The man acquitted of tying up and leaving Candace Derksen to freeze to death in a shed in 1984 is suing the prosecutors and officers behind his arrest, as well as the City and Province.
In a statement of claim filed Wednesday, Mark Grant names several crown attorneys and police officers, the City of Winnipeg and the Province of Manitoba.
He is seeking damages totaling $8.5 million.
It also claims the police and crown attorneys are liable for “malicious prosecution.”
Grant’s lawyer, Lawrence Greenspon of Greenspon, Granger and Hill, said the amount of damages is “just a number.
“There is no form of compensation that will make up for that, the impact it’s had on his life.”
Grant, 55, was acquitted in October of 2017 in connection to the young girl’s death. He had spent 10 years in prison when he was first arrested in 2007.
“I am not satisfied…that the crown has proven Mr. Grant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,” Judge Karen Simonsen said in court at the time.
In Simonsen’s 130 page written decision, she placed a focus on the DNA evidence linking Grant to Derksen’s death, calling the data and conclusions of the evidence “seriously flawed.”
While he was convicted in 2011, Grant was ordered a new trial partly due to the basis of DNA, and because he was not allowed to present evidence of a possible alternative suspect.
During the retrial, Grant’s lawyer, Saul Simmonds, challenged the validity of DNA evidence the police used to connect Grant to Derksen’s death. He said the DNA tests on twine gathered at the murder scene in 1985 were flawed and contaminated and there is none left that can be re-tested.
The lawsuit alleges the lab behind the DNA testing, Molecular World, engaged in “purposeful or negligent tampering of evidence.”
The people named in the civil lawsuit include prosecutors Brent Davidson, Michael Himmelman, Cynthia Devine, Amiram Kotler, Brian Bell and Rekha Malaviya.
Police officers Al Bradbury, Jon Lutz, Ronald Allan, along with former police chief Jack Ewatski, are also named.
A provincial spokesperson said the Province has yet to be formally served, and would not comment because it is “an ongoing matter before the courts.”
In 2017, Grant’s defence lawyer Saul Simmonds said he has advised his client to see if he has grounds for a suit.
“I’m certainly having him consult with civil counsel,” Simmonds told Global News.