Candace Derksen’s family hopes retrial of man accused of killing teen will help them move on

Nov. 30, 1984: Candace Derksen, 13, leaves Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute in the afternoon, presumably on her way home, but never arrives at her home.

Dec. 1, 1984: One of the largest police and public searches in Winnipeg’s history is launched for Candace, a Grade 7 student.

Jan. 17, 1985: Candace’s frozen body is found inside an old machinery shed on private industrial land near the Nairn Avenue overpass, about 500 metres from her home. Her hands and feet were tied behind her back with thick rope, making it impossible for her to walk and nearly impossible to move. She died of hypothermia caused by exposure.

Jan. 24, 1985: Candace’s funeral takes place.

1991: Wilma Derksen releases her book, Have You Seen Candace?, which chronicles the family’s struggle to recover from their daughter’s unsolved disappearance and death.

2006: Project Angel is quietly launched by Winnipeg police in a renewed effort to catch Candace’s killer. The cold-case unit takes over and reviews all evidence, including forensic samples that are sent to a private Ontario lab for testing that wasn’t previously possible. Police begin taking another look at suspect Mark Edward Grant and put together a comprehensive undercover plan to obtain his DNA and place him under regular surveillance.

May 16, 2007: Grant is arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

Sept. 10, 2009: Provincial court Judge Tim Preston rules there is sufficient evidence to proceed with a case of first-degree murder against Grant. His decision comes following a three-week preliminary hearing.

Jan. 18, 2011: Grant’s trial begins. Dozens of witnesses are called, including forensic experts and retired police officers who worked on the original investigation.

Feb. 18, 2011: A jury convicts Grant of second-degree murder. Outside court, Candace’s parents, Wilma and Cliff Derksen, say they often wondered whether their journey for justice would ever end. “I think the jury was tremendously courageous,” Wilma says, wiping her eyes while clutching a fresh white rose she planned to lay at Candace’s headstone.

Feb. 19, 2011: Thirty friends and family gather around Candace’s grave in the Glen Eden cemetery to pray, read poems and offer words of support for the Derksens and words of absolution for Grant.

May 26, 2011: Grant is given a mandatory life sentence with no chance of parole for at least 25 years. Queen’s Bench Justice Glenn Joyal says he is raising the parole eligibility from the minimum of 10 years and imposing the maximum sentence allowed by law to reflect Grant’s horrific criminal record and the severity of his crime.

April 15, 2013: Grant appears before the Manitoba Court of Appeal, seeking to have his conviction overturned. Grant cites 18 alleged errors made by Joyal in his handling of the trial. Grant also appeals Joyal’s sentencing decision, saying it was unduly harsh.

Oct. 30, 2013: Manitoba’s Appeal Court overturns the guilty verdict, ruling Grant did not receive a fair trial. The court cites one key error made by the trial judge in its decision to order a new trial. It says Joyal was wrong to exclude jurors from hearing testimony from a Winnipeg woman who claimed in 1985 she was kidnapped by a stranger in a similar fashion to Candace — only to recant the story 26 years later.

Nov. 26, 2013: The Manitoba Prosecutions Service confirms it will seek leave to appeal from the Supreme Court of Canada in hopes of overturning the decision by the Appeal Court that quashed Grant’s conviction. The Crown must demonstrate to the high court the case has “national importance” before it can get a full hearing.

March 20, 2014: The Supreme Court rules it will hear the appeal in the Grant case.

March 5, 2015: The Supreme Court agrees with the Manitoba Court of Appeal’s decision to overturn the conviction of Grant. 

January 16, 2017:  The retrial of Grant is scheduled to begin.