Testifying from the witness stand for the first time Tuesday, Travis Vader recounted for an Edmonton courtroom details of the day he was arrested in July 2010.
Vader, convicted this fall of two counts of manslaughter in the deaths of a St. Albert, Alta., couple, said he was humiliated by the police officers who took him into custody.
“I was arrested in a field and was subsequently searched by that team,” Vader told Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Denny Thomas.
Officers informed him that he was being arrested on outstanding warrants and advised him he was a suspect in relation to the McCann investigation.
Driven to the RCMP detachment in Edson, about 200 km west of Edmonton, Vader was taken to a cell and strip-searched.
“The cell door to the holding cell was left open,” Vader said. “Everybody could see.”
Defence lawyer Nate Whitling asked Vader how he felt at the time.
“It’s humiliating, absolutely humiliating,” Vader said. “I still remember standing there, buck naked, in front of the world basically. Being recorded.”
Whitling told the court his client will only testify about issues related to his constitutional rights while he was in custody.
As the second day of the sentencing hearing opened, Vader sat in the prisoner’s box wearing a microphone.
He was convicted in October on two counts of manslaughter in the July 2010 deaths of Lyle and Marie McCann. Their bodies have not been found.
Whitling has told CBC News the defence team’s goal is to convince Justice Thomas to reduce Vader’s sentence or impose a stay of proceedings.
The defence will seek a prison term of four to six years, while the prosecution will ask for a life sentence.
Wrongful-prosecution lawsuit
In April 2014, Vader filed a $1-million wrongful-prosecution lawsuit against more than four dozen RCMP officers, Crown prosecutors and jail guards.
The 16-page statement of claim contains many allegations that likely foreshadow what the court is about to hear during Vader’s testimony this week.
Vader complained he was held in a cell at the Edmonton Remand Centre known as the “asshole tank,” which was “frequently used to confine problematic inmates,” and was “generally contaminated with body fluids including blood, saliva and urine.”
The convicted killer also complained about being transported by sheriffs in unpadded “cage vans” with no seatbelts and no grab handles, where “sudden movements would often cause inmates to collide with one another or be thrown around inside the cage.”
Vader complained he was often locked in his cell for 23 hours a day and was subjected to attacks from other inmates who, he said, hurled human waste into his cell. Vader also accused Edmonton Remand Centre staff of verbal and physical abuse.
‘Inherent human dignity’
The lawsuit claims Vader’s constitutional rights, including “the protection of his inherent human dignity, the right to privacy and the freedom from interference with fundamental personal choices,” had been violated.
When Vader stepped into the prisoner’s box on Monday, his right hand and lower arm was bandaged, and he wore a splint on two of his fingers.
Whitling refused to comment on the injury or how it was caused.
Vader will be cross-examined. But the prosecution will only be allowed to ask questions on the narrow issue of Vader’s constitutional rights while in custody.
The Crown is seeking two life sentences, to be served concurrently.
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