The trial of the man accused of killing 13-year-old Candace Derksen has begun 26 years to the day her body was found.
Mark Edward Grant sat in the prisoner’s box listening to his lawyer and prosecutors deal with preliminary matters without the jury present. The six-week trial isn’t expected to have the jury in the court room until Thursday.
Dersken disappeared on her way home from school in November, 1984 prompting a massive search. Her body was found January 17, 1985 in a wood shed near the Nairn overpass.
In May, 2007 Winnipeg police made an arrest in the cold case using DNA evidence. Grant was charged with first-degree murder.
The Derksen family says while Monday is a painful reminder of that horrible day more than a quarter century ago, it is also a blessing because it could mean answers to questions they’ve had for decades.
“It feels like a gift, it really does. It feels like a gift to be able to know, there’s so much comfort in that.” said Candace’s mother Wilma Derksen.
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