Mark Edward Grant, previously acquitted of murder in the 1984 case of Winnipeg teenager Candace Derksen, has been apprehended in British Columbia on charges that include sexual assault. The B.C. Prosecution Service revealed that Grant faces additional accusations of unlawful confinement, assault with a weapon, and uttering threats, all related to an alleged incident on Jan. 8 in or around Vancouver. Grant is currently in custody, awaiting his next court appearance on Jan. 28.
In 2017, Grant was acquitted of second-degree murder in the tragic death of 13-year-old Candace Derksen, who went missing while walking home from school in November 1984. Her lifeless body, bound at the hands and feet, was discovered six weeks later in an industrial shed.
Initially arrested in 2007, Grant was convicted in 2011 based on DNA evidence, but the Supreme Court of Canada overturned the verdict two years later, prompting a new trial in 2017 wherein the DNA evidence was deemed unreliable. During the retrial, it was revealed that the DNA evidence had deteriorated significantly between Derksen’s demise in 1984 and the initial trial.
At the time of the teenager’s tragic passing, Grant was a stranger to the Derksen family and had a criminal history that included sexual offenses and various other crimes.