man to life in prison for killing two Alberta seniors who disappeared on a camping trip.
Travis Vader was found guilty of manslaughter last fall in the deaths of Lyle and Marie McCann, who were in their 70s when they vanished after leaving their Edmonton-area home in July 2010.
Justice Denny Thomas dismissed a defence submission that Vader should get a lesser sentence because his rights were violated in custody.
Vader told court that he is innocent and he will continue to fight to clear his name.
The McCanns’ burned-out motorhome and a vehicle they had been towing were discovered in the days after they disappeared, but their bodies have never been found.
Thomas has described Vader as a desperate drug addict who came across the McCanns and killed them during a robbery.
Vader has asked to serve his sentence in B.C. and will be eligible for parole in seven years.
