VANCOUVER — The mother of a Winnipeg teenager who was murdered in 1984 says the family was “shocked” to hear that the man acquitted of the crime has been charged with sexual assault in Vancouver.
The B.C. Prosecution Service says Mark Edward Grant has also been charged with unlawful confinement, assault with a weapon and uttering threats, stemming from an alleged offence on Jan. 8 in or near Vancouver.
Grant was found not guilty of second-degree murder in 2017 in the death of 13-year-old Candace Derksen who was last seen walking home from school in November 1984.
Her frozen body was found six weeks later, with her hands and feet bound, in an industrial shed.
Wilma Derksen, Candace’s mother, says in an emailed statement that the family reacted to to news of Grant’s recent arrest with a mix of horror and curiosity.
She says the new allegations against Grant are “similar to Candace’s assault that led to her death.”
Derksen says they are curious if his arrest will “bring more answers” to their unanswered questions over Candace’s death, and says they “ache” for the alleged Vancouver victim and their family.
She also describes recurring feelings of “grief, horror and more grief,” four decades after her daughter’s murder.
Grant was originally arrested for the killing of Candace Derksen in 2007 and found guilty in 2011 based on DNA evidence.
But the Supreme Court of Canada overturned the conviction two years later, leading to a new trial in 2017 where the DNA evidence was ruled to be flawed.
The 2017 trial heard that the DNA evidence had deteriorated between Derksen’s death in 1984 and the first trial.
Grant was unknown to the Derksen family at the time of the teen’s death, and he had a criminal record including sexual assaults and other crimes.
The B.C. Prosecution Service says Grant remains in custody, with his next court appearance set for Jan. 28.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 21, 2026.
Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press
