Edmonton

Travis Vader's account of strip search contradicts agreed facts

Travis Vader’s lurid testimony this week of his strip search by RCMP at the Edson detachment in 2010 may have been exaggerated.

'I still remember standing there buck naked in front of the world basically'

Travis Vader leaves Edson provincial court in May 2012 after making his first appearance in the case of missing St. Albert couple, Lyle and Marie McCann. Vader is testifying about his treatment in custody since he was arrested. (CBC)

Travis Vader's lurid testimony this week of his strip search by RCMP at the Edson detachment in 2010 may have been exaggerated.

Vader testified Monday that the detachment about 200 km west of Edmonton was busier than usual because of the media interest in his arrest.

He claimed that during his strip search he was left naked for at least five minutes and the door to the holding cell left open.

"Everybody could see," Vader said.

"I still remember standing there buck naked in front of the world basically."

He called the experience "humiliating, absolutely humiliating."

But an agreed statement of facts signed by Vader and entered at the hearing Thursday, said Vader was left naked for less than 35 seconds.

A camera aimed at the open doorway showed nobody walked by the door or was even visible in the hallway during the search.

Vader has been testifying for most of the week about his treatment during his arrest and incarceration as part of an effort towards a reduced sentence or a stay of the proceedings.

On Thursday, court also learned how Vader injured his right hand.

Visitors to the courtroom noticed the hand wrapped in bandages with his fingers in splints.

Earlier this week, Vader's lawyer, Nate Whitling, refused to reveal how the hand was hurt.

On Thursday Crown prosecutor  Ashley Finlayson suggested in court Vader punched a cell wall.

Vader admitted: "I got frustrated one day with guards taking stuff out of my cell."  

Vader is being sentenced on two counts of manslaughter in the deaths of Lyle and Marie McCann, an elderly couple from St. Albert, Alta., whose bodies have never been found.

The McCanns were last seen alive in July 2010 at a gas station in their hometown of St. Albert. It was the first day of a road trip to British Columbia. Their burned-out RV was found days later in a rural area near Edson.

Vader is back on the stand Friday.