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Not even a guilty verdict in the murders of Lyle and Marie McCann can end a six-year ordeal for their family.

“This has truly been a marathon,” said the couple’s son, Bret McCann.

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Travis Vader, 44, was convicted Thursday of second-degree murder after a three-month trial. But experts said the judge mistakenly relied on an unconstitutional Criminal Code section. An appeal has been filed and a mistrial is a possibility.

Bret McCann is already bracing himself: “It would be difficult, but we know this is a marathon. We’ll see it through until the end, no matter what twists and turns this takes.”

For a brief while after leaving court Thursday, the McCann family savoured joy. The triumph was tempered by not being able to lay their loved ones to rest. The couple’s bodies have never been found.

The family has ridden a roller-coaster case beset by extraordinary circumstances from start to finish. Nothing went as it should. Starting back in 2010, the couple’s motorhome was found ablaze, but failed to rouse suspicion. It would not be the last mis-step.