Mike on Crime

with Mike McIntyre

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• Cryptic letter has community on edge

  11/10/2011 5:41 PM

  It reads like something out of a Hollywood horror movie.

  A young girl, dressed as a Zombie, found brutally murdered on Halloween night along a darkened roadway. Days later, a cryptic letter shows up in a police station from an anonymous writer claiming to be the killer and threatening more violence to come. Police issue a public warning. And an entire community is put on edge.

  This bizarre scenario isn't playing out on some Los Angeles production studio back-lot, but rather the city of Armstrong, British Columbia. Read more about it here.

  Police say they are taking the threatening letter seriously as their investigation into the Oct. 31 slaying of 18-year-old Taylor Van Diest continues. One of the big questions is whether the author of this note is truly the one responsible for Van Diest's death or simply the fictional ramblings of some sick, twisted soul.

  If the letter is legit, let's hope the writer left enough clues behind that police can quickly track them down and put an end to whatever they might have planned.

  But if it turns out to be a hoax, the person responsible will become just the latest in a long line of individuals who try to insert themselves into a high-profile criminal case.

  We've seen several such examples in Manitoba.

  Erin Chorney, 18, vanished from Brandon in the spring of 2002, leaving behind a trail of questions and rumours about what happened to her. The mystery only increased when, one year later, a half-dozen cryptic letters were distributed at various locations in the western Manitoba city.

  The anonymous, handwritten notes claimed to have inside knowledge about Erin's case. They were heavy on intrigue but scant on details. One was left directly at the home of Erin's parents, while others were placed in public locations such as a restaurant washroom.

  And while Erin's case would eventually be solved, the source of the letters has never been located.

  As I wrote about in my 2006 true crime book, To The Grave: Inside A Spectacular RCMP Sting,  police and Erin's family believe the person responsible was likely just trying to gain some attention. In fact, I learned of several other examples where people had come forward -- some likely with good intentions, others not so much -- claiming to have knowledge about the case.

  All of it proved to be quite distressing for the victim's family and quite time consuming for police.

  We learned earlier this year of a similar apparent "hoax" in the high-profile Candace Derksen case.

  Jurors were not allowed to hear testimony from a Winnipeg woman who claimed in 1985 she was kidnapped by a stranger in eerily similar fashion to Candace -- then recanted the story 26 years later. Queen's Bench Justice Glenn Joyal made the pivotal legal ruling one day before Mark Grant's first-degree murder trial began in January.

  Defence lawyer Saul Simmonds had filed a motion to put a woman on the witness stand, believing it would prove Grant was innocent of killing Candace. That's because Grant was in custody on other charges at the time the woman, just 12 years old in 1985, was allegedly attacked, meaning he couldn't possibly be responsible for either crime if there was indeed a proven link.

  The woman was legitimately discovered by a bystander in the fall of 1985 lying inside an empty railway car on Gateway Road in East Kildonan. She was screaming "mommy, mommy," her wrists and legs were bound and there was a plastic shopping bag put over her head. The then-12-year-old told police an unknown man had abducted her around 4 p.m. on a Friday as she left Valley Gardens Junior High School to walk home.

  Police were immediately on high alert, considering 13-year-old Candace had been snatched from her East Kildonan school around 4 p.m. on a Friday in November 1984, only to be found frozen and bound inside an industrial storage shed in January 1985. The distance between the two apparent crime scenes was approximately five kilometres. Investigators went so far as to take the girl to a memorial service for Candace to have her scan the crowd for their potential attacker in case he was soaking in the public grief. She also gave a detailed description of the man and his vehicle, which led to a composite sketch being created.

  The investigation went cold and no arrests were ever made. But Simmonds came across the old file when preparing to defend Grant and immediately sought to have jurors hear about it. The Crown was opposed, saying it would "derail" Grant's scheduled trial and had "no probative value."

  Prosecutor Brian Bell based his position on the fact police re-interviewed the now-adult woman in early January and learned she was now claiming the alleged attack apparently never happened. Those views were confirmed when she testified days later in a pre-trial motion.

  "I would suggest this never really happened," Bell asked her in cross-examination.

  "I would agree. Yes," replied the mother of six. She went on to explain through tears she has absolutely no memory of that day or most of her childhood.

  "I went through a lot of trauma as a child, had a lot of nightmares. I don't know whether some memories are nightmares or the truth," she said.

  Simmonds asked the woman to read through her old police statement and look at photographs and police reports prepared at the time. She refused. Joyal asked her when she first began to realize the story as she originally told it never happened. The woman said it was about 10 years ago.

  There is no disputing she was actually found in the rail car as described because the independent witness who overheard her screams for help gave a statement in 1985. However, that woman has since passed away.

  The woman gave no further explanation for her drastic change in story or why she would have been found in that state. She didn't say whether it was a cry for attention or something else.

  Joyal decided jurors would not hear anything about the "phantom kidnapper."

  "I am not able to conclude... the alleged offences even happened," he said.

  So what would propel someone to take advantage of a distressed family and a desperate police service by claiming to have some "inside information" pivotal to a case? That's a question better suited for a psychologist or psychiatrist, but it's definitely worth noting that these type of people exist in society.

  No doubt similar questions are being asked right now out in Armstrong, B.C., where folks likely won't be sleeping easy until this mystery is solved.

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• A bittersweet birthday

  01/17/2011 2:21 PM

  I will never forget the day Candace Derksen’s frozen, bound body was found in an industrial shed in Elmwood, following weeks of desperate searching that included hundreds of local volunteers.

  It was January 17, 1985 - my 10th birthday.

