On Wednesday, Travis Vader was late for his double murder trial for a fourth time – and a judge is set to review bail conditions for him.
A lawyer for Travis Vader said his client was a half-hour late for court Wednesday morning because a vehicle he had been using was borrowed by someone, but not returned.
Once court proceedings resumed Wednesday, Vader’s ex-girlfriend Amber Williams told the Crown she dated Vader for a few months in 2010, but the relationship ended in late June, in part due to their consumption of crystal meth.
When asked if Vader was addicted to the drug, Williams told Crown Prosecutor Ashley Finlayson:
“We were constantly doing it. That’s one of the reasons we split up. We couldn’t get along. It was just too much.”
Williams said in early July of 2010, Vader was texting her sometimes six or seven times in a row, trying to get together – the Crown Prosecutor focused on texts sent the day Lyle and Marie McCann disappeared.
The texts were sent from the couple’s cell phone, with Vader saying he missed Williams, and that he “now” had a phone. The messages were signed off with the letter T, which Williams identified as the accused.
However, under cross-examination, Williams admitted she never witnessed who sent the texts. She’s currently in custody on unrelated drug trafficking charges.
Wednesday’s delay was the fourth time Vader has been late for court, he has reportedly had car trouble twice, and slept in once.
The third time, Justice Denny Thomas warned the accused to not be late again – and he said Wednesday another judge would look at Vader’s bail conditions later in the day.
That review was pushed back to Friday.
The accused has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the deaths of Lyle and Marie McCann, a St. Albert couple who vanished in 2010. Their bodies have never been found.
With files from The Canadian Press and David Ewasuk
