DNA evidence questioned at 1st day of retrial for accused killer of Candace Derksen, 13

During the first day of Mark Edward Grant's retrial, former Winnipeg police officers were challenged Monday on whether they may have contaminated a crime scene where the body of 13-year-old Candace Derksen was found more than three decades ago.

Questions from Grant's defence lawyer, Saul Simmonds, attempted to stir suspicion that officers or employees who found Candace's body may have inadvertently left DNA behind.

The teen had gone missing on Nov. 30, 1984, and her frozen body was found nearly seven weeks later, on Jan. 17, 1985, tied up inside a shed at an industrial yard in Elmwood by employees.

DNA evidence was crucial to the arrest of Grant in 2007 and his later conviction by jury in 2011. A forensic specialist who testified at Grant's first trial said there was a one in 50 million chance DNA found on the twine used to bind the hands and feet of Candace could belong to anyone else but Grant.

Now retired constable Gilbert Clarke was the first police officer to attend the scene where Candace was found. In his 1985 police report, Clarke said an officer had entered the shed, but on Monday he said that was an error and no officer entered the shed.

Defence lawyer Simmonds suggested it is probably "difficult" to recall details from 32 years ago.

The next witness to speak, retired constable Derek Blackman-Shaw, said he had entered the shed but did not touch anything once inside. Simmonds raised the possibility that an officer may have sneezed or coughed on the crime scene.

No officers were asked to provide DNA samples at the time.

Candace's parents were in court on Monday calmly taking notes. After court was adjourned, Cliff Derksen said it's not surprising that DNA evidence is playing a central role for the defence.

"The DNA is the core aspect of the case," said Candace's father.

Her mother, Wilma Dersken, said she and her family continue to believe Grant is guilty, but are open to hearing any new information the defence may present.

"We were emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually convinced during the first trial," she said. "If we're wrong, we want to be told and shown."

Justice Karen Simonsen is presiding over the case, while Brett Davidson and Michael Himmelman are acting for the Crown.

Childhood crush testifies

The last person known to see Candace alive before she disappeared recalled Monday morning how he had playfully tossed a snowball at the girl's face while she made a phone call.

David Wiebe, who had been Candace's classmate at Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute, was the first person to testify at the second trial.

The pair were friends and chatted briefly before she began her walk home from school alone, he told the courtroom.

Candace's mother remembers a budding romance between the two teens and said seeing him in court made her think of what could have been, had her daughter lived.

"Candace was desperately in love with David," she said.

An employee at a brickyard who found Candace's body could not be called to testify Monday because he had died. Instead, the Crown read a statement made by him from 1985.

It said he initially thought Candace was a doll when he discovered her body, and that he then ran to get his boss who phoned police.

As court broke for lunch, Wilma Derksen said the trial was "not as emotional this time" because she and her family have been through a trial before. She said she copes by taking notes and plans to blog in the evenings.

Derksen said it was "poignant" for her to hear details from witnesses such as how her daughter appeared frosted over when she was found weeks after her death.

Grant attended court Monday dressed in a black suit and green shirt with his ankles in shackles. He appeared relaxed and did not make eye contact with anyone in court as he took his seat in the prisoner's box.

Grant was arrested in 2007 after newly available DNA tests linked him to the case. Four years later, a jury found him guilty of second-degree murder. Sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for at least 25 years, he has always denied killing the Grade 7 student.

In 2013, a Manitoba Court of Appeal judge granted a retrial after deciding potentially relevant evidence was excluded from Grant's first trial.

Grant chose a judge alone to hear his retrial in the Court of Queen's Bench.

Evidence excluded in 1st trial

Grant appealed his second-degree murder conviction, and in 2013 the Appeal Court agreed the original trial judge did not consider some evidence that could have cast doubt on Grant's guilt and ordered a new trial. The decision was upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2015.

​The evidence relates to a similar attack on a girl that occurred nine months after Candace's body was found.

After hearing calls for help, a passerby found a girl tied up in a boxcar, bound in a similar fashion to how Candace was tied, less than three kilometres from where the 13-year-old was found. The second girl was safely rescued.

At the time of the second abduction, Grant was in custody for a break-in and police never arrested anyone.

Grant's retrial is expected to last until March 3.​

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