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  I didn’t know Candace, but like a lot of Winnipeggers, I felt like I did. As a naturally curious child, growing up in a neighbourhood not very far from where Candace lived, the story of the 13-year-old girl who mysteriously disappeared while walking home from school had captivated me.

  And frightened me.

  Looking back, the case was probably one of the first times I realized that the world we live in isn’t always a happy or safe place. Sadly, I know a lot of kids learn this lesson in a much more direct and tragic way, but I credit my parents for raising me in an environment where I always felt protected.

  As the years passed, I often though about Candace – especially as each birthday would come and go. I wondered whether her death would ever be solved, whether her family and friends and loved ones would ever get the answers they so desperately wanted and needed.

  Those feelings grew stronger as my journalism career began in 1995 and I got to know members of the Derksen family, specifically Candace’s parents Wilma and Cliff. They are two of the strongest, most courageous people I know and my heart always ached for their loss.

  And so I naturally felt a sense of relief for them when news broke in 2007 that police had finally made an arrest based on advances in DNA testing, bringing an apparent end to one of the city’s most gripping murder mysteries.

  It has now been exactly 26 years since the search for Candace ended, and the man accused of killing her is about to stand trial.

  Mark Grant, 44, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. He appeared in a Winnipeg courtroom Monday morning to begin his trial, which is expected to last six weeks. Jurors are expected to begin hearing evidence on Thursday. None of the allegations have been proven and he is presumed innocent.

  I know a lot of Winnipeggers will be following the case closely, and it is with great pride that I now find myself covering a story which I always felt such a strong connection to. I am also be proud to be working on a book related to the case, which is set to be published later this year.

  It’s a connection I was once again reminded of early Monday morning, when the following email arrived in my inbox from Wilma Derksen.

  "Dear Mike. If I remember correctly this is a special day for you. Hope you are surrounded by love. Wilma."

  It was a touching gesture from a grieving mother who was just hours away from facing her daughter’s alleged killer in court - on a day that many believed would never come.

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• ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas – The Legal Version

  12/23/2010 2:13 PM

  We all know lawyers often have their own language – and you wouldn’t be alone in wondering if they sometimes get paid by the word. To that end, I present to you one of my favourite finds, a remake of the classic "Twas The Night Before Christmas" poem as if it were written by a lawyer. The author of the piece – which is readily available online – is not known. But full credit to whoever sat down and came up with it!

  Enjoy – And have a safe and happy holiday!

   

  "Whereas, on or about the night prior to Christmas, there did occur at a certain improved piece of real property (hereinafter "the House") a general lack of stirring by all creatures therein, including, but not limited to a mouse.

   

  A variety of foot apparel, e.g. stocking, socks, etc., had been affixed by and around the chimney in said House in the hope and/or belief that St. Nick a/k/a/St. Nicholas a/k/a/ Santa Claus (hereinafter "Claus") would arrive at sometime thereafter.

   

  The minor residents, i.e. the children, of the aforementioned House, were located in their individual beds and were engaged in nocturnal hallucinations, i.e. dreams, wherein vision of confectionery treats, including, but not limited to, candies, nuts and/or sugar plums, did dance, cavort and otherwise appear in said dreams.

   

  Whereupon the party of the first part (sometimes hereinafter referred to as "I"), being the joint-owner in fee simple of the House with the parts of the second part (hereinafter "Mamma"), and said Mamma had retired for a sustained period of sleep. (At such time, the parties were clad in various forms of headgear, e.g. kerchief and cap.)

   

  Suddenly, and without prior notice or warning, there did occur upon the unimproved real property adjacent and appurtent to said House, i.e. the lawn, a certain disruption of unknown nature, cause and/or circumstance. The party of the first part did immediately rush to a window in the House to investigate the cause of such disturbance.

   

  At that time, the party of the first part did observe, with some degree of wonder and/or disbelief, a miniature sleigh (hereinafter the "Vehicle") being pulled and/or drawn very rapidly through the air by approximately eight (8) reindeer. The driver of the Vehicle appeared to be and in fact was, the previously referenced Claus.

   

  Said Claus was providing specific direction, instruction and guidance to the approximately eight (8) reindeer and specifically identified the animal co-conspirators by name: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder and Blitzen (hereinafter the "Deer"). (Upon information and belief, it is further asserted that an additional co-conspirator named Rudolph may have been involved.)

   

  The party of the first part witnessed Claus, the Vehicle and the Deer intentionally and willfully trespass upon the roofs of several residences located adjacent to and in the vicinity of the House, and noted that the Vehicle was heavily laden with packages, toys and other items of unknown origin or nature. Suddenly, without prior invitation or permission, either express or implied, the Vehicle arrived at the House, and Claus entered said House via the chimney.

   

  Said Claus was clad in a red fur suit, which was partially covered with residue from the chimney, and he carried a large sack containing a portion of the aforementioned packages, toys, and other unknown items. He was smoking what appeared to be tobacco in a small pipe in blatant violation of local ordinances and health regulations.

   

  Claus did not speak, but immediately began to fill the stocking of the minor children, which hung adjacent to the chimney, with toys and other small gifts. (Said items did not, however, constitute "gifts" to said minor pursuant to the applicable provisions of the U.S. Tax Code.) Upon completion of such task, Claus touched the side of his nose and flew, rose and/or ascended up the chimney of the House to the roof where the Vehicle and Deer waited and/or served as "lookouts." Claus immediately departed for an unknown destination.

   

  However, prior to the departure of the Vehicle, Deer and Claus from said House, the party of the first part did hear Claus state and/or exclaim: "Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!" Or words to that effect."

   

   

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