Candice Derksen, age thirteen, went missing on Nov. 30th, 1984. Her body was found frozen in a brickyard shed, Jan. 17, 1985. She was wrapped in a blanket, her hands and feet bound with twine.
The Winnipeg Police didn't find any leads to help them solve the mystery at that time. At least, nothing that they thought was significant. But with the little evidence they did accumulate, it was kept on file. A couple of police officers did not close the case due to some slight bits of evidence, but demonstrated a major zeal to find the killer.
"If you guys have a case, then prove it to me because I don't believe you do."
- Mark Edward Grant- in a taped interview with police some weeks previously.
Twenty-six years ago, the possibilities of such a disclosure with six or seven strands of hair as evidence, and blood on some jeans was unimaginable. Especially after considering the length of time we are talking about.
This story is such a sad one, because I was in the middle of raising my own children during this time frame. When I heard the news about Candice, my heart went out to her parents. How does one cope with such an atrocity? One morning, your daughter gets up to go to school like any other day, and later that same day, you must report her missing.
To live with the horror these parents must have dealt with is beyond comprehension.
Now following all these years, a major trial takes place in Winnipeg. It all unfolds before them once again. Everyone who last saw Candice Derksen is placed on the stand to testify. Including anyone who has been working on this case all the while.
The supply shed where Candice was found was only 500 metres from her family home.
"I will tell you at the end of the day why you're our guy ... The truth is the truth. It doesn't change," Sgt. John Lutz says as he tries to get Grant to openly confess.
"I have no comment," Grant responds.
The presumed killer was not even considered a suspect in 1984. The reason he was questioned at the time of the murder was because of a troubled runaway. Grant's 14-year-old girlfriend called the police. Audrey Fontaine believed she had seen Candice Derksen come out of a convenience store on Talbot Avenue just prior to her disappearance.
Audrey Fontaine and Grant spent a few nights in this shed. Grant testifies that Audrey was the only one he spent the night with there.
The seven-man, five-woman jury watched a 3 1/2 hour video statement Grant made after being arrested.
Grant, now 47, is charged with leaving Derksen to freeze to death. His slate is not clean, even without this event hanging on his lap. He has been in and out of trouble since being a teenager. Read more on the following site.
Source: CBC News - Manitoba - Crown rests case in Derksen trial
www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2011/02/10/mb-derksen-murder-trial-grant.html
