EDMONTON — A man accused of first-degree murder in the deaths of two Alberta seniors has showed up late for court again, this time saying he slept in.
Travis Vader's tardiness has twice before delayed trial proceedings over mechanical problems he said he was having with various vehicles.
Wednesday's 45-minute delay appeared to vex Justice Denny Thomas, who warned Vader not to let it happen again.
Vader apologized and told the judge he had been evicted from his motel room because the owners didn't like being subjected to RCMP surveillance and phone calls.
He said after packing and finding a new place, he slept through his alarm on Wednesday morning.
“You can see the number of people who were inconvenienced by this, the effect it has on the pace of the trial,” Thomas said. “I’m imploring you not to let that happen again.”
Later Wednesday, an RCMP scientist testified about a DNA sample found on a beer can in the SUV belonging to Lyle and Marie McCann, who vanished in the summer of 2010.
He said the odds that the DNA could be from anyone else other than Vader is one in three trillion.
DNA linked to Vader was also found on the SUV’s steering wheel and on a passenger seat.
The bodies of the couple, both in their late 80s, have never been found.
They were last seen driving their motorhome with an SUV towed behind it as they set out from St. Albert, a bedroom community north of Edmonton, on a camping trip to meet family in British Columbia.
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.
Vader, 44, has pleaded not guilty.